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Jay Slater: ‘Massive search’ for missing teenager begins almost two weeks after 19-year-old’s disappearance
A “massive search” for British teenager Jay Slater is under way in Tenerife, almost two weeks after the apprentice bricklayer went missing.
The Civil Guard said they would step up their search for the 19-year-old after appealing for volunteer associations and individuals with experience in navigating difficult terrain to help them.
Police and volunteers began their search at 9am in the village of Masca, near Mr Slater‘s last-known location, and are trying to retrace his steps.
The Spanish police force said the search would be co-ordinated to take in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.
Mr Slater was at the New Rave Generation music festival and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north on 17 June – about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
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Appeal for volunteers in Jay Slater search
Sky’s North of England correspondent Shingi Mararike in Tenerife said the search “is perhaps a final push from the Civil Guard to make some kind of headway”.
Juan Garcia, an experienced hiker, is among the volunteers and is going to walk through tough terrain with his sniffer dog.
“I think for myself, if something happened to one of my sons… I would like people to help me to solve this case,” he told Sky News as he prepared to set off.
“Sometimes, even with only the police it’s hard because this is a very difficult area and you need a lot of experience walking.
“[There are] a lot of bushes and it’s very hard to walk and even in a few kilometres it takes a lot of time and it’s not so easy.”
The festival is a short drive from Jay Slater’s accommodation
Jay Slater was last heard from near Masca, which is far further away from the festival
Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared while trying to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus on Monday last week.
He was last pictured at Papayago, the nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.
Slater seen by cafe owner
After the event ended, he got in a car with two men, travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca, where 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 saw him at 8am on 17 June, and added: “He asked twice what time the bus came.
“He came back and he asked me again, and I told him again, at 10 o’clock. Later I got in my car, and I saw him, he was walking quickly, but I didn’t see him again after that.”
She said he was walking in the wrong direction.
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Last phone call
It comes after one of Mr Slater’s friends told ITV’s This Morning about his last video call with the 19-year-old.
Brad Hargreaves said he saw the missing teenager’s feet slide on rocks during a call at around 8.30am, saying that is how he knew Mr Slater was not on a road.
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He then said Mr Slater went down a “little drop” in one of his last video calls, and added: “He said, ‘look where I am’.
“He didn’t seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was. 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’.”
Search teams coordinated by the Civil Guard have since mounted a huge manhunt using helicopters, drones and search dogs to scour mountainous areas of the island, but are yet to find the teenager.