'New clue' found by TikTok sleuths in Tenerife in search for missing teenager Jay Slater
1 July 2024, 15:14 | Updated: 2 July 2024, 08:45
A "new clue" has been found in the search for 19-year-old Jay Slater who went missing in Tenerife two weeks ago.
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The amateur detectives who jetted out to the Canary Islands to join the hunt claim to have found his missing sunglasses near the village of Masca.
The pair of sunglasses - similar to the ones Jay was last seen wearing - were found close to where his mobile phone last pinged in the Rural de Teno Park.
It is thought the "clue" could assist those searching for him and provide crucial information on his whereabouts.
The search for the teen was called off on Sunday after the Civil Guard called for volunteers to join a “massive search” in the Masca area of the island on Saturday.
However, Spanish police said that the investigation remains open.
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Jay 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.
There has been mystery around two British men who went north towards Masca from the festival with Mr Slater.
They were initially declared “key witnesses” but later dismissed as “not relevant”.
It comes after Jay’s parents said they were “heartbroken and devastated” after the Spanish police announced their decision to call off the search for the teenager on Sunday.
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."
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.
