Hunt On for Missing Teen Jay Slater in Tenerife
Spanish cops are racing against time to find 19-year-old Jay Slater, who vanished while holidaying in Tenerife. The Oswaldtwistle lad was last heard from Monday morning. He told a mate he was trying to walk back to his hotel after missing a bus – a trek expected to take 11 hours on foot.
Search Expands from Mountains to Tourist Hotspots
Initially, police targeted the rugged trails of Rural de Teno Park, a fave for hikers. But fresh leads have pushed them to widen the search across southern Tenerife, focusing on the busy resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas – near where Jay was staying.
- Mountain rescue teams, drones, sniffer dogs, and emergency services have combed the terrain since Monday.
- Despite round-the-clock efforts, Jay is still nowhere to be found.
Family Pleads for News as Community Joins Search
Jay’s mum, Debbie Duncan, flew out from Lancashire on Tuesday to aid the search and keep hope alive. She said: “It’s just traumatic, and it doesn’t feel real. I think he’s been taken with what’s been said, but it’s in the hands of the police now.”
Jay had travelled to Tenerife for the NRG Tenerife Weekender music festival – his first solo holiday abroad without parents. Local residents have also rallied, with Shannon Shields commenting: “This is a party island. Normally, missing people turn up in tourist zones, but here’s different – it’s civilisation. Surely he’d have bumped into someone.”
Last Sighting and Ongoing Efforts
Jay was last spotted wearing a white T-shirt, shorts, trainers, and carrying a black bag. His phone’s battery was at 1% when he messaged his friend Lucy, saying he was lost and needed water. The phone died shortly after, showing his last location deep in the mountains.
The Civil Guard on Tenerife assured the public that emergency teams are working relentlessly to find Jay. Debbie praised their work as “very good.”
