Spanish police hunting for missing British teenager Jay Slater has found another Briton during their search efforts. The disappearance of 19-year-old Slater last Monday after attending a three-day rave in Tenerife has captured national attention.
Jay Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last known to be in Rural de Teno National Park, where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower at 8:50 am on June 17.
During the search for Slater, Spanish police located a 51-year-old Scottish hiker in Asomada Canyon on Friday. The hiker, who has not yet been named, was found disoriented and exhausted in an area of difficult access. Locals alerted the agents after observing the hiker entering the challenging terrain and failing to return for several hours.
The police said in a social media post, “Locals observed how said hiker entered very early into an area of difficult access not suitable for travel and after several hours passed without him returning to the starting point, they alerted the agents who were at that time in the area searching for missing young man, Jay Slater. Tired and disoriented, he was located by the agents and the rescue team who helped him get out of the ravine.
This discovery comes as detectives on the holiday island investigate Slater’s background to determine if it is relevant to his disappearance. Spanish press reports revealed that Slater had been involved in a 2021 machete attack that left a man fighting for his life.
Jay Slater was part of an eight-person gang that attacked Tom Hilton with a machete, golf clubs, and an axe in Rishton, Lancashire. Hilton sustained severe injuries, including a skull fracture, during the attack.
In court, Hilton described the gang as a “pack of wolves” and recounted how he was forced to run for his life through nearby woods before being assaulted.
Details of the attack have surfaced on social media, with some suggesting Slater’s disappearance is “karma.” However, Tom Hilton urged people to stop spreading negative comments. He wrote on Facebook, “Whoever is writing on these TikToks, give it a rest. This young lad’s missing and his family’s heartbroken. Put yourself in their shoes. Stop talking nonsense on social and get this lad found, mentioning my name all this and that. Have some respect and help find this boy and get him back to his family.
Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, expressed her deep concern, saying she is praying her son does not “come back in a body bag.” The family remains hopeful for Jay’s safe return.
