My brother vanished in Tenerife during Euros 20 years ago just like Jay Slater – we were warned about island’s dark side

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.

Kevin Ainley, then 24, disappeared without a trace on June 13, 2004 in Tenerife

Kevin pictured with his siblings as a child

Supplied

Gemma Brooke, Kevin Ainley’s sister[/caption]

The search for Jay has entered its fourth week with his family scouring TenerifePA

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.

Kevin had moved to Tenerife to work – and vanished in June 2004

Lanchashire police

A missing poster for Kevin Ainley who vanished 20 years ago in Tenerife[/caption]

Facebook

Jay Slater vanished on the island of Tenerife in June after a festival[/caption]

Jay was pictured partying with pals hours before he disappearedFacebook

Ayub Qassim was one of the last people to see Jay Slater – taking the teen back to his Airbnb

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.

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.”

Doug Seeburg

Doug Seeburg

Emergency workers look for missing Jay Slater in the mountains near Masca in Tenerife[/caption]

Reuters

The Masca ravine where the search for Brit teenager Jay Slater took place[/caption]

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.