Police looking for missing Brit Jay Slater in Tenerife have ended their search after nearly two weeks.
Jay, 19, disappeared on Monday, June 17, after trying to make a long walk back to accommodation on the island while there for the NRG rave festival. The apprentice bricklayer had travelled to an AirBnB in the village of Masca - about a 40 minute drive from where he was staying - before trying to walk back.
The Civil Guard today (Sunday) said the near fortnight-long search, which has involved sniffer dogs, a helicopter and mountain rescue experts looking in mountainous terrain, had been brought to an end. A spokeswoman said: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open."
The search formally ended at 10am on Sunday morning, with media turning up to the usual viewpoint meeting spot at the search site only to find it deserted. Just 24 hours earlier, around 30 rescue workers and dozens of journalists converged on the area following an appeal for help from volunteers by Tenerife's top cop Angel Sanz Coronado.
A big search was held on Saturday for the teen but to no avail (Stan Kujawa)A well-placed source said: “The daily operation which has been going on in and around Masca close to where Jay was last seen has been brought to an end. If any information comes in that merits a new search though it will be acted upon.
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“My understanding is Jay’s parents have been informed of what obviously is a major development. Nothing of any relevance was found during yesterday’s large-scale search.”
Jay's dad Warren and brother Zak seen joining the search party in the valley below La Cruz de Hilda viewpoint on Saturday (Simon Ashton)Officers on Saturday were still claiming they would carry on the search and there were no plans to end it. However, in a sign thought by many that people were losing hope, just six volunteers turned up, including British TikToker and amateur mountaineer Paul Arnott, 29, who is helping the family from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
Jay was last seen by a local resident in Masca in north-west Tenerife just after 8am on June 17 walking northwards along the road out of the village after stopping to ask her for directions. His phone last pinged near to a look-out point where search teams gathered yesterday to begin the last day of the operation.
Spanish police appealed for volunteers to take part in the search at Parque Rural de Teno on Saturday (Stan Kujawa)Friend Lucy Law said Jay had called her shortly after he was last seen to say he was thirsty and had no water and just one per cent battery on his phone. The Civil Guard says the ‘parallel’ investigation by police investigators which they are not sharing information on is continuing despite the suspension of the ‘visible’ mountain search in and around Masca.
The major investigation has so far seen the likes of top detective Mark Williams-Thomas head to Tenerife to help find answers for the family. The case meanwhile has been mired in speculation from online sleuths and armchair detectives providing baseless theories.
Address reporters on the island on Wednesday, Mr Williams-Thomas appealed for two British men who Jay left with on the Sunday night after meeting them while out to come forward. The Civil Guard says it has since ruled the duo out.
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