THE heartbroken sister of a Brit who vanished in Tenerife nearly exactly 20 years before Jay Slater has told how they were warned about the island’s dark side.
Kevin Ainley, then 24, disappeared without a trace on June 14, 2004 – and his distraught family have never had any answers.
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Chillingly, Jay, 19, went missing almost exactly two decades later on June 17.
Both young men had their whole lives ahead of them, and both vanished as England were playing the Euros.
Jay went missing the morning after the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0 in their road to the final, while Kevin vanished after England lost 2-1 to France.
The two men were also from Lancashire – with Kevin being from Fleetwood, less than 40 miles from Jay’s home of Oswaldtwistle.
The chilling echoes between both cases are hard to ignore – and The Sun previously revealed that Tenerife has been dubbed the “worst place” to go missing in Spain.
Some 82 people remain listed as missing across the Canary Islands, according to search organisation SOS Desaparecidos.
And Kevin’s family know the agony facing Jay’s – and the struggle for answers to ease their heartache.
Speaking to The Sun as the search for the 19-year-old has now been going on for almost four weeks, Kevin’s family also revealed of the popular holiday island’s dark side.
During the search, they were warned of corruption and crime – even being encouraged not to fly to join the hunt for Kevin as it was dangerous.
Kevin’s sister Gemma Brooke told The Sun: “It’s very similar, the fact it’s also Kevin’s 20 year anniversary, the Euros are playing.
“It’s heartbreaking to see. The island is a very dangerous place.”
Kevin, from Fleetwood, Lancashire, moved to the island in February 2004 to work in pubs and bars in Playa de las Americas.
But four months later, his family got a call from a man in Tenerife saying he was worried something had happened to Kevin.
Gemma said: “He told us Kevin had been missing for a week. This was the start of our nightmare.
“Mum went to the police station in Fleetwood to report him missing.
“We didn’t know what to do, we expected he would just show up I suppose.
“We never expected to be here 20 years on.”
Kevin was last seen walking in the direction of a bar called the Sportsman in an area of Playa de las Americas known as “The Patch”.
He had gone for a lunch with a pal at around noon at a Chinese buffet restaurant called Merlins.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay was also last spotted walking on the island.
He was trying to walk back to his hotel after going back to an Airbnb in Masca with two “new friends” after a night of partying in Playa de las Americas.
Jay was reported missing by pal Lucy Mae Law after he embarked on a treacherous 11-hour trek through rocky terrain.
Panicked Jay had made a final call to Lucy to say he was lost, needed water and had one per cent phone battery.
It sparked a mammoth search involving drones, sniffer dogs and helicopters that failed to find any trace of the teen.
Jay’s parents Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater were left “blindsided” when the search was halted after less than two weeks.
Dad Warren, 58, blasted the search operation as he claimed “everything stinks”.
But Gemma said the hunt for her brother lacked any effort two decades ago.
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The dark side of Tenerife
By Georgie English and David Ross
AN EX-COP revealed some of the main players involved in Tenerife’s chilling underworld from the Russian mafia to “serious players” from Britain.
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley spoke about how “alarm bells” started ringing after cops on the island let one key lead in the disappearance of Jay Slater go – despite their criminal links.
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley spoke about how “alarm bells” started ringing after cops on the island let one key lead in the disappearance of Jay Slater go – despite their criminal links.
With global organised crime also said to be on the rise in Tenerife.
Thousands of Brits arrive each summer to enjoy the sandy beaches, vibrant nightlife and cheap alcohol all on offer in several of the island’s top resorts.
But along with the blaring music and the sound of boozy tourists a much more sinister world exists – fuelled by a fight for drugs and territory.
An intense and brutal battle to control the island’s main trade points in Costa Adeje and in Playa de las Americas has plagued the area for years.
Peter told The Sun: “This is a region that has some notoriously dangerous people operating.
“It’s an unsavoury fact of life that in certain parts of southern Spain and on some of the Spanish islands there are very unpleasant people who are major players in global organised crime.”
The former top cop named “serious players” from Britain, the Russian mafia and even some Scandinavian countries as having connections to Tenerife and the surrounding areas.
It comes as Mark Williams-Thomas, a private investigator helping out Jay’s family, has previously claimed the teen vanishing may be linked to an “established criminal network” in Tenerife.
