Jay Slater: Hunt for missing teen in Tenerife continues as another day sees no breakthroughs
The hunt for British teenager Jay Slater, who went missing during a holiday in Tenerife, continues as rescue teams appeared to make no breakthroughs after another long day of searches.
Police, firefighters and search and rescue personnel combed a vast area of land in and around the village of Masca on Friday.
Emergency workers met in various locations throughout the day, combing bushes, overgrown terrain, hillsides and rivers but failed to find the missing 19-year-old.
Mr Slater, from Lancashire in England, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.
He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.
Search and rescue personnel carefully looked through dead palm trees covering a river at the bottom of the hillside near to an Airbnb property he had reportedly been driven to.
The owner of the property, who gave her name as Ophelia, told reporters she saw Mr Slater walk up the road past her property but did not see him again after that – describing the situation as worrying.
A post was issued on Facebook on Friday which said Mr Slater’s family and friends were “drained beyond words”.
Helicopters, rescue dogs and drones have been used in an effort to find the teenager, who was last heard from when he called his friend Lucy Law on Monday morning.
Officers have since been seen peering over the hillside and staring intently at the landscape through binoculars near to his last known location close to the village of Masca.
The walk from Mr Slater’s last known location to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.
On the fifth day of the hunt for Mr Slater, search teams paid close attention to a river called Barranco Madre del Agua at the bottom of a ravine, where personnel with sticks carefully searched through fallen dead trees.
They later moved to other areas, focusing a lot of their resources in an area near Rural de Teno park.
In a post on the Facebook page called Jay Slater Missing, the administrator of the group Rachel Louise Harg said family and friends of Mr Slater were in a “living nightmare”.
She said: “There isn’t an update for anyone unfortunately.
“Struggling to find words at this time but all I can say is we are looking still and everyone is doing all they can.
“We are drained beyond words – I just can’t say no more, I wish I could.
“I wish this would end now, this living nightmare. Searches are ongoing and we remain positive.
“Thanks to you all supporting and helping we can’t thank you any more, much love.”
Footage released by the Guardia Civil on Thursday showed the views from a helicopter as it scoured the hillside.
The video, posted to the force’s X, formerly Twitter, account, showed officers searching in bushes and overgrown terrain with dogs.
Ms Law, who attended the NRG music festival with Mr Slater, said he called her at about 8.30am on Monday and told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.
Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, who flew to Tenerife on Tuesday, said searching for her son was “an absolute living nightmare”.
Ms Duncan told ITV News: “He’s the life and soul, he’s a beautiful boy.”
Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers and with a black bag.
A fundraiser set up by Ms Law to “get Jay Slater home” has since received more than £24,500 in donations.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie