A major police hunt for missing Jay Slater, 19, is now focusing on a series of barren caves in rural Tenerife. The search for the missing apprentice bricklayer is nearly in its twelfth day, with his parents on the Canary Island aiding police.
The Brit vanished on Monday, June 17 after texting a friend saying he was “thirsty” and that his phone was on just 1% battery.
The frantic search for Jay has focused on rocky terrain in the mountains of northern Tenerife – but now it has moved to the caves near Los Carrizales.
The location is about an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay stayed in with two men, The Independent reports. Los Carrizales is a little hamlet not far from Masca in the Teno mountains.
A well-placed source warned that it is “very unlikely” Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains, reports The Sun.
The source added: “No-one at the moment is talking about the search being brought to an end, even though it’s very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains in the way we were told he did.
“There will be a point when the operation that’s taking place at the moment has to at least be scaled back but right now the search teams appear to have decided they want to give themselves more time.”
But Jay’s family have not given up.
Jay Slater’s mum has told supporters the family is trying to release funds from money raised via GoFundMe to help support mountain rescue teams searching for her son.
Debbie Duncan said funds would also be used to cover the cost of food and accommodation for the family as the search continues in Tenerife.
Meanwhile CCTV footage of what could show Jay before he went missing has prompted the town’s mayor to say “he’s not here”.
The Mayor of the town in Tenerife where Jay Slater was potentially sighted on security cameras does not think the apprentice bricklayer even set foot into the location.
A grainy clip shows a figure walking past a church in what’s believed to be Santiago del Tiede – which is around four miles from where Jay was last seen – at around 6pm on Monday, June 17 on the day he went missing.
But Mayor Mayor Emilio Navarro said: “He’s not here.” He added: “The Guardia Civil sent us an email asking for our security cameras.
“We could not give it to them as they are organised through a separate company, so the police are speaking to them.
“But that CCTV picture is not from us and I do not recognise that place – I do not think it is in Santiago del Tiede and he is not here.”
