A new Channel 4 documentary has revealed chilling details about the final hours of Jay Slater, the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire who died in Tenerife earlier this year. The programme, titled "The Disappearance of Jay Slater", airs Sunday night and pieces together his tragic last movements through CCTV footage, text messages and family testimony.
Jay had travelled to the Spanish island with friends to enjoy a music festival, but a fateful decision to leave with two strangers would seal his fate. The documentary shows him at Papagayo nightclub just before midnight, before being refused re-entry at 1.12am.
Timeline of tragedy unfolds
CCTV footage reveals Jay's desperate attempts to continue his night out after being turned away from the club. At 2.40am, he messaged friends saying: "Can't get in Papagayo they got marker on me."
According to The Mirror, when friend Lucy Law offered to collect him, Jay replied: "Doesn't matter it's OK. I on a mission." The last confirmed sighting shows him at Tramps nightclub at 3.07am - the final time he would be seen alive.
Hours later, Jay left with two unknown men who drove him 22 miles into the remote mountain village of Masca. From there, he attempted the treacherous walk back to his accommodation on foot through dangerous terrain.
Desperate emergency call captured
In heartbreaking audio of a call to Spanish police, Lucy can be heard explaining the dire situation. She told officers: "My friend he's met some people, and they've drove him up into the mountains… he said he feels like he's going to die up there. And then the phone cut off."
The disappearance sparked a massive search operation lasting weeks across the mountainous region. Jay's body was eventually recovered from the remote area where he had been attempting to navigate back to safety.
Haunting final message discovered
The documentary reveals the discovery of a devastating unsent Snapchat message that Jay had drafted to friend Brad. After finally accessing her son's phone, mother Debbie Duncan found the chilling words: "Listen, I'm not going to make it."
Debbie said: "It's kind of like he knew he just wasn't going to make it." The message was never sent, leaving the family to wonder about Jay's final thoughts as he faced the mountain ordeal alone.
Mother campaigns against online speculation
Debbie Duncan speaks openly about how social media conspiracy theories made the family's nightmare "100 times worse" during the search. She describes the online rumours and damaging speculation as unbearable additional torture during an already devastating time.
The grieving mother is now campaigning for tougher laws to crack down on those who spread harmful theories about missing person cases. The documentary follows Jay's friends, family and experts as they seek closure by reconstructing his final hours.
Sources used: "Channel 4", "The Mirror", "Daily Record", "Manchester Evening News", "Yorkshire" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
