JAY Slater’s family were sent a sick ransom video saying “we have your son”, an ex-cop revealed after a body was found in the hunt for the teen.
Mark Williams-Thomas, who investigated Madeleine McCann‘s disappearance, gave chilling details of how heartless people pretended to be holding the 19-year-old Brit hostage.
A body was discovered yesterday near where Jay’s phone last pinged in a mountainous area of Tenerife.
Dramatic footage captured the moment a helicopter crewman was winched into the gap with his arms raised during the careful recovery operation.
The Guardia Civil says that “initial evidence” indicated that the person found had “suffered an accident or fall in the inaccessible zone”.
Detectives are confident that the body discovered in a ravine near Masca is that of apprentice bricklayer Jay, but formal identification has yet to be completed.
Prior to yesterday’s discovery, Jay’s desperate family received a perverted video claiming the teen was being held hostage.
But Mr Williams-Thomas, who has been working close with the teen’s family, said they manage to confirm “within hours” that the clips did not show Jay.
He told the Mirror: “We have had two videos posted of separate people, meant to be Jay, having been beaten up, one having the words, ’We have your son’, created for publication by someone wanting to give the impression they had Jay held hostage.
“Within hours we had established these videos were not Jay. And we have had people who have contacted the family to say they have Jay and will give information in exchange for a sum of money.”
The detective went on to say that much of their time was being consumed by jokers and conspiracy theorists while doing the investigation.
But he explained that every new piece of evidence “needed to be investigated” even if it took precious time as his family were longing for any sign of hope.
Mr Williams-Thomas said: “What has taken up the most time has been investigating the many theories and the false information that gathered traction on social media and then subsequently in the media.
“You will understand that the family lived in hope of every new piece of information that Jay was alive, so they all needed to be investigated.
“We had to investigate the theory that Jay had walked all the way to the coastline to get on a boat, this was thoroughly investigated and ruled out with evidence that proved it could not be true.”
What we know
It comes after Jay Slater‘s family believe the teen was killed instantly after a horror fall.
Police said “everything is pointing” to the body being Jay’s – and initial evidence suggests he tragically died after an “accidental fall”.
Jay’s family also believe the Brit teen “fell from height” and was “killed instantly”.
A family spokesman told Mail Online: “The whole family is absolutely broken. They are devastated. It’s not the outcome they were hoping for.
“It looks as if he fell from a height so he would most likely have been killed instantly and he wasn’t there for a long time.”
He said the family “appreciate the remoteness” of the area and “there is no criticism of the search”.
While the body has not been formally identified as Jay’s, his family expect the remains to be repatriated within a “week or so” – and a post-mortem to take place in both Tenerife and back in the UK.
Jay vanished on the morning of June 17 after going to a rave the night before with friends.
He the headed to northern Tenerife with two men in the early hours of that Monday.
He then left in the morning, but after realising he had missed the bus, he began attempting to make the 11-hour journey back to his own accommodation, in the south of the island.
One of the men, convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, said Jay left the house alive.
The teen made a final frantic call to pal Lucy Law, telling her that he was disoriented, had only one percent of his phone battery, and needed water.
In a previous call to friend Brad, his feet could be heard slipping on the rocks.
Police combed the area in the south of the island for 12 days using a helicopter, drones and dogs.
On June 29, Spanish cops axed the official search – and a body was then discovered on Monday in the area Jay was last known to have been.
A spokesman said: “Everything is pointing to the body being that of the young British man who disappeared on June 17, pending full identification.”
They added the search was “complicated” due to the “very difficult terrain”.
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan, 55, is said to be “totally devastated” – and demanding answers over how police search teams missed the body.
A family source said: “It’s the news they have been dreading. She has lots of questions.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said they had been notified that a body was found – and “the indications are that this is Jay Slater”.
They added: “While at this stage no formal identification has been carried out our thoughts are very much with Jay’s family at this time, and we continue to offer them our support.”
An autopsy is expected to take place in the next couple of days in the northern Tenerife city of La Laguna.
THE grim discovery of a body comes after weeks of agony for Jay’s friends and family. Here is how the events unfolded:
Sunday, June 16: Jay and his friends party at the last day of NRG music festival being held at Papagayo night club in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17 3-6am: Jay leaves with Ayub Qassim and another man for a £40-a-night Airbnb 23 miles away in the village of Masca.
7.30am: Jay shares a photo on Snapchat standing at doorway of the Airbnb.
8.50am: He calls pal Lucy Mae Law and says he is “lost in the middle of nowhere” with no water, a cut to his leg and one per cent on his phone.
Tuesday, June 18: Pals search area but no sign of Jay. Local cops and mountain rescue teams start official search. Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan flies to Tenerife.
June 19-20: Spanish police deploy drones, dogs and a helicopter, but find no trace. Search moves to Los Cristianos amid possible sighting, but it is ruled out and they return to Rural de Teno, near Masca.
June 21: Lancashire Police offer support but it is declined.
June 22: Mum Debbie issues emotional appeal to Jay saying “We just need you home.”
June 24: Claims of Jay sighting in Santiago del Teide — near to where he disappeared — and family believe a grainy CCTV image could be of him.
June 25: Debbie issues plea for her son to come home as more friends fly out and TV investigator Mark Williams- Thomas joins search.
June 29: Cops rule Mr Qassim, and other man at Airbnb, out of investigation.
June 30: Spanish cops officially suspend hunt but say probe “remains open”. His family continue to search.
Yesterday: A body is found by helicopter search team close to where his phone last pinged. His possessions are discovered next to human remains. Spanish cops say it points to an “accidental fall”.
