Desperate call 19-year-old teen made to friends before disappearing in Tenerife
Topics: News, UK News, World News, Travel
Rhianna Benson
Featured Image Credit: Handout/TripAdvisor
Topics: News, UK News, World News, Travel
Tenerife police desperately searching for a missing 19-year-old are hoping that the final phone call he made prior to his disappearance can assist in pointing to his whereabouts.
Lancashire teenager Jay Slater had been enjoying a holiday on the Spanish island with two friends in the hours before he went missing on 17 June, having flown to the Canaries for a music festival.
One of the friends he was joined by, Lucy, later told police that he'd been on a night out with the group earlier that evening, but had strayed in order to spend time with new people he'd met.
She told the Manchester Evening News that the accommodation of their 'new friends' had been 'in the middle of nowhere', and that Jay had called at around 8.00am the following day to inform her that he was attempting to walk home after being unable to catch a bus.
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He told her his phone battery was on one percent and that he needed a drink of water, but 'didn't know where he was'.
His phone then died, with his last location showing as being in ‘the middle of the mountains with nothing around’.
His location was revealed to be in the Rural de Teno Park - or the National Park of Teno, north west of the island.
Lucy said she is frantically searching for her friend, adding: “He's gone on a night out, he's gone to a friend's house, someone that he has met on holiday.
“One of the people he has met has hired a car out of here, so he's driven them back to his apartment and Jay has gone there not realising how far away it is.
"He's ended up out in the middle of nowhere.
“Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there.
"But then in the morning he set off walking, using his maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of mountains with nothing around.
“He rang me at about 8.00am saying his phone was on one percent, he said 'I don't know where I am, I need a drink and my phone is about to die'."
She said that police had sent mountain rescue teams up to the area yesterday, and had spoken to the people Jay was staying with, who'd said he had left their apartment around 8.00am to ‘catch a bus’.
Lucy said she had been driving everywhere looking for Jay 'in all the nooks and crannies', but no efforts have been successful yet.
Jay's mother is also on her way to Tenerife and the British Embassy has been informed, the BBC reports.
"I've never been so worried in my life," Lucy said.
Jay was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with shorts and trainers. He was also said to be carrying a black bag.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office told the BBC: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."
Tyla has contacted the Foreign Office for further comment.