On the morning of 17 June 2024, 19-year-old Jay Dean Slater,[3] an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared on the island of Tenerife, Spain, after attempting to walk ten hours back to his accommodation as a result of missing a bus.

Less than two weeks after his disappearance, on 30 June, Tenerife police stated that they were discontinuing the search for Slater, although the investigation remained open, for which they were later criticised.

[13] As with the death of Nicola Bulley, a number of conspiracy theories were posted on social media where speculation was rife regarding his disappearance, particularly on TikTok and Facebook.

[18] At the time of his disappearance, Slater was described as a 19-year-old young man, weighing 11 stones(70 kg), with a height of 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in), slim build, black hair and blue eyes.

[23] Slater attended the three-day NRG Music Festival at Papagayo Beach Club in south Tenerife on the afternoon of 16 June 2024.

[4] After the report of Slater's disappearance, an extensive search headed by the Guardia Civil commenced, involving drones, sniffer dogs and helicopters.

[32] Slater left Playa de las Américas in a car with the men, who drove him 22 miles (35 km) north to an Airbnb in Masca.

[34] On 24 June, a blurry closed-circuit television image taken in Santiago del Teide was shared by Slater's family, who they believed was him around ten hours after he was reported missing.

[45] On 15 July, the Spanish police reported the discovery of human remains in the vicinity of the area of interest, close to the last known location of Slater's mobile phone.

[48] Tenerife newspaper El Día reported that a helicopter from the regional government's emergency rescue service was used to help recover the remains due to the inaccessible terrain.

The coroner ordered a post-mortem examination to be held in the UK, which concluded Slater died of traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height.

[63] On 22 June, the NRG (New Rave Generation) Music Festival, which Slater attended before his disappearance, released a statement describing the situation as "devastating".

Ainley was from Lancashire, living in Yorkshire and had relocated to south Tenerife a few months before his disappearance in June 2004 which was not widely reported at the time.

[53] During the search, newspaper articles surfaced that reported on a serious attack on a 17-year-old in 2021 by a gang of eight people including Slater, using machetes, an axe and a golf club, in which they split the victim's skull.

[74] Following the start of the fundraiser, GoFundMe published a statement, with a spokesperson saying "all campaigns are under review and no money will be transferred unless we can verify it goes straight to his family".

[79] She later described being "terrorised" by the internet trolls,[80] stating the abuse had not stopped even after Slater's funeral and denied rumours he had stolen a £12,000 Rolex watch before his disappearance.

[81] As with the death of Nicola Bulley, a number of conspiracy theories were posted on social media regarding Slater's disappearance,[82][83] often based on unconfirmed rumours and false screenshots of messages online from people connected to the case.

[91] Labour MPs Sarah Smith and Chris Webb called on UK prime minister Keir Starmer to put tougher sanctions in place to deter online trolls before they get started.

[92] Sarah Manavis in the magazine New Statesman cited the case as an example of how "if our true-crime culture is not contained now, we will be forever desensitised to stories of personal tragedy", in reference to the conspiracy theories, accusations and mockery that were made about Jay Slater on social media before and after he was found dead.

[86] Matt Searle, CEO of missing persons charity LBT Global, criticised social media users for speculating about Slater, describing them as "armchair detectives" and "so-called experts", as well as urging them to stop.

[98] Navarro was later criticised for claiming that several witnesses had seen Slater watching a Euro 2024 football match in Tenerife hours after he was last heard from, resulting in local police to investigate the potential sightings, which was later dismissed.

[103] After confirmation of Slater's death, an emotional vigil in memory of him was attended by around 100 people in his native Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, in which dozens of blue balloons carrying messages were released into the sky.

At the West End Methodist Church, a special memorial service was held where people were invited to light a candle for Slater and sign a book of condolence.