Jay Slater's family vow to carry on looking for missing teenager after police call off search in Tenerife
30 June 2024, 22:18
The family and friends of Jay Slater have vowed to continue looking for the missing teenager in Tenerife after police called off their search.
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It has been almost two weeks since the 19-year-old from Lancashire was last seen.
The Civil Guard had called for volunteers to join a "massive search" in the Masca area of the island on Saturday.
However, the force confirmed on Sunday the search has ended but that they are keeping the investigation open.
Despite this, family friend Rachel Hargreaves has said Mr Slater's loved ones have no intention of leaving the island.
Ms Hargreaves, the mother of Mr Slater's best friend Brad Hargreaves, said: "We're just carrying on searching ourselves."
She said they were continuing to cooperate with TikTok mountaineer Paul Arnott who has helped with the search in the last week.
She added: "We're looking for whoever we can find with mountain rescue experience and will carry on searching the area."
Mr Slater disappeared on June 17 at the Mirador de la Cruz de Hilda, near Masca.
The search for him has included help from a helicopter, drones and a unit of dogs specialized in searches in large areas.
He attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island - which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
On Friday, the Guardia Civil appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a "busqueda masiva", or massive search, to take place on Saturday.
A helicopter, drones and a unit of dogs specialized in searches in large areas arrived from Madrid, and the Guardia Civil maintains that all the hypotheses remain open.
Spanish police also confirmed that two British men potentially involved were "not relevant" despite speculation.
There has been mystery around two British men who went north towards Masca from the festival with Mr Slater, but police have said in an update they are "not relevant".
Mr Slater attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island - which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
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 was on the phone walking down a road and he'd gone over a little bit - not a big drop - but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said 'I'll ring ya back, I'll ring ya back' because I think someone else was ringing him."
He confirmed he could see his friend's feet "sliding" down the hill and could hear he was walking on gravel.
But, Mr Hargreaves said he and his friend were both laughing at that point. He added: "He didn't seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was."
He told the programme he still had hope for Mr Slater and was "praying" for him to come home.
