Jay Slater friend says he saw teen slipping down hill in video call moments before he went missing

Published

2 days ago

June 28, 2024

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Police in Tenerife have called for volunteers to take part in a large-scale search for missing Jay Slater – as the British teenager’s friend revealed details of a video call the pair had shortly before he vanished.

Officials said it would take place on Saturday in the village of Masca on the Spanish island.

In a statement, police said: “The Guardia Civil prepares and coordinates a large search to find the young British man missing in the village of Masca.

“The collaboration of all those volunteer associations is requested: Civil protection, firefighters, etc., and even private volunteers who are experts in the abrupt search terrain.

“The massive search will be carried out on Saturday, 29 June from 9am.

“Bearing in mind that this is an abrupt, rocky area, full of unevenness and with a multitude of ravines, paths and roads, the collaboration of all those associations of volunteers who can help in this raid that is intended to be carried out in a directed and coordinated manner is requested,” the statement said.

Police said volunteers should call the Guardia Civil before 8pm this evening if they want to join the search.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.

The apprentice bricklayer had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and was last heard from on Monday last week.

The walk from Mr Slater’s last known location, Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island, to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.

Meanwhile, one of Mr Slater’s friends told ITV’s This Morning about his last video call with the 19-year-old.

Brad, a close friend of Mr Slater, said yes to the reporter’s question as to whether he saw the missing teenager’s feet slide on rocks. He said that is how he knew Mr Slater was not on a road, and described the sound as when someone is walking on gravel or stones.

Brad added that Mr Slater went down a “little drop” in one of his last video calls.

He said the missing teenager was not concerned and that they were both “laughing” about the situation.

“He said, ‘look where I am’. He didn’t seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he were,” Brad said.

“I said, ‘put your location on’. He said: ’15-minute drive, 14-hour walk’. I don’t know if it’s accurate or not so I said to him: ‘It’s only a 15-minute drive, get a taxi’.”

New search could be the final push

Shingi Mararike, Sky News correspondent, in Tenerife

Almost as soon we arrived today to cover the search for Jay Slater in this sprawling national park, things felt different.

The police presence was smaller, with fewer vehicles and officers. They appeared to have stopped searching the caves and ravines they’d honed in on earlier this week.

Instead, the small team of officers drove towards some of the nearby hamlets along the twisting, narrow road, before turning around and coming back to the observation point near where Jay’s phone is thought to have been last located.

There, they stopped for an animated discussion. As they gestured towards parts of the rural, arid landscape, it was clear they were coordinating and planning.

Then, within minutes, came an update from the Civil Guard. Tomorrow at 9am they would be re-doubling their efforts to find Jay, working with other emergency services and even inviting the help of volunteers with experience in traversing difficult terrain.

That landscape presents a clear challenge, but another issue for those searching tomorrow will be just how busy the area of Masca is.

It’s a compact town full of hikers and tourists, a busy place from early in the morning.

The search party will have to navigate all of these obstacles as they attempt to retrace the teenager’s last-known steps and find clues for what may have happened to him.

Tomorrow marks the 13th day searching for Jay Slater and this is perhaps a final push from the Civil Guard to make some kind of headway.

Even with more resources and manpower, it will be a gruelling day for all those involved.

Today’s police statement comes as Mr Slater’s family welcomed the help of a TikTok creator among those leading an online search for the missing teenager.

Sky News spoke earlier this week to Paul Arnott, who has been sharing clips of his own search effort on TikTok and said he came to Tenerife when he heard the family “needed help”.

According to The Daily Telegraph, his efforts attracted the interest of Mr Slater’s family, who contacted him and arranged a meeting on Thursday.

“They said they’re really proud of what I’m doing,” Mr Arnott, 29, told the newspaper.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, told the paper she has “every faith” in the police and singled out Mr Arnott, who runs the TikTok account Down the Rapids and describes himself as an “explorer”, and another TikTok creator Callum Rahim for thanks.

“[I] can’t thank Paul Arnott enough, also Callum Rahim and his friends for working alongside with the search and rescue teams,” she said.

“Myself, well, you know the state of my mental health and my paranoia, you saw it first hand. As a family, we are in a living nightmare.”

Social media has also had a dark side for the family, with Ms Duncan and her son’s friends at the centre of conspiracy theories.

The construction company that employs Mr Slater shared a post on Facebook earlier on Thursday urging people to stop sending them “cruel” emails and to stop posting theories online.

Also on Thursday, Ms Duncan said £36,000 raised by more than 3,200 donations will help cover her accommodation and food costs during her extended stay on the island as well as support rescue teams.

UK

England survive scare against Slovakia to book spot in Euro 2024 quarter-finals

Published

6 hours ago

June 30, 2024

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England survive scare against Slovakia to book spot in Euro 2024 quarter-finals

England survived a scare to book their place in the quarter-finals at Euro 2024 after beating Slovakia 2-1 in extra-time.

Gareth Southgate’s team fell behind in the 25th minute when Ivan Schranz put Slovakia into a shock lead and they looked to be heading out of the tournament as the game went into injury time.

However, Jude Bellingham produced a moment of brilliance to score a stunning equaliser with seconds to spare and send the last-16 tie to extra-time.

Captain Harry Kane put England in the lead early in the first half of extra-time and they held on, despite some nervy moments.

Bellingham told reporters the team’s success may spur them on in the rest of the competition and described his goal as “one of the most important moments of my career so far”.

England looked disappointing in the first half and at half-time, manager Gareth Southgate failed to make any changes.

In the second half, however, England got closer with two attempts to score, although Phil Foden’s goal was disallowed by VAR and Declan Rice’s shot came off the post.

Southgate’s side now faces Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-final on Saturday.

Were they to reach the last four, they would then play in a semi-final on Wednesday 10 July.

UK

Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

Published

6 hours ago

June 30, 2024

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Jay Slater: Search for missing British teenager in area of Tenerife called off by police

The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance.

The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.

The Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area – near his last-known location – on Saturday.

It has now confirmed to Sky News that the search has ended. Police are keeping the investigation open and could yet open up searches in the south of the island, but have not provided an update.

A handful of volunteers turned up to help rescue teams on Saturday, forming a total group of 30 to 40 people scouring a huge area of rugged and hilly terrain.

Mr Slater, 19, had been on holiday with friends on the Spanish island and was last pictured at Papayago, a nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.

After the event ended, he got in a car travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said on Saturday are “not relevant” to the case.

His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island – which is about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

A local cafe owner told Sky News he tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.

Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8am on 17 June, telling him a bus was due at 10am – but he set off walking and she said she later drove past him “walking fast”.

The apprentice bricklayer called a friend holidaying with him at around 8.30am on 17 June and said he was going to walk back after missing the bus.

He also told his friend he was lost and in need of water, with only 1% charge on his phone.

On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.

He said he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and hear he was walking on gravel.

Meanwhile, Mr Slater’s family shared a blurry image of what they believe could be the missing teenager captured on CCTV in a nearby town 10 hours after he was first reported missing.