The search for a British teenager missing in Tenerife has been going on for 12 days. The Spanish Guardia Civil announced the launch of a massive search for Jay Slater. He appealed to volunteers with appropriate knowledge of working in difficult conditions to come forward to help.
Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire England disappeared on June 17 in Tenerife, near the Teno landscape park in the mountainous, north-western part of the island. The teenager flew with friends to the Canary Islands to attend the NRG music festival. Photos from the evening appeared on social media, showing Jay. Dressed in a gray T-shirt with green patches on the shoulders, he is having fun.
After the party, the 19-year-old was said to have traveled to the northwestern part of the island to spend time with people he met on a night out. According to his friends, he was about to get into a car with two British men he met on holiday.
Massive search
Since his disappearance, there has been a large-scale search on the island involving local police and mountain rescue teams, as well as relatives and friends of the 19-year-old. Drones, helicopters and tracking dogs are also being used. However, after 12 days, he has not been found.
The Spanish Guardia Civil announced Friday that a “massive action” will begin Saturday. It has appealed to volunteers with knowledge and skills in working in difficult terrain to participate in this massive search. The massive search will begin in the morning in the town of Masca.
A spokesman for the force said the area was “steep, rocky, uneven, with lots of gullies, trails and paths”. He described the search area as “huge” and said officers were searching “everywhere”.
Rachel Hargreaves – the mother of the missing man's best friend, Brad – said family and friends are living “second to second” during the search.
His battery was dying, he needed a drink of water
According to Sky News, the last contact with the boy was at around 8am on Monday. He called his friend Lucy Law, with whom he had flown to the island, and said he was walking back to their accommodation because he had missed the bus. It is unclear whether he realised that the journey could take as long as 11 hours, Sky News points out.
The boy told his friend that he was thirsty and that his phone battery was dying. As the girl reported, the 19-year-old informed her that he had “cut his leg on a cactus”. When she told him to go back to where he had started, he said that he didn't know where that was. Then their conversation broke off. Since then, there has been no contact with him.
Main photo source: Reuters