COPS desperately searching for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife have drafted in reinforcements with specialist sniffer dog teams.
Search dog units trained specially to comb large areas are being flown in from Madrid some 1,300 miles away.
Officers had already been using dogs to comb the "immense" search area around where Jay was last seen.
But search cops say the new dogs are much better trained to handle the vast landscape.
Police also released new footage of today’s search operation which included the dogs brought in at work on the mountainous terrain.
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After going to a rave on June 16, Jay, 19, headed to Masca, on the north of the island, with two British men he had met that evening.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay stayed at their rented Airbnb for a couple of hours before trying to make his way back to his holiday accommodation last Monday morning.
The Sun today revealed Brit cops still have not quizzed the two mystery pals Jay went home with before he vanished.
Before disappearing, he made a final frantic call to friend Lucy Law, telling her he was lost in the "middle of nowhere" with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
Much of the hunt has been focussed on the unforgiving 2,000ft "badlands" Masca ravine.
It is where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower at 8.50am on June 17.
Footage today appeared to show one of the officers calling his dog by the name Sasha and three handlers walking behind it through the undergrowth as it sniffed the ground in front of it.
At one point they walked past the remains of a ruined building before reaching a rugged mountain top.
A spokesman for the force said: “Today several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search.
“These dogs are specifically trained in searching for people over large swathes of land.”
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It comes as...
- Brit cops have not questioned Jay's mystery pals
- Vile trolls share fake death posts on social media
- Cops hunting for Jay rescue a lost Brit hiker in the area the teen vanished
- Jay's mum slams trolls questioning what £33k GoFundMe will be used for
- Teen's family share a CCTV image they believe could be Jay
- Footage obtained by The Sun shows Jay appearing to stagger back to his feet at a club
- The owner of an Airbnb where Jay stayed saw him "walking fast" up a dangerous ravine
- Brit cops offered to fly out and help but Spanish officials said no
- Jay’s mum slammed the Tenerife police investigation
- The missing teen's dad and brother visited the search site
He added: “The difference is that specialisation in large expanses of land.
“The dogs that were already taking part in the operation were trained for searches in smaller areas.”
The number of reinforcements that have been brought in has not been revealed.
Drones, helicopters and dozens of emergency crews have been searching the Rural de Teno National Park and its surroundings in northern Tenerife since Jay vanished more than a week ago.
Today, former British cop Mark Williams-Thomas landed in Tenerife to join the search.
Mark - who probed Madeleine McCann's disappearance - claims he can get answers for Jay's family "in three days".
He also vowed to "track down" the two men Jay was last known to be with.
The holidaymakers were quizzed by local cops at the small cottage before they travelled back to Luton Airport.
Both men are said to hail from Luton, Bedfordshire. One has the nickname ‘Johnny Vegas’.
Cops in the UK revealed they have no intention of speaking with the men, despite growing concerns over Jay.
Lancashire Constabulary, whose offer of assistance was refused by local cops, said it will not pursue the tourists.
Bedfordshire Police, which looks after Luton Airport, will not seek to speak with the men, alongside London's Met.
Meanwhile, Jay's machete attack victim today defended the search for the missing teen and urged sleuths to stop tormenting his family.
Tom Hilton was left with his skull split open when an eight-strong gang - including Jay - ambushed him with a machete, golf clubs and an axe.
Tom, then 17, was left fighting for his life after the assault in Rishton, Lancashire, in 2021.
But despite his ordeal, brave Tom has slammed online trolls and told them to instead "help find" 19-year-old Jay, who vanished in Tenerife more than a week ago.
