Jay Slater cops quiz NEW witnesses after ‘theft of Rolex’ sparks fresh twist as search hits ‘make or break’ 48 hours

NEW witnesses are set to be quizzed over the disappearance of Jay Slater after the alleged theft of a Rolex hours before the teen vanished.

A “massive” new search kicked off today with the help of specialist volunteers amid a “make or break” final push to find the 19-year-old Brit.

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Doug Seeburg

Reuters

Doug Seeburg

Reuters

Ian Whittaker

Taxi drivers and bar staff who were working on June 17 are set to be questioned by investigators after a fight reportedly erupted outside the Papagayo Beach Club.

Jay was seen partying in the busy venue shortly before it closed – and vanished just hours later.

An Eastern European man involved in the scuffle allegedly had his pricey Rolex watch stolen, according to the

It is unclear exactly how Jay’s disappearance might be linked to the incident – but officers are reportedly examining CCTV footage from the security cameras.

And now cops are hoping to speak to new witnesses who might have seen the fight unfold – and have information about Jay.

A source in Tenerife told The Sun: “Any lead right now which could throw up information as to where Jay is will be looked at.

“The scene in and around that club is always an incredibly busy one.

“There are likely to have been many hundreds of people coming and going so it’s possible if CCTV doesn’t throw up leads, that witnesses might.

“There are a lot of taxi drivers, bar owners and club staff in that area who might remember something important.”

One of Jay’s pals who has flown to Tenerife to help in the search told detectives the alleged theft may have led to the Lancashire lad wandering off on his own to try and find the watch.

It comes amid a key 48 hours in the search for Jay – which has now been labelled as “make or break”.

The source added: “There’s a feeling that this weekend is going to be absolutely key. A huge amount of resources and effort is being piled into the next 48 hours.

“It’s not all or nothing, but investigators dearly hope this weekend will provide the breakthrough they are hoping for.”

Cops are still investigating a number of other leads including the teens last location after his phone pinged at 8.50am near a hiking trail in Masca.

Search teams narrowed their efforts to a small group of buildings close to where Jay’s phone last pinged, but found nothing.

Several witness have also claimed to have seen a man who looks like Jay around Tenerife.

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It comes as…

• Cops investigate new lead after ‘theft of Rolex’ hours before teen vanished 
• Two mystery Brits seen partying with Jay deemed ‘not relevant’ to the investigation
• Deluge of tip-offs flooding in for Jay appeal
• GoFundMe page for his family hits £40,000
• Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
• Tenerife worst place to go missing, expert warned before Jay went missing
• Jay was attacked by gang when he was just 12
• New pics of Jay emerge at a pool party two days before he vanished
• Cops quiz locals who ‘saw Jay watching Euros’
• Crews scour exact spot where mystery ‘grainy figure’ was seen

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Ofelia Medina Hernadez told cops she spotted him standing at a bus stop shortly after 8am as he asked her the time of the next service to Los Cristianos.

Ofelia said she saw Jay walking along the road “normally but a bit quickly” some 15 minutes later.

Locals then told police they saw Jay in the town watching the Euros football after he vanished.

Mayor Emilio Jose Navarro said investigators had spoken to several people who alleged Jay watched the Euros “on the coast”.

He said: “Locals have told me they have heard from others that they saw someone looking like the boy in a bar at Los Gigantes.”

MYSTERY MEN ‘NOT RELEVANT’

Two mystery men who partied with Jay the night before he vanished have also been allowed to return to the UK after a light police probe.

Both men have been labelled as “not relevant” by cops.

Private investigator Mark Williams-Thomas claimed the men are “key witnesses” after the trio stayed at an Airbnb cottage together.

Despite his new involvement in the case Mark is not part of the official police investigation but has released a description of the men.

Tenerife cops are now set to start a “massive search” for the missing teen over the weekend.

The latest mammoth search has been described by some as the “final push” to find missing Jay.

Alongside volunteers, the Civil Guard confirmed plans to retrace his last known steps, beginning at the village of Masca.

Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit, said: “The operation is going to consist of a search with the people that have come here today, in a thorough manner.

“At the height we are, we need to progress by ruling out areas and make sure that the areas we search, with the work we have done this week, are looked at well and can be ruled out.

