TWO mystery Brits who partied with Jay Slater on the night of his disappearance are “not relevant”, investigators said today.
The latest twist comes just days after a private investigator called the men “key witnesses” in the case.
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The search for missing Jay has hit “make or break” point this weekend – with a “massive” new hunt underway made up of expert volunteers.
As volunteers scour the area where Jay was last seen, Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit, was asked about the two mystery men who partied with the teen on the night he vanished.
Mr Martin claimed the pair have no relevance to Jay’s disappearance.
He said: “We’re mountain specialists and we’re in charge of searching here, and it’s the Civil Guard investigators who have been responsible for the investigation.
“Those men have been spoken to and they don’t have any relevance whatsoever for the case.”
Earlier this week, investigator Mark Williams-Thomas said the men stayed with Jay at an Airbnb cottage in Tenerife.
The former detective – who worked on the Madeleine McCann case – claims to have pieced together the mystery of Jay’s disappearance.
He said he has found out about the pair after speaking to the owner of the rental property.
Mark has also been in close contact with a number of witnesses – including Jay’s family and friends.
Despite his new involvement in the case, Mark is not part of the official police investigation.
He spoke at a press conference in Tenerife on Wednesday where he claimed both of the men are black and in their 30s or early 40s.
They are said to be from Luton, Bedfordshire, with one going by the nickname “Johnny Vegas”.
Neither of them are believed to have been to the NRG music festival where Jay spent the day partying before he vanished.
One of the men was described as around 6ft tall, quite stocky, with short dark hair.
He was seen wearing an orange wristband and drank Hennessy cognac on the night where he was with Jay.
Mark said he would release an image of one of the men if they refuse to come forward and help in the investigation.
The men spoke with the Lancashire teen outside the Papagayo nightclub on the strip last Monday morning before driving him back to their accommodation, Mark claimed.
He added: “The family are desperate for these men to come forward as witnesses. They are not currently assisting.
“The group sat outside on the wall outside the club after the night ended. Witnesses say he seemed quite in control of himself.
“What we don’t know is why he went with them.”
It comes as…
The men were only in Tenerife for a couple of days before travelling back to Luton Airport.
The Sun revealed on Tuesday that British cops were yet to quiz the two men – despite investigators searching for more leads.
A woman identified only as Araceli, who works in the cafe next to the rental property, told reporters this week: “They came in for cafe con leche a couple of times.
“One was aged about 40. The other one was slightly younger.”
The owner of the Airbnb where the men stayed said she has given all the information she had to the police.
Ofelia Hernandez, who owns the holiday let, revealed they were friendly, booked several days at the cottage, and spent a lot of time inside the property.
Cops in the UK revealed they also have no intention of speaking with the pair.
Lancashire Constabulary, whose offer of assistance was refused by local police, said it will not pursue the tourists.
Bedfordshire Police, which looks after Luton Airport, will also not seek to speak with the men.
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It comes as Tenerife cops kicked off a “massive search” for Jay this weekend.
The mammoth hunt started at 9am on Saturday – and has been described by some as the “final push” to find missing Jay.
A source told The Sun: “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.”
Alongside volunteers, the Civil Guard confirmed plans to retrace his last known steps, beginning at the village of Masca.
Mr Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s 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.”
‘WORST TERRAIN EVER’
Several police vehicles from the Guardia Civil mountain division, Bomberos and AEA arrived at the top of the mountains this morning alongside a huge number of volunteers.
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”.
Tiktoker Paul Arnott, 29, from Bedfordshire, has been searching the mountains for the past few days.
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 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,” he said.
“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.”
JAY CLUES
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, 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 mystery men he had just met to an Airbnb in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno park.
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 was taken at the location he went to with the two men he met at the club – with haunting pictures showing the inside of the Airbnb.
His last known location was the Teno Rural Park on the northwest of the island – a popular hiking spot for tourists.
It is claimed he was spotted “walking alone” by locals before his disappearance.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family are in ‘a living hell’
TUESDAY 25
Brit hiker found by Jay search teams says he ‘didn’t need to be saved’
Madeleine McCann cop lands in Tenerife to join search
Tenerife cops call in reinforcements from Madrid – including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim they have spotted Jay watching Euros
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men Jay partied with
Cops scour exact spot where ‘mystery grainy figure’ was seen
THURSDAY 27
Detectives ‘fear it’s unlikely Jay will be found alive if in mountains’
Search hones in on series of caves in desolate park
Family ‘turn to help of TikTok sleuth’
FRIDAY 28
GoFundMe goes £10,000 over target as it hits £40,000
Tenerife cops announce huge search for Jay & appeal for volunteers
SATURDAY 29
Cops launch a massive new search for Jay as they call on volunteers to help out
Investigators rule out two mystery Brits seen with Jay before his disappearance
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https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/28838763/jay-slater-cops-update-mystery-brit-men-relevant/
