Jay Slater, a 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared on 17 June while on holiday in Tenerife. Tenerife’s Guardia Civil have now called off the search for the apprentice bricklayer. His mother, Debbie Duncan, thanked the police officers who “worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced”. Helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find Slater, but to no avail. His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island – which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
In a statement, issued through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, Duncan said: “We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance. Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.” Slater went to the holiday island on 13 June to attend the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance. It was Slater’s first holiday abroad without his parents.
The police officers conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available. Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Slater had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation. “We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of inquiries”, added Ms Duncan. On Friday, the Guardia Civil had appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a “busqueda masiva” – massive search – on Saturday.
The search in the village of Masca, near his last-known location, took in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths. Two men said to have rented the Airbnb in Masca, to which Slater had travelled after the festival, were later ruled “not relevant” to the case, according to reports. Slater’s family have appealed for anyone with any potential information to come forward to help the police with their investigations into his disappearance
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