A new search for Jay Slater has taken place in Tenerife, focusing on revisiting areas rescue teams have already explored.
The Civil Guard said they were stepping up their search for the 19-year-old Briton, who has been missing since 17 June, after appealing for volunteers experienced in tough terrain to help.
Search efforts began at 9am on Saturday in the village of Masca, near Mr Slater‘s last-known location, and Spanish police hope a larger team will search previous parts more thoroughly.
Sky correspondent Becky Johnson, who is in Tenerife, said she saw between 30 and 40 officers and volunteers gather for the search, which covers a “huge area” of rugged hills and steep drops.
Pic: Europa Press/AP
Mr Slater was at the New Rave Generation music festival and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north – about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
There has been mystery around two British men who went north towards Masca from the festival with Mr Slater, but police told Sky News in an update they are “not relevant”.
Juan Garcia, an experienced hiker, was among the volunteers and was going to walk through tough terrain with his sniffer dog.
Jay Slater. Pic: Lucy Law
“I think for myself, if something happened to one of my sons… I would like people to help me to solve this case,” he told Sky News as he prepared to set off.
“Sometimes, even with only the police it’s hard because this is a very difficult area and you need a lot of experience walking.
“[There are] a lot of bushes and it’s very hard to walk and even in a few kilometres it takes a lot of time and it’s not so easy.”
Read more:
Jay Slater’s journey, outstanding questions and one final push
The festival was a short drive from Jay Slater’s accommodation
Mr Slater was last heard near Masca, which is far further away from the festival
Seen by cafe owner
Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared while trying to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus on Monday last week.
He was last pictured at Papayago, the nightclub hosting the end of the NRG festival, late on 16 June.
After the event ended, he got in a car with two men, travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca, where a local cafe owner told Sky News he tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.
A view of the Guardia Civil agents and volunteers during the search. Pic: Reuters
The steep ravine where some of today’s search was based. Pic: Adele-Momoko Fraser
Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she saw him at 8am on 17 June, and added: “He asked twice what time the bus came.
“He came back and he asked me again, and I told him again, at 10 o’clock. Later I got in my car, and I saw him, he was walking quickly, but I didn’t see him again after that.”
She said he was walking in the wrong direction.
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Last phone call
It comes after one of Mr Slater’s friends told ITV’s This Morning about his last video call with the 19-year-old.
Brad Hargreaves said he saw the missing teenager’s feet slide on rocks during a call at around 8.30am, saying that is how he knew Mr Slater was not on a road.
Pic: Adele-Momoko Fraser
Read more:
‘My son went missing – I know how Jay’s parents feel’
Spanish police release new footage
Jay Slater’s father describes ‘nightmare’
He then said Mr Slater went down a “little drop” in one of his last video calls, and added: “He said, ‘look where I am’.
“He didn’t seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was. I said, ‘put your location on’. He said: ’15-minute drive, 14-hour walk’.
“I don’t know if it’s accurate or not so I said to him: ‘It’s only a 15-minute drive, get a taxi’.”
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Search teams coordinated by the Civil Guard have since mounted a huge manhunt using helicopters, drones and search dogs to scour mountainous areas of the island, but are yet to find the teenager.
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