Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: Jay Slater, UK News
Jess Hardiman
A family friend of Jay Slater has vowed to continue looking for him after police called off the search over the weekend, amid calls for money gathered in a public fundraiser to be used for the efforts.
Slater, 19, disappeared after a night out in Tenerife last month, having last been heard from at around 8am on 17 June after telling others he was in the middle of nowhere and needed water.
The Lancashire-born teenager travelled to the Spanish island for a musical festival, but had left his group of friends to spend time with new people he’d met one evening.
His friend Lucy, who was with him on the trip, told police Slater told her his phone battery was on one percent and that he 'didn't know where he was'.
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His phone then died, with his last location shown as being Rural de Teno Park - or the National Park of Teno – in the north west of Tenerife.
The journey back to his resort would have taken around 11 hours on foot, but no one has since seen or heard from him since.
Over the weekend, Spanish police confirmed that the official search had come to an end.
The Spanish Guardia Civil told the BBC on Sunday morning: “The search operation is over. Yesterday was the final day of the search."
Telling Reuters that the search was no longer ‘active’, a Guardia Civil spokeswoman also said: “The case is still open and there are several lines of investigation.”
Slater’s family and friends have vowed to continue the desperate hunt, with Rachel Hargreaves – the mother of his best friend Brad Hargreaves – saying they had no intention of leaving the island.
Speaking to the BBC, she explained: "We're just carrying on searching ourselves."
Hargreaves, who is supporting Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan, said they were continuing to liaise with mountaineer Paul Arnott, who had been searching near Masca for the past week.
"We're looking for whoever we can find with mountain rescue experience and will carry on searching the area," she added.
In an update on Slater’s GoFundMe, which has raised more than £45,000, Duncan recently outlined plans for how the money would be spent.
"I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay,” she said.
“Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses. I'm surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we'll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times.”
Private detective Mark Williams-Thomas has urged the family to use the money to continue a search of their own.
Taking to X, he stressed that, while the search in the mountains and around Masca had concluded, the police investigation Slater’s disappearance remains ongoing.
“In regard to our investigation, we have been able to speak to important witnesses and now have a very detailed picture of Jays' movements over June 16 and 17 along with important background information,” he said.
“We still have a number of outstanding actions but have given the family a preliminary breakdown of findings."
Williams-Thomas continued: "In light of the police search ending, I have suggested the family should use the GoFundMe money to continue the search using experts in searching.
“I would appeal again, if you have any ‘direct information’ having spoken to Jay or anyone that was with him overnight 16/17th and have not yet been in contact please do so.”