Desperate mum of British teen missing in Tenerife 'beside herself with worry' as she flies out to help with search
18 June 2024, 20:25
The desperate mother of a British teenager who went missing in Tenerife has said she is "beside herself with worry" after flying out to help with the search for her son.
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Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, had travelled to the Canary Islands for a weekend music festival with two friends when he disappeared late on Sunday evening.
The teenager was visiting the island with two friends to attend New Rave Generation' (NRG) festival, but chose to stay behind with a group of strangers he had met instead of returning to where he was staying with friends.
During the early hours of Monday, he called one friend sounding disorientated, explaining that he was "in the middle of mountains" with "nothing around".
He added that his phone battery was currently on 1 per cent, that he needed water and "didn't know where he was".
His family have now said they "have never been so worried" for the safety of Jay.
Speaking from the south of the island, his mother Debbie said: "I'm obviously beside myself with worry which is why I've flown out here with my eldest son to do anything we can to help.
"We're just praying the police or someone finds Jay. I know there's a mountain rescue team out and a helicopter.
"Nothing's ever going to be enough when your youngest son's gone missing but it sounds as if the police here are taking this very seriously and doing the best job they can."
She also revealed that she had received "sickening" prank calls from several hidden numbers claiming they had taken Jay and were holding him for ransom.
According to friends, Jay attempted to make his way home alone at around 8am across a mountainous area close to Tenerife's Teno Rural Park.
His phone is believed to have switched off 8:50am.
The last known location registered close to the PR-TF51 hiking trail, several hundred feet above the village of Masca in southern Tenerife.
Read more: Three children missing after day out at Thorpe Park as police launch urgent search
Jay's friends are believed to have contacted local police and the British Embassy in Tenerife on Monday to declare him missing.
He was said to be wearing a white t-shirt, shorts, trainers and a black bag at the time he disappeared.
The British Foreign Office have now said they are in contact with the family.
“We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities,” they said in a statement.
Posting to a Facebook group set up in an effort to locate him, Jessica Rogers, Jays sister-in-law, noted that the family have "had no updates".
One friend wrote on the Facebook site "I can’t take my eyes off the Masca webcam! Been staring at it for hours thinking somehow he’s just gonna dander down them steps. Stranger things have happened eh"
Another wrote: "Hoping jay is found soon, every mothers worst nightmare."
Temperatures in the south of Tenerife peaked at around 26 degrees celsius on Monday.
Before his phone ran out of battery, his last known location registered in the 'Rural de Teno' National Park - a mountainous area popular with hikers.
The park also has a live 24hour webcam which friends have been accessing in a bid to catch a glimpse of the teenager.
Jay's two friends have been frantically searching the island for the 19-year-old since his disappearance and are regularly in contact with police.
Following his disappearance, Jay's mum Debbie said: "I've never been so worried in my life.
"I was there all yesterday, a lovely lady messaged me on Facebook and said she had hired a car and would drive me up there."
