A vile TikTok song has emerged trivialising the disappearance of teenage apprentice bricklayer Jay Slater.
The song, posted online on June 30, features the lyrics: “Jay Slater wandered in the night, lost in the city by the neon lights.”
It appears to go on: “Beat something hard in his chest, searching for a place to rest.”
Referencing the fact that Jay was in Tenerife to attend a music event, the electronic song goes on: “Club lights flashing all around”.
Mr Slater had attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance, and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island – which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca and the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled “not relevant” to the case, according to reports.
On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.
He said: “He was on the phone walking down a road and he’d gone over a little bit – not a big drop – but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said ‘I’ll ring ya back, I’ll ring ya back’ because I think someone else was ringing him.”
He confirmed he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and could hear he was walking on gravel.
Spanish police on July 2 called off the search for missing teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife, according to reports.
The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared after setting off to walk back to his accommodation on the holiday island on June 17.
A Guardia Civil spokesperson reportedly said on Sunday: “The search operation has now finished, although the case remains open.”
Jay’s family remain in the area to continue the search. His devastated mum, Debbie Duncan, said in a statement via a spokesperson: “My son, Jay Dean Slater, came to the holiday island of Tenerife on the 13th of June with his friend to attend a music festival.
“On the 17th of June after not returning to his apartment he was reported as a missing person. Jay is a normal guy who is in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends.
“We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance.
“Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.
“We do not have any information on his whereabouts.”
Finishing the statement, the spokesperson said: “We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.
“We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe. It has not gone unnoticed, especially his home town in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
“As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this present time.”