**Inquest Continues into Jay Slater’s Tenerife Tragedy: Key Witnesses Still Sought**
The inquest into the death of Jay Slater, a 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, is set to resume as authorities continue searching for crucial witnesses. Slater, who disappeared during a holiday on the Spanish island of Tenerife last summer, became the focus of an extensive search operation that gripped both the UK and Spanish communities.
Slater had travelled to Tenerife in mid-June 2024 to attend the NRG music festival with friends, held at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas, a popular destination for British tourists. After what was supposed to be a fun getaway, events soon took a tragic turn. According to reports presented at the initial inquest, Slater visited a holiday rental apartment with others in the early hours following the festival. Sometime after, he vanished without a trace, leading to widespread concern.
His disappearance was reported formally on 18th June, prompting Spanish authorities and volunteer teams to initiate a significant search effort. Details emerging during the initial stages of the inquest suggest that Slater left the apartment in the hours following his arrival there, attempting to make his way back to his own accommodation on foot. Sadly, his journey appears to have ended in disaster — Slater is believed to have fallen into a steep ravine, and his body was discovered almost a month later by a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard in a remote area near the village of Masca on 15th July.
A poignant development in the case arose during the first coroner’s hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court in May. Several individuals who were reportedly with Slater on the night of his disappearance, or present at the rental flat, did not attend, with explanations ranging from being untraceable to being otherwise unavailable, despite considerable efforts to secure their testimonies. The unresolved absence of these witnesses has been a source of distress for Slater’s family, with his mother, Debbie Duncan, making a tearful plea for the hearing to be adjourned so that the family could gain answers from the last people to have seen Jay alive.
Responding to these concerns, Dr James Adeley, the senior coroner for Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen, agreed to adjourn proceedings until Thursday, 24th July, allowing a final opportunity for the relevant witnesses to come forward. The court previously heard expert testimony from a toxicologist, who reported the presence of substances such as cocaine, ketamine, and ecstasy in Slater’s system, along with alcohol. Forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd told the inquest that Slater’s death was caused by head injuries sustained in a fall, with a post-mortem revealing no evidence of assault or restraint.
Lancashire Constabulary’s Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Higson contributed further insights, explaining that police analysis showed Slater’s mobile phone received several messages from friends on the night out, urging him to return home as he was reportedly “off his head”. Location data indicated that Slater left the holiday flat around 7.45am, after which he sought directions for public transport from local residents. The last activity on his phone was logged at 8.51am, leading investigators to believe the battery might have died at this point, effectively ending digital traces of his movements.
Assisting in the search efforts was Marieke Krans from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden, who described the region where Slater’s body was discovered as an extremely perilous landscape. She emphasised the area’s treacherous terrain, remarking on how easy it was to lose footing, a comment underscoring both the danger inherent in the region and the tragic fate of the teenager.
The coroner reflected on the evidence, suggesting, “one explanation is that he walked into a remote area and tragically fell from a cliff”, a hypothesis supported by the nature of Slater’s injuries and the challenging geographical features of the location.
With the inquest now resuming, the Slater family and the wider public await the results of these renewed efforts to locate the witnesses. The final hearing is scheduled to conclude this coming Friday, hopefully offering some long-awaited answers and closure for all concerned. The case remains a vivid reminder of the risks that can accompany travel and adventure, and the very real human stories that underlie headlining tragedies.