This week marks one year since 19-year-old Jay Slater went missing in Tenerife. His disappearance sparked a major manhunt, spawned conspiracy theories, and highlighted a number of other cases of Brits inexplicably vanishing on the Spanish island.
Jay had travelled to Tenerife with friends, and partied until the early hours of June 17, 2025, at the NRG music festival. It was the first time he had gone away on holiday without his parents. He left the nightclub with two men he'd met on the island, and was driven back to their Airbnb, 30 miles from where he was staying in Playa de Las Américas. After both men went to bed, he left the property in the Masca area and called friends, saying he planned to make his way home but that his phone was dying and he had no water. Then he disappeared.
With his friends unable to find him, Jay's desperate family flew from their home in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire and waited as search parties scoured the mountainous terrain near to where he was last seen. Their torment came to an end when Jay's remains were found at the bottom of a ravine on 15 July. A preliminary autopsy by the Spanish authorities said he had died as a result of head injuries sustained in a fall from a great height. His body was repatriated back to England, and British investigations uncovered the same findings, noting that toxicology results suggested he had ingested drugs and alcohol before his death.
Jay's disappearance made headlines for weeks, and his family's pain was yet further compounded by conspiracy theories that started to surface. Speculation about the circumstances surrounding his case ranged from cruel rumours he was a drug dealer killed over a debt, to unfounded claims the GoFundMe page set up by his friend Lucy was simply a way to cash in, and that he would then reappear.
Jay's friends and relatives did ultimately receive closure - albeit with the worst possible outcome. But for other British families, they continue to live with the uncertainty of what happened to their loved ones. We take a close look at some of the ongoing cases involving missing Brits in Tenerife…
Billy Bennett
Billy Bennett's family have been waiting more than 40 years for answers. Billy was 18 years old when he inexplicably vanished at the end of 1985. The teen, who was from Holborn, London, had initially planned to visit the island with a friend, but they dropped out at the last minute - and Billy decided to go alone. He is said to have been a regular on the party circuit in Playa de Las Américas, a seaside resort famous for its bars and nightclubs. Billy was frequently spotted at the popular Sergeant Peppers disco pub, although his funds are believed to have quickly run out, leaving him with nowhere to stay. Billy's friend flew out later with his girlfriend and said he met up with Billy a handful of times - and that he seemed "worse for wear", and had lost all his money. Despite extensive inquiries, Billy's whereabouts remain unknown to this day.
Kevin Ainley
Another Brit who disappeared without a trace is Kevin Ainley. He was 24 when he went missing in June 2004, having moved to Playa de las Americas in March of that year. He was working as a promoter at the Sportsman bar in a popular area known as 'the patch'. Prior to his disappearance, Kevin had been out to bars and clubs with a friend, before having a meal at Merlin Chinese buffet restaurant. The last confirmed sighting of Kevin was walking towards the Sportsman bar after dinner - on the same night France beat England 2-1 with an injury-time penalty in the UEFA European Championships. When Kevin failed to turn up for work, his friends raised the alarm with police and his family in the UK. His personal belongings and passport were later found in his apartment. In a 2016 interview with the BBC, his sister Gemma Brooke said the family was "desperate for answers". "It is no exaggeration to say we have been put through 12 years of hell," she said at the time. "Somebody must know something." Described as approximately 5ft 10in in height and of medium build, with blue eyes and brown short hair, Kevin was last seen wearing a dark T shirt and blue Ellesse tracksuit. He has distinctive tattoos on his arms including the name 'Kevin', a little devil and a Native American woman. In 2005, two officers from Lancashire travelled to Tenerife to help local police search but were unable to discover any substantial leads. They appealed to anyone who may have witnessed a possible altercation between Mr Ainley and door staff at the Café Del Moar in the early hours of the morning he vanished.
Ricky D'Cotta
The disappearance of Ricky D'Cotta remains unsolved. The 23-year-old Londoner travelled to Tenerife in March 1987 to experience the club scene - and was never seen again. Ricky had found work on the island in the Sargeant Peppers Disco Pub in the Playa De Las Americas resort. His family last heard from him in October 1987, when he called to say he would be coming home soon. And then nothing. A short time after Ricky vanished, his passport and bag were handed in to the police. And the case gained traction in 2001 with the release of a Channel 4 documentary titled Looking for Ricky. The show explored the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, and possible sightings - including one where he was allegedly wandering the island hotspots claiming to be Jesus. Another reported sighting was of him wearing an expensive white suit, and another in a south London clothes shop. It also revealed that tests were carried out to see if Ricky's DNA matched one of five unidentified bodies. But DNA tests using samples from his family proved inconclusive. Ricky's best friend, meanwhile, said he believed that he was murdered after a planned robbery of a local drugs baron went wrong. To date, Ricky has not been found.
Matthew Jackson
Matthew Jackson was 18 when he went missing in Tenerife at around 2am on December 18, 2009. The teenage soldier was on holiday with his girlfriend at the time, but they had a falling out shortly before he vanished. The couple had been staying at the Pearly Grey Ocean Club hotel in the village of Callao Salvaje, near Playa de las Americas. He was last seen jumping over a wall near his hotel in what his girlfriend Amy Taylor, then 18, thought was a prank. He was wearing a red and white Lacoste T-Shirt, grey/beige brown three quarter length trousers and a pair of yellow flip-flops. He did not have his passport or mobile phone with him. The teenager, an electrician and driver with the 16th Signal Regiment based at Elmpt Station in Germany, was on Christmas leave and due back at base on 4 January. His family described him as mature for his age, stating that he would not have gone absent without leave from the Army. His mother, Lyn Jackson, said shortly after his disappearance: "There has not been any news at all, which is why I am going out to do something. The police think he has had an accident and fallen into the sea but obviously I don't want to think that. I do think he is out there somewhere but no-one has seen anything."
Alan Jeffrey
Alan Jeffrey was 25 when he was last seen in Tenerife by his girlfriend on June 10, 2018. The couple were due to return home to Wishaw in North Lanarkshire, Scotland that day - but Alan told her at the last minute that he was going to continue his holiday with some friends while she travelled home alone. Police later said he had indicated he was planning to travel to Marbella in Spain. After weeks without contact, his family reported him missing on June 26, 2018. Alan has not been heard from since. An FCDO Spokesperson told the Mirror it continues to support families in their quest for answers. Anyone with concerns about a missing person abroad can contact the FCDO on +44 (0)20 7008 5000.
