When a young Briton disappeared in mid-June while holidaying on the Spanish island of Tenerife, a familiar routine emerged: search and rescue workers combing the landscape, regular updates from tearful family members and a constant stream of unconfirmed reports that he had been spotted.
And soon another phenomenon emerged that is increasingly common in disappearances: online sleuths who are convinced that they can do what the police have not yet done: solve the case.
This weekend, Spanish authorities called off their search for Jay Slater, a 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from England who was visiting Tenerife, a popular holiday destination. But even after the 14-day search officially ended, conspiracy and other theories continued to circulate. distributed online.
“There is a small minority who believe in these things and engage with them,” said Aleksandra Cichocka, a professor of political psychology at the University of Kent. “But they can be really upsetting for the family and the whole investigation process.”
Mr. Slater was attending a music festival on the island with a friend, according to a statement from his mother, Debbie Duncan, through the missing persons organization LBT Global. On the last night of the festival, Mr. Slater left with two people he met at the event to go to their apartment in a more remote part of the island, according to Lucy Law, a friend who was with him and provided details on an online fundraising page for his family.
The next morning, June 17, Mrs. Law said that Mr. Slater had told her on the phone that he was lost in the mountains, thirsty and had no battery on his phone. He called another friend, who told the British news media that Mr. Slater had decided to take a “little drop” along a road. That morning was the last time anyone heard from him.
For nearly two weeks, authorities on Tenerife have been combing the area around Masca, a mountain village near a nature reserve, with the help of specialized sniffer dogs. Temperatures on the island, off the northwest coast of Africa, have hovered around 27 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit).
Spain’s Civil Guard has confirmed few details about the case. Over the weekend, before calling off the search, they asked for volunteers with experience in rough terrain, British news media reported.
The search took place against a backdrop of frenetic attention from British news channels and makeshift conspiracy theorists. In Facebook groups, one of which has more than 600,000 members, onlookers followed Mr Slater’s last known steps and scanned live streams from Tenerife in the hope of a sign from him. Some people — from climbing Influencers Unpleasant crime investigators — traveled to the island to assist in the search.
“We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites and can only describe this as disgusting,” Ms Duncan said. “The negative comments are extremely hurtful to our family.”
However, Ms. Duncan, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and several friends of the teen reportedly welcomed some offers of help from TikTok searchers. But the flood of attention also included many unfounded theories and conspiracies, and Mr Slater’s family told British news media that they feared that online speculation had hampered the investigation.
Leaders of a group who said they had contact with the family criticized the spread of conspiracies on platforms like TikTok.
Mr Slater’s employer, PH Build Group, said on Facebook last week that it had received harassing emails: “Everyone may have their own theories and feelings, but to make them public, knowing you are going to hurt people, is just cruel.”
Tenerife authorities confirmed in an email on Tuesday that while the official search had ended, the investigation was still ongoing until it was clear what had happened to Mr Slater.
“We just want to find him,” said Mrs. Duncan.
Conspiracies can generate a lot of attention and engagement on social media, Ms. Cichocka said. Sharing them, she said, can make people feel like they are bringing order to a chaotic situation, even one they are not really involved in.
“It’s a coping mechanism that helps people deal with an unmanageable reality,” Ms. Cichocka said.
In the grand scheme of things, the number of people creating and sharing these theories is often small. But because of the speed at which misinformation spreads, small groups can have immense influence.
Other cases have also sparked intense online speculation. The family of Nicola Bulley, a 45-year-old woman from Lancashire, England, who died in 2023 after falling into a river, criticized the widespread theories on social media following her death, even after a coroner’s report found no third-party involvement. Ms Bulley’s family urged the public to “look at the facts, the evidence” and ignore any amateur opinions, adding that people “need to be aware of the impact that words have.”
Earlier this month, Greek authorities found the body of Dr. Michael Mosley, a British medical journalist and documentary filmmaker who authorities say likely died of natural causes. His disappearance sparked an intensive search on the Greek island of Symi.
