An inquest into the death of Jay Slater whose disappearance in Tenerife sparked a massive search has heard that his friends had failed to attend to give their accounts.
Lucy Law – who received a call from the 19-year-old last June saying he was lost, had 1 per cent charge on his phone and needed water – is among those who could not be traced to give evidence, a coroner heard today.
As proceedings began, Lancashire senior coroner Dr James Adeley said police had unsuccessfully tried to contact Ms Law and several of Jay’s other British friends.
‘We can’t find them, they have stopped responding to phone calls,’ he said while Jay’s parents Debbie Duncan, 55, and father Warren Slater, 58, listened in silence as the hearing got underway at Preston Coroner’s Court.
Dr Adeley added: ‘When drugs are involved in a death, the witnesses are less than forthcoming and do not wish to speak to the authorities.’
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, had attended the NRG Festival at Papagayo, in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife on June 16 last year.
But after becoming separated from his friends following the all-night rave he went back to an AirBnB holiday cottage in the remote village of Masca with the two Britons, convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, 31, and another man.
The apprentice bricklayer was last seen alive leaving the white-washed house at around 7.30am on June 17.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay Slater, 19, pictured with his mother Debbie Duncan
The Airbnb house in Masca, Tenerife, where Jay Slater was staying before his disappearance
He was apparently trying to walk the 10-hour journey back to the apartment where he was staying after missing a bus back.
An immediate focus of the investigation was a post Jay uploaded on Snapchat of him having a cigarette, with the location tagged at the door of the apartment at 7.30am UK time.
Then two phone calls emerged.
Ms Law received a call at 8.30am where Jay said he was lost, had 1 per cent charge on his phone and needed water.
In a video call to their other friend, Brad Hargreaves, Jay was walking on rough, stony ground, saying he was making the long walk back.
His mother and father joined family and friends to comb the island for sightings.
As the mystery surrounding the teen’s disappearance grew, ‘vile’ and ‘distressing’ conspiracy theories began to emerge that dogged efforts to find Jay.
Among the vicious rumours circulating included wild claims Jay had been targeted by a criminal cartel on the island for allegedly stealing a watch from a gang member – something his family vehemently denied happened.
A police officer overlooks Masca in Tenerife during the search for Jay Slater on June 21, 2024
Tragically Jay’s body was found a month later in a mountainous area of the island.
He is believed to have lost his footing and fallen while desperately trying to climb through the ravine to try and return to his hotel.
A post-mortem found that he died of traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height. His death would have been instantaneous.
Hundreds gathered in Accrington in August to bid a final farewell at his funeral, as his coffin was laid to rest amid an encore of drum-and-bass music.
During their eulogies, friends recalled Jay’s ‘buzzing and smiling’ demeanour and told their late schoolmate to ‘keep partying hard up there’.
His parents led the procession of mourners through the drizzle on August 10 to the service at the packed Accrington Crematorium Chapel, while many more watched on an outdoor screen.
On November 21, a GoFundMe page titled Get Jay Slater Home was closed after it had received £72,821 worth of donations.
In a final post on the page, Jay’s family said they had been able to give a ‘truly deserved… send-off’ at his funeral.
Jay Slater attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance
The coffin of Jay Slater ahead of his funeral in Accrington, Lancashire, on August 10, 2024
They also explained how the donations were spent, which included hiring a search team from the Dutch non-profit organisation Signi Zoekhonden and paying for their stay in Tenerife while they searched for the teenager’s body.
The same coroner also presided over the inquest into the death of mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, who went missing while walking her dog after dropping her children off at school in in St Michael’s-on-Wyre, Lancashire, in January 2023.
Her disappearance also provoked a storm of attention on social media with TikTok sleuths sharing outlandish theories.
The 45-year-old’s body was found in the River Wyre three weeks later after a huge search effort which sparked global headlines.
Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, later ruled that Ms Bulley’s death was accidental and that she did not have ‘any desire’ to take her own life.
That hearing took place amid tight security at County Hall in Preston, with members of the public who attended subjected to searches and warned against disrupting proceedings.
By contrast, Jay’s inquest is being held at Preston Coroner’s Court.
