Jay Slater allegedly told friends on Snapchat he'd stolen a £12k ($15k) Rolex watch the night before he disappeared, it has emerged.
The 19-year-old's whereabouts remain unknown 16 days on from vanishing in the Rural de Teno park in Tenerife. Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, had been holidaying on the island with friends when he went back to an Airbnb with two men they met on the trip, then tried to make the long walk back.
Questions were raised over claims a man complained he had a Rolex stolen on one of the island's bar strips on the night of Sunday, June 16. While the revelation came out amidst the search for the teenager, it wasn't initially clear whether it was connected to Jay's disappearance.
Now top Brit detective Mark Williams-Thomas appears to have confirmed the connection after revealing previously unreported details about Jay's movements before disappearing. The sleuth, known for his work on the Nicola Bulley case last year, traveled out to Tenerife last week to help Jay's family find some answers.
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He has since reported back his preliminary findings to mom Debbie Duncan, taking to X on Wednesday to provide a few more details in a bid to urge people against "filling the void" with harmful and hurtful speculation. Mark said: "We know that shortly before 6am on Monday the seventh of June, Jay left the area of Veronica Strip in [Playa de] Las Americas in a Seat Leon hire car with two males casually known to him.
"Jay and a number of his friends had spent time with them both over the previous two days. All three males including Jay travelled north by the main motorway, the TF1, to go to the two males' holiday rental, Casa de Abuela Tina, which was about an hour's drive away.
"On route, Jay posted a Snapchat saying he had stolen a £12,000 Rolex from a person. We've been unable to validate this in terms of reporting. However, friends of Jay said he would not make this up and the watch was subject to later conversation between the friends."
The search for Jay was called off on Sunday after two weeks of scouring land around where Jay's phone last pinged, with sources saying nothing of relevance was found. The Civil Guard however has insisted it was continuing to follow leads and any tip-offs in Jay's disappearance.
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