Jay Slater update: Massive new search to be launched for missing teenager on Tenerife

 The family of missing teenager Jay Slater are set to launch an enormous search-and-rescue operation on Tenerife in a final desperate bid to find him

Slater, 19, was last heard from on 17 June after embarking on a perilous 11-hour walk back to his holiday accommodation.

But despite the official land search being called off by Spanish police on 30 June, Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, and her family have vowed to remain on the island until they find him.

The family now plans to use a significant amount of the £50,000 raised through a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign to hire specialist search teams and have been given permission by the Guardia Civil to proceed.

ADVERTISEMENT

The decision means external search teams are welcome to launch a detailed search "without any problem" but must notify officers for "proper coordination".

The family are thought to be planning a major ground search over a very wide area of wilderness in the Masca region on the west of the island, where Slater was last spotted.

Their private search team - which is expected to cost tens of thousands of pounds to fully deploy - must liaise with police to ensure "good management of information and resources".

It came after the teenager's furious father Warren blasted officers for failing his son.

He said: "I've gone past the sadness bit and I'm angry, if that makes any sense. I'm angry that nothing's happened."

ADVERTISEMENT

Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing after attending a music festival in popular beach resort Playas de las Americas.

He was last heard from around 8.15am on the day he disappeared, calling friend Lucy Law and telling her he planned to walk back to his holiday apartment after missing a bus. His phone had one per cent battery, he was thirsty, and disoriented. He claimed to have been injured on a cactus.

Nearly two weeks of extensive searches involving emergency services, mountain rescue teams, drones, and helicopters culminated in a massive search on June 29.

Despite these efforts, the Guardia Civil ended the official search a day later, though the case technically remains open.

\u200bJay Slater

The new search for missing Jay Slater will be funded by his family's GoFundMe campaignPA

Jay's mother Debbie has been vocal about the "deep distress" the family is enduring.

ADVERTISEMENT

She said: "I feel like I'm living in a nightmare that I can't wake up from.

"Jay is a normal guy who is in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends."

DON'T MISS

Keir Starmer and Rishi SunakPOLITICS

Keir Starmer ends Rwanda scheme on first day as PM, insider claims

Le Pen/MbappeWORLD NEWS

Kylian Mbappe brands France's snap election 'catastrophic' as Le Pen set to make huge gains

Reform doner claims he was ' borderline depressed' when Farage 'said he wasn't standing'POLITICS

Reform doner claims he was ' borderline depressed' when Farage 'said he wasn't standing'

She added: "We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance.

"Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.”

Masca Tenerife missing Jay Slater teenager

The wild Masca region of Tenerife where Jay Slater went missing Reuters

To bolster their search efforts, Jay's family turned to the public for help.

ADVERTISEMENT

They managed to raise the huge sum through a GoFundMe campaign which will now be spent to hire specialist search-and-rescue teams, equipment, and other necessary resources to continue the search fully independently