Hunt for missing British teenager who disappeared after night out in Tenerife
The family and friends of a British teenager who travelled to Tenerife for a music festival have issued a desperate plea for information after he disappeared.
Jay Slater, 19, went missing after going to stay with people he met on the holiday following a night out, a pal said.
The friend, Lucy Mae, said it was ‘in the middle of nowhere’ and Jay would ‘not have realised’ how far away he was from their accommodation.
Jay’s mum Debbie admitted today she was ‘beside herself with worry’ in her first comments since touching down in the Canary Islands.
Speaking from the south of the island where her son had been staying, she said: ‘I’ve only been in Tenerife for about 10 minutes, and I’ve just had a quick chat with someone from the British Embassy and am waiting for them to call back so I know a bit more.
‘The consulate has been really good so far. I’m obviously beside myself with worry which is why I’ve flown out here with my eldest son to do anything we can to help.
‘We’re just praying the police or someone finds Jay. I know there’s a mountain rescue team out and a helicopter.
‘Nothing’s ever going to be enough when your youngest son’s gone missing but it sounds as if the police here are taking this very seriously and doing the best job they can.’
She added: ‘He’d been at a three-day festival so he would have consumed a fair bit of alcohol but Jay was snapchatting with friends before he went missing and seemed very compos mentis.
‘I just think it was a question of him not knowing the island well enough because it was his first time here and being a bit disorientated when it came to distances and not realising it was a 10-hour walk from where he went missing to his holiday accommodation.’
After it ran out his last location was in ‘the middle of mountains with nothing around’, Lucy said.
The location is in the Rural de Teno Park – or the National Park of Teno – which is popular with hikers.
The closest town is Santiago del Teide. Lucy said she is now frantically searching for her friend on the island.
Speaking to MEN about her friend’s disappearance, she said: ‘He’s gone on a night out, he’s gone to a friend’s house, someone that he has met on holiday.
‘One of the people he has met has hired a car out of here, so he’s driven them back to his apartment and Jay has gone there not realising how far away it is.
‘He’s ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there.’
She added: ‘I’ve never been so worried in my life. I was there all yesterday, a lovely lady messaged me on Facebook and said she had hired a car and would drive me up there.
‘We were there all of yesterday, we were driving around looking around everywhere, looking in all the nooks and crannies.’
Jay was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with shorts and trainers. He was also believed to be carrying a black bag.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: ‘We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.’
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