Nicola Bulley cop slams Spanish police over Jay Slater search as he warns he'll release images of men seen with teen
27 June 2024, 11:07 | Updated: 27 June 2024, 11:55
A former detective who probed the disappearance of Nicola Bulley has criticised the approach from Spanish police over the search for missing Brit Jay Slater.
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The 19-year-old, from Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since the early hours of June 17, with a huge search still underway.
Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas hit out at local police for their approach to the investigation.
"I think the problem is that the starting point of this investigation for the Spanish authorities has been one of a missing person," he said.
He continued: "From a starting point, if this was in the UK, I would have started investigating it as a critical incident and I'd have done everything so you can secure the potential crime scene or the last location."
"Once you’ve lost evidence, you've lost evidence," he said.
He also criticised local authorities for rejecting help from Lancashire Police in the search for Jay.
"I would say put pride to one side, this is about finding Jay and we need as many people as possible to get involved," he said.
Officers have said they are "totally focused" on tracking the 19-year-old down and will continue to prioritise that.
Drones, sniffers dogs and helicopters have been searching the Rural de Teno National Park and its surroundings in northern Tenerife since the 19-year-old disappeared more than 10 days ago.
He was attending the 'New Rave Generation' (NRG) festival, but chose to stay behind with two strangers he had met at the rave before heading back to their accommodation.
Much of the hunt has been focused on the 2,000ft ravine. It is where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower at 8.50am on June 17.
Jay told his friend he was lost in the middle of nowhere with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
When she told him to return to where he had walked from, he said he did not know where that was.
He sounded disorientated and explained that he was "in the middle of mountains" with "nothing around".
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Mr Williams-Thomas claimed both of the men that Jay met with after leaving his friends were black and in their 30s or early 40s.
One is understood to go by the nickname 'Johnny Vegas'.
Neither of the men are believed to have attended the same festival that Jay had gone to with his friends.
Mr Williams-Thomas said one of the men is 6ft tall, stocky, with short dark hair.
He was seen wearing an orange wristband and drinking Hennessy cogna on the same evening Jay went missing.
The investigator warned that he would release an image of one of the men if they did not come forward to help in the search for the teen.
They were seen speaking to Jay outside the Papagayo nightclub last Monday before driving him back to their Airbnb, Mr Williams-Thomas claimed.
He said: "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."
The investigator added: "When Jay got back to their place he made a number of phone calls to friends and was jovial and upbeat."
The men travelled back to the UK this week after speaking to Spanish police.
"They may, out of freedom, come back if the Spanish authorities ask them," Mr Williams-Thomas said.
"I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to them."
