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'False' sighting of missing British teenager sparks police to move search area

19 June 2024 , 15:44
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Brit Jay Slater, 19, is missing in Tenerife (Image: Instagram)
Brit Jay Slater, 19, is missing in Tenerife (Image: Instagram)

Police in Tenerife have returned to the original search location for missing Brit Jay Slater - after a 'false report' led to them switch their search to a different part of the Island.

Jay, 19, remains missing after travelling to Tenerife on holiday with friends to attend a three-day rave. Officers said earlier that "information that’s been received" so far has helped progress the search. Jay, an apprentice bricklayer, last spoke to his friends on Monday, June 17. Since then, sniffer dogs and mountain rescue experts have scoured the Island in search for the teen.

Police in Tenerife have now returned to the mountains in north-west of the Island to search for Jay, after a false report caused them to move their search to the opposite end of the Island. Officers are once again focusing on the tourist resorts of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas following an alleged sighting of Jay, which was eventually found to be false.

'False' sighting of missing British teenager sparks police to move search area eiqruidrhieprwJay last spoke to his friends on June 17 (MEN Media)
'False' sighting of missing British teenager sparks police to move search areaJay pictured with mum Debbie (Facebook)

Earlier today, a spokesman for the Civil Guard told how the search had moved to the opposite end of the Island. The spokesperson said at 12.30pm local time: “The search operation has moved to the south of the island. The search areas are Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas.”

The spokesman wasn’t able to offer any more detail on the reason for the switch but added: “It’s obviously down to information that’s been received as the investigation has progressed. As things stand at the moment the search in the mountainous area near Masca in the north has been halted.”

Woman falls to death from 60ft-high flat window putting up Christmas decorationsWoman falls to death from 60ft-high flat window putting up Christmas decorations

Police have now returned to the mountain area around Rural de Teno Park to look for Jay.

'False' sighting of missing British teenager sparks police to move search areaA map shows the original location of the search (Facebook)

Officers said this morning they were keeping an open mind on Jay’s mystery disappearance as the third day of a Tenerife mountain search got underway. A Civil Guard spokeswoman in Tenerife said just before 11am local time today, before it emerged a search had begun in the south a 45-minute drive from the Masca area: “We are still searching for the missing man.

"The search operation is being conducted by the Civil Guard and different units are participating. They include the helicopter unit, the cynological unit which uses dogs, the Greim mountain rescue and intervention unit and citizen security patrols.

“The helicopter unit has one helicopter which has been participating in the search since it began on Monday. We’re not going to talk about the number of officers involved but it’s a large operation. The focus area is the area where we were informed the missing man had disappeared which is the narrow valley within the Teno Massif called the Masca Gorge."

Zahra Khaliq

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