Jay Slater cops search buildings where missing teen’s phone pinged as fireman says ‘it’s strange’ he’s not been found
Earlier a new video of Jay emerged showing him at a rave just hours before he disappeared
TENERIFE cops are searching small buildings in the desolate parkland close to missing Jay Slater’s last known location.
The Brit teen’s phone last pinged in the Rural de Teno park on the north of the island, where search efforts are focusing around a 2,000ft ravine.
Pictures from the mammoth search op today show rescue workers scouring the sparse brush land around two small brick buildings.
One firefighter familiar with the area has said it is “strange” that Jay hasn’t been found yet.
Riccardo, from the Brigada Forestal services, told Manchester Evening News: “It’s very difficult to find people here, because of the ravines and the mountains.
“I’ve seen the case and about the missing boy on the internet… but the days are now passing by and it’s increasingly strange that he hasn’t appeared yet.
“The information we have is that Jay [and his friends] were going to a music festival, and afterwards, the last sign of him was around here in the Teno Rural Park.
“I don’t know if he was walking, hiking… I just don’t know. That’s where I lose the thread.”
Rescue efforts turned their focus on Friday to an area known by locals as “the badlands”, scouring a 2,000ft ravine in the remote park.
Locals and experts warned of the perilous conditions in the area – where the air is “thin”, temperatures change rapidly and the mountains drop sharply to the water below.
As the search enters its seventh day today temperatures are expected to hit as high as 29 degrees.
The UV rating also sits at “extreme” with a figure of 11 and 12 peaking at around 1pm – anything over 11 is classed as extreme and dangerous.
On Friday Lancashire Constabulary offered to help Spain’s Guardia Civil in their efforts to find the teenager.
But Tenerife police rejected the bid and insisted they have the “resources” required to find him.
At least 15 of Jay’s family and friends have flown out to Tenerife to join the search including his parents and brother.
His distraught mum Debbie yesterday said she fears “something untoward” has happened to her missing son.
She told The Guardian of the mammoth search: “I think its been stepped up”, but still worries “something untoward” may have happened to him.
It comes as…
- Jay’s mum gave a tearful plea and said “I just want my baby back”
- Owner of Airbnb where Jay stayed saw him “walking fast” up a dangerous ravine
- Brit cops offered to fly out and help but Spanish officials said no
- Jay’s mum slammed the Tenerife police investigation
- A possible new sighting of Jay placed him 3.5 miles away from where he vanished with two men
- The missing teen’s dad and brother visited the search site
- The GoFundMe set up to raise money for Jay’s family surpasses £30,000 in only three days
WHAT HAPPENED TO JAY?
Jay vanished on Monday while on holiday with two friends for the 2024 Tenerife NRG festival.
On Sunday evening he had gone to a rave with those two friends, Lucy and Brad, but left with two new people he’d just met.
After going back to their accommodation near Masca village, Jay missed the bus home on Monday morning and was faced with a 10-hour walk.
He made a panicked phone call to Lucy Law to tell her he was lost in the middle of nowhere, his phone was about to die and he needed water.
That was the last anyone had heard of him and at around 9am a missing persons report was filed, sparking the huge rescue operation.
Jay’s devastated mum Debbie Duncan, who flew out on Tuesday, sobbed as she begged for help to find her missing son.
She told ITN in an emotional interview on Wednesday: “It’s just an absolute living nightmare. It’s like a dream – it’s like it’s not happening.”
On Saturday a tearful Warren Slater, Jay’s dad, said “I just want my boy back” as he overlooked the search area with his other son Zak.
Jay’s mum Debbie has slammed the investigation into her son’s disappearance for not allowing British cops to contribute.
The mum also told The Guardian she spent eight hours in a police station as they revealed plans for ramping up the rescue effort.
Two new pieces of information came to light on Saturday – including a possible sighting of Jay after he vanished.
Debbie told Mail Online that a witness went to cops and claimed to have seen Jay sitting on a bench with the pair of men 3.5 miles away from his last known location in Santiago del Teide.
Pictures from Santiago del Teide show the church and bench that Jay was allegedly seen sitting on.
The heartbroken mum said she fears “something untoward” has happened to the teen.
And a shocking new picture of the teen showed him wading through a packed rave hours before he vanished on Sunday night.
New footage on Sunday showed Jay at a rave on Sunday before he vanished.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
