Laurence Dollimore
THE desperate search for missing British teenager Jay Slater has been called off in Spain.
The 19-year-old disappeared near the mountain village of Masca on June 17, almost 14 days ago.
The apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, had spent the evening before at a rave in the south of the island.
But despite an extensive search in the mountainous terrain, including a 2000ft ravine and several outhouses, police are no closer to finding the teen.
The Guardia Civil ordered ‘one last push’ this Saturday after flying in specially trained sniffer dogs from Madrid.
Dozens of volunteers also joined the search in a last-ditch attempt to find Jay or a meaningful lead.
But after scouring the rugged terrain and coming up with nothing, police today confirmed that the search is being called off.
Spanish authorities said they will keep the investigation open, but that they would be ‘acting on tips’ going forward.
It comes after Spanish police this week said it was ‘very unlikely’ Jay would be found alive if he got lost in the mountains.
According to a source consulted by the Sun: “No-one at the moment is talking about the search being brought to an end, even though it’s very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains in the way we were told he did.
“There will be a point when the operation that’s taking place at the moment has to at least be scaled back but right now the search teams appear to have decided they want to give themselves more time.”
Locals echoed this warning, saying Brits who disappear on the islands are ‘difficult’ to find.
Anita, a local resident interviewed by the Independent, claimed people go missing in the mountains ‘every summer’ and it can be ‘months’ before the police find anything.
She said: “We often have hikers go missing, every summer it is the same. Police come for a week and search and then they go – sometimes it can take months for a body to be found as the mountains are too difficult to search.”
A former Metropolitan Detective Chief Inspector, Peter Kirkham, has also given his theories, stating Jay probably got lost and fell in a ravine, deliberately disappeared or has been kidnapped.
Kirkham, who served the Met police for 20 years, recommended police prioritise the two men whose Airbnb Jay left just before going missing.
He said: “The reports that Jay had left his friends and gone off with two men he had apparently just met whilst clubbing make this a possibility requiring urgent investigation.
“The two men – who reportedly say that Jay left them in good health – are the key start point here and the police in Tenerife should be prioritising investigation of this line of enquiry.”
Referencing his three theories, he continued: “Taken together, these three basic categories of theory cover pretty much every possibility. In order to conduct a thorough and competent investigation the police must keep an open mind and pursue lines of enquiry relating to all three of them.”
Another former Met officer, Peter Bleksley, claimed the Spanish authorities’ rejection of help from Lancashire Police was an attempt to keep ‘control’.
He said: “Policing is all about control, the world over. They control people in demonstrations, crowds at football matches, crime scenes, witnesses and suspects.
“The minute you let another law enforcement agency into your inquiry you start to surrender that element of control, and the police don’t like that. That will be why they declined assistance from Lancashire Police.”
