A FORMER top cop who tracked down killer Raoul Moat believes the search for Jay Slater in Tenerife is likely now "a recovery operation".
But Sue Sim, ex-chief constable of Northumbria Police, said the teen's best chance of survival would be if a local had taken him into their care.
But Sim said it would be "very surprising" if that was the case as they would have unlikely kept him this long.
Jay, 19, vanished 11 days ago in the mountainous terrain of the island's north after spending all night at a rave.
She told the Sky News Daily podcast: "They [Jay's family] will be hoping that somebody has taken him in.
"As I've stressed before, this is a very very remote area of Tenerife, and not everybody has television, not everybody has radio.
"It would, however, be very very surprising if he'd been kept away for a week so the chances are that this is now, unfortunately, a recovery operation. I must stress that the Guardia Civil have not said that."
Sim added: "They are trying their best to find him, but seven days without water, which he said he had no water, without the appropriate clothing, that is a very very long time to be alone in that sort of terrain."
Jay was last known to be in the remote Teno Rural Park when he made a final frantic call to friend Lucy at around 8.50am on June 17.
He told her he was lost in the "middle of nowhere" with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
An hour and 20 minutes before that, he shared a last Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette.
The snap was taken at an Airbnb near Masca village two British men had hired and taken Jay to after meeting him that night.
It is understood Jay missed the bus back to his accommodation and was facing an 11-hour walk back.
After Jay was reported missing last Monday morning, investigators launched a huge rescue operation involving drones, helicopters and sniffer dogs.
Rescue crews have been focusing their efforts on the 2,000ft Masca ravine in the north, where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower.
Earlier this week, cops in Tenerife drafted in reinforcements from Madrid - including specialist sniffer dogs adept at searching vast areas.
Sim has warned against wannabe sleuths attempting to join the search.
It comes as...
The ex-cop led the manhunt for murderer Raoul Moat back in 2010 after he shot and injured his girlfriend and killed her new partner.
Moat, 37, was tracked down and blinded a police officer before turning the gun on himself following a six-hour stand-off.
Sim said: "I would appeal for people not to do that [join the search].
"The issue is, the Guardia Civil and the mountain rescue team and the people that they have got involved are all trained in this area of work.
"To actually go along as a slightly upgraded armchair detective is not going to help Jay.
"If, as I repeat, if you have any intelligence, any information at all, phone your local police, who will get it out to the Guardia Civil."
It comes as idiot TikTok influencers jet to Tenerife in a bid to join the search for Jay.
Mindless wannabe sleuths have also taken it upon themselves to attempt to investigate Jay's disappearance.
Sat behind their computers 2,000 miles away in the UK, internet trolls are peddling wild conspiracy theories and baseless claims.
Many are using Google maps to scour the desolate Rural de Teno park to hunt for clues before plastering their wild thoughts over social media.
Thousands of keyboard bashers have joined pathetic Facebook groups, including one called Jay Slater Discussions and Theories.
Within the publicly visible groups are dozens of cruel, senseless posts spewing completely unfounded claims and vile comments.
Most are posted anonymously or by trolls using spurious names.
And some TikTok influencers have taken it upon themselves to fly to the island to film themselves hunting for Jay for bizarre vanity projects.
Armed with their cameras and hiking boots, they have recorded themselves trekking through the mountainous scrubland Jay was last known to be in.
Among them are British TikTok vloggers Andrew Knight and Paul Arnott, who have been sharing clips with the legions of followers.
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
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay's dad says his family are in 'a living hell'
TUESDAY 25
Brit hiker found by Jay search teams says he 'didn't need to be saved'
Madeleine McCann cop lands in Tenerife to join search
Tenerife cops call in reinforcements from Madrid - including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim they have spotted Jay watching Euros
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men Jay partied with
Cops scour exact spot where 'mystery grainy figure' was seen
