Jay Slater’s ‘massive’ search sees just six volunteers join Tenerife police

An appeal for help in the search for missing Jay Slater from Spanish police has resulted in just six volunteers joining the operation, including a British TikToker.

Jay, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing in north-west Tenerife on June 17. It was hoped that a renewed effort to locate the 19-year-old would provide answers.

Despite publicity about the search, there has been little local media attention and only six volunteers have come forward to help with nearly 30 professional searchers, including police, firefighters and mountain rescue officers, as the operation enters its 13th day, reports the Mirror. .

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Asked about the poor turnout, Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit, said: “Well, we’ve been searching for many days and with today’s search, we’re talking about 30 people.”

On Friday, the Guardia Civil appealed for voluntary associations, such as firefighters, and individual volunteers, experts in rough terrain, to help with a massive search to take place on Saturday. The Spanish police force said the search, starting in the village of Masca, close to his last known location, would be coordinated to encompass a steep rocky area, including ravines, paths and trails.

Jay is understood to have spent the night in an Airbnb in Masca, Teno Country Park, after heading there with two men following a rave in the south of the island. He was last seen by the owner of the accommodation after inquiring about the next bus to take him back to his friends in southern Tenerife.

He then phoned friends Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves to tell them he would try to return in a journey that would take around 11 hours.

Among those arriving this morning were a Spanish army reservist, a local mother and British TikToker Paul Arnott, who is in touch with Jay’s friends and family, including heartbroken mum Debbie Duncan, 55. Asked about turnout and allegations of lack of publicity. In local media, Paul, 29, from Bedfordshire, said: “I think the exposure has been really good.

“I’ve had a lot of people say they’re coming because they’ve seen my posts and the police, so personally, from my point of view, I think it’s been brilliant. That’s what the family wanted and that’s what I’m interested in – helping the family.” Asked about Jay’s family and whether he expects them to join the search today, he said: “They said they’re doing a job good and that I make them proud.

“I wouldn’t want them to come out here. It’s the worst pitch ever. I wouldn’t want my family to come out here, no way. They’re broken. I admire them so much for their strength. It’s the worst situation. It could be in any family. It’s horrible.”

He added: “I checked lots of different areas and for a few days I was with the police and mountain rescue who told me where to go to look. We talked to Brad and we know that Jay slipped down. mountains, so I look for skid marks, I have a picture of his shoes on my phone, and I look for any breaks in the plant material.

Fellow volunteer Livia Karczewski, 40, said she wanted to help because she has a 19-year-old son herself. The seasoned hiker heard about the search on Facebook and decided to join. She said: “I have a son the same age and if something were to happen to him I’d like to think people would come to help find him. It really hits home. I’m experienced, but not an expert, so I’ll look for ways. It’s a tough field, so you have to be prepared.”

Army reservist Juan Garcia, who has experience in mountain search and rescue, said he felt compelled to help after reading Jay’s story in the local paper. Juan, 53, who brought his podenco-cross hunting dog Caperucita with him, described the area as “difficult” and like a “maze”.

He said: “This landscape can be very dangerous. I’m from the island so we’re used to this kind of scenery. If you’re looking, maybe we’ll get lucky and find it. We have to make a lot of effort to look slowly, it’s like a maze, there’s a lot of bushes, so it’s easy to miss something, especially with the helicopter and the drones. That’s why you have to walk and I brought my dog ​​in case he can smell it, but it’s not an easy task.”

On Friday, Jay’s friend Brad told ITV’s This Morning that he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him pull out of the road. He said: “He was on the phone walking down a road and he had a little drop – not a big drop – but a little drop and he was coming down and he said, ‘I’m calling you back, I’m calling you back, because I think someone else is calling him.’

He confirmed that he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and could hear him walking on gravel. But Brad said he and his friend were both laughing at the time. He added: “He didn’t seem worried on the phone until I knew how far away he was.”

He told the program that he still had hope for Jay and was “praying” that he would come home. Earlier this week, his mother Debbie Duncan, who traveled to the island after his disappearance, said the money raised online would be used to support mountain rescue teams and cover her own accommodation and food costs.

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