Masca, a tiny village on the island of Tenerife, has become the centre of a desperate search for a missing 19-year-old British man. Jay Slater disappeared on June 17th after leaving the rented flat he had been staying in with a friend. Jay’s phone was later found to have pinged off a mobile phone mast near the top of a nearby valley, but there has been no sign of him since. As each day passes, hopes of finding him alive are dwindling.
Despite the ominous circumstances, the remote area has not been inundated with search parties. Saturday saw a “massive search” organised by the local authorities, but there were less than a dozen volunteers, and in all, fewer than 30 people searched the vast, treacherous terrain. “Sometimes the ground is a little difficult around here,” said one volunteer, who participated because she has a son the same age as Jay. “You need good shoes, you need to be careful. It’s not easy, you have to be prepared.”
Paul Arnott, a climber and social media personality, has been tirelessly searching the area since he arrived on the island in the wake of Jay’s disappearance. His TikTok account has become filled with posts detailing his search for the missing teenager, attracting a following numbering in the hundreds of thousands.
Despite the search’s limited scope, Jay’s family continues to attract support. Donations have been pouring in to help the costs of the search and provide assistance with living expenses as Jay’s mother and father remain on the island awaiting any news. Many others on the island have also been affected, with one local woman joining the search for Jay because she has a son the same age and would want help if something similar were to happen to him.
Despite the efforts of those involved, the fact remains that Jay is still missing, and the search efforts are becoming increasingly difficult and perilous as each day goes by
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