Jay Slater cops give update as drones and dogs sent to scour place teen’s phone lost signal in ‘intense’ search
COPS searching for missing Brit teen Jay Slater have given an update on their hunt as drones and dogs scour the area where his phone lost signal.
Expert reinforcements were seen searching the Tenerife landscape near where the 19-year-old vanished without a trace last week.
The Civil Guard has launched helicopter patrols of the “rugged terrain” where the British teen went missing on June 17, a spokesman said.
They added: “We are continuing with the search operation to find the young British man who went missing on June 17 near the village of Masca in the municipality of Buenavista del Norte.
“Several Civil Guard units continue to carry out, both on foot and by helicopter, intense and repeat searches through the ravines, paths and trails of the rugged terrain.
“They are accompanied by the sniffer dogs belonging to the Civil Guard’s Canine Unit specialised in the search for people.”
Dog units from Madrid joined the search yesterday as experts in working on larger areas of land, the Civil Guard revealed.
The previous canines from Tenerife were trained for smaller searches.
Teams are focusing on the Masca Gorge and the area to the north which includes forest trails and paths as the desperate hunt continues.
Jay vanished on Monday last week while on holiday with two friends for the 2024 Tenerife NRG festival.
On Sunday night 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.
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
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
Jay’s distraught parents have spoken to the press following their son’s disappearance.
Mum Debbie Duncan, who flew out on Tuesday, sobbed as she begged for help to find Jay.
It comes as pals from Lancashire also arrived to help hunt for the teen.
Debbie 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.”
And dad, Warren Slater, broke down in tears as he described the week since Jay vanished as “a living hell” and 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.
Locals in Santiago del Teide claim they spotted the 19-year-old on a bench 10 hours after his last phone call.
Investigators are also examining CCTV from outside the town’s church that appears to show a young man.
Mayor Emilio Jose Navarro said local cops received reports about Jay watching the tournament “on the coast”.
He said “The local city hall police have had some interviews with people that could have seen him.
“Some people think he may have been in the coastal area of the municipality, they saw him celebrating in a bar over the days they have been Euro cup matches.”
He added: “We know the judicial police is investigating the city hall security cameras, which are more for tourism purposes than security.
It comes as it was revealed bar staff among the last people to see Jay broke their silence on the “horrible” situation as they give out a chilling warning to tourists.
And chilling pictures showed inside the Airbnb where Jay partied before he went missing.
The night before his last known sighting, Jay left a music festival with two new pals who had hired a car.