“And of course that’s going to be done based on the information we have, and that information of his last-known position and the conversations he had the day he disappeared.”

There’s a feeling that this weekend is going to be absolutely key. A huge amount of resources and effort is being piled into the next 48 hours

source close to the investigation

Several police vehicles from the Guardia Civil mountain division, Bomberos and AEA arrived at the top of the mountains this morning alongside a number of volunteers.

A Civil Guard source said: “No decision has yet been taken about how long the search will continue for.

“It’s too early to say because it depends on how the investigation evolves and how the work that’s being done near Masca by the Civil Guard and other search teams goes.

“Any decision in that respect would be taken by Colonel Angel Sanz Coronado.”

Army reservist Juan Garcia, who has mountain search and rescue experience, said he felt compelled to help after reading Jay’s story in the local news.

Juan, 53, who came with his dog described the area as “difficult” and like a “labyrinth”.

“This landscape can be very dangerous. I am from the island so we are used to this kind of landscape. If you search maybe we are lucky and we find him,” he added.

“We have to put a lot of effort to look slowly, it is like a labyrinth, there’s a lot of bushes so it’s easy to miss something, especially with the helicopter and drones.

“That’s why you have to walk and I brought my dog in case he can smell something, but it’s not an easy task.”

Tiktoker Paul Arnott, 29, from Bedfordshire, has been searching the mountains for the past few days.

They’re broken. I admire them so much for their strength. It’s the worst situation any family could be in. It’s horrible

Paul Arnottvolunteer speaking on Jay's family

He said: “We know that Jay has been sliding down the mountains so I’m looking for slide marks.

“I’ve got a picture of his shoes on my phone and I’m looking for any breakages in the plant material. Just any evidence that he has been through this way.

“I’ve been checking loads of different areas and some days I’ve been with the police and mountain rescue who have told me where to go to search.”

Paul says he is hoping to help find Jay to give peace to the Slater family.

“It’s what the family wanted and that’s what I’m interested in – helping the family.

“They’re broken. I admire them so much for their strength. It’s the worst situation any family could be in. It’s horrible.

“I wouldn’t want them to come out here. It’s the worst terrain ever. I wouldn’t want my family coming out here, no chance.”

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, just outside Blackburn, vanished after a night out at the NRG festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 17.

He was last seen travelling with two men he had just met to an Airbnb in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno park.

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The morning after he made a final frantic phone call to pal Lucy Law to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere”.

Panicked Jay, facing an 11-hour walk back to their hotel, told her he needed water and only had one per cent of battery left on his phone.

His other friend Brad Hargreaves revealed a second call in which Jay told him he had veered off the main path – leading to speculation he may have slid down rocks.

Brad said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call.

The disappearance sparked a desperate round-the-clock search with his heartbroken mum and family jetting out to the island to join the hunt.

Rescue crews focused their efforts around the 2,000ft Masca ravine close to Jay’s last known location – the desolate Teno Nature Reserve.

On Thursday, they shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with the two men.

Police sources say it would be “very unlikely Jay has survived” if he got lost in the mountains.

Apprentice bricklayer Jay had flown out to Tenerife with friends Lucy and Brad for the New Rave Generation (NRG) festival, which ended on Sunday.

His final Snapchat picture was an out-of-focus image of a hand holding cigarettes in Buenavista del Norte, which sits within Rural de Teno park, at around 7.30am on Monday.

It is claimed he was spotted “walking alone” by locals before his disappearance.

Last week, Lancashire cops offered to fly out and help with the search, but Spanish authorities refused.

Debbie slammed the Tenerife investigation for not accepting their offer, and said she spent eight hours in a local police station looking at their plans to find him.

She expressed fears something “untoward” had happened to her son.

Within hours of arriving in Tenerife, Debbie was sent a Snapchat message which convinced her he might have been abducted.

It read: “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”

Speaking from Tenerife, the worried mum was forced to defend a GoFundMe that was set up after cruel trolls asked how it would benefit the search for Jay.

She said cash will be used to fly out the “loved ones” of the “wonderful people” who are with her in Tenerife.

Ian Whittaker

Doug Seeburg

Ian Whittaker

PA

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