She said: “They [police in Tenerife] didn’t seem interested, no search party was organised, no contact with us as his family.
“It’s like his life didn’t mean anything but to us as a family he means everything.
“They have never searched for him like they have for Jay Slater.
“And 20 years ago there was no social media like there is today. Kevin never received the publicity he deserved.”
Jay’s family have begged British police to get involved in the investigation into his disappearance.
But Lancashire Police said again this week they would not be able to help without an invitation from Spanish authorities.
They previously offered to fly out and help track down Jay, but were shot down by Tenerife cops.
Gemma told how Spanish cops also made it difficult for their British counterparts to help look for Kevin.
They have never searched for him like they have for Jay Slater
Gemma Brooke
She said: “Police in Tenerife didn’t seem bothered.
“They made no attempts to search for him and in fact made it difficult for British police to investigate as it was out of our jurisdiction.
“With little support from Spanish authorities approximately 18 months later, they allowed British police 48 hours on the island to investigate and check DNA against a number of unidentified bodies.
“None of these were Kevin.
“We were advised that it was a unsafe place with corruption and crime being extremely high.
“We were advised not to visit the island or go searching for him as we may put ourselves in danger.”
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Gemma said her family believe Kevin is no longer alive as all his belongings were found at his apartment.
But she said the torment of not knowing what happened to her beloved brother has left her family in anguish for 20 years.
She added: “It’s indescribable the pain we feel.
“How can he just vanish, it’s so out of character and we know he wouldn’t do this to us.
“We are extremely close as a family, it’s only ever been us, we have each other, and he is missing.
“The major crime team now oversee Kevin’s case but nothing is happening. No further leads, nothing.
“We sit here still hoping someone somewhere will speak out.”
Kevin is described as 5ft 10in in height and of medium build, with blue eyes and brown short hair.
He was wearing a dark t-shirt and blue Ellesse tracksuit when he vanished and has distinctive tattoos on his arms – including the name “Kevin”, a little devil and a Native American woman.
Despite a Spanish investigation and a Lancashire Police review of the case in 2012, no conclusive information has come to light.
The Lost of Tenerife
By Katie Davis
JAY Slater is one of 11 people who have gone missing in Tenerife in the last six months.
Authorities on the island are investigating the disappearances of several tourists.
They include:
Marc Francis Olbrechts
Belgian national Marc Francis, 71, vanished on April 24.
He was last seen in Adeje, southwest Tenerife.
His wife Laura Gaston, 66, was found floating off the east coast by a fisherman.
There was a bag over Laura’s head and she was missing one hand and both legs.
Three people were arrested over her death.
Mariel González Gutiérrez and Sebastian Cobos Gonzalez
Mariel González Gutiérrez, 27, and Sebastian Cobos Gonzalez, two, were reported missing on March 21.
They were last known to be Santa Cruz – and the Desaparecidos Association said it is investigating a possible case of child abduction.
Authorities fear the pair may have left the island and gone to another country.
Marek Siedlecki
Marek Siedlecki, from Poland, disappeared on June 14.
It is understood the Polish national was heading to Lanzarote, where he planned to fly home.
Local media reports Marek was sailing his boat when he was last seen in the water.
Natalia Belavus and Vladimir Marcella
Vladimir Marcella and his mum Natalia Belavus, 28, vanished on March 27.
Authorities are probing whether it is “parental abduction”.
The pair are claimed to be in Belarus, where Natalia is from, and have been pictured on social media since, according to local reports.
Rayco Garcia Diaz
Rayco Garcia Diaz was reported missing on March 15 from Barranco Hondo-Candelaria.
Officials say the 44-year-old was last known to be driving a silver Ford KA.
Authorities say Rayco is “vulnerable”.
Noelia Hernandez Martin
Noelia Hernandez Martin, 17, was last seen on January 23.
She reported missing from San Cristóbal de La Laguna in northern Tenerife.
Marek J
Marek went missing from Vallerhermosa, a village in La Gomera.
Authorities were alerted on June 8.
Juan Cabrera Gonzalez
Juan Cabrera Gonzalez, 60, was reported missing on January 13.
He was last seen in La Orotava.
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