Missing holidaymaker Jay Slater vanished without trace three weeks ago and his family have been left heartbroken by several conspiracy theories that have been circulating online. The 19-year-old disappeared after he left an Airbnb in the village of Masca in Tenerife - an 11-hour walk away from his accommodation. His family arrived on the Spanish island shortly after he went missing and joined in the widespread searches to find him.
But the case has been dogged by conspiracy theories rapidly spreading on social media, many of which are unproven. Those closest to the teenager have spoken about how damaging it has been to read the viral comments. Here are nine theories that have been widely discussed and how they have affected Slater's family, reports the Mirror.
Did he get into trouble at the Airbnb One theory states the teen got into some kind of trouble during his stay at the remote Airbnb the night before he vanished with the men he stayed with. The case took a sinister turn when it was revealed last week that one of the last people to see him was a convicted drug dealer. There is no suggestion that the man, named Ayub Qassim, is suspected of having done anything wrong.
TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who flew to Tenerife to help find Jay, claimed on Sunday that Qassim, 31, was jailed nine years ago for orchestrating a scheme to inundate Wales with Class A drugs and is the mystery "Johnny Vegas" who drove Slater to the holiday rental.al. The decision which 'baffled' Jay's.