Jay Slater missing – latest: Locals report teen ‘watching Euro 2024 matches’ in Tenerife after last contact
Mayor says police have received several reports of the British 19-year-old watching football on island
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Spanish police have spoken to several people who said they may have seen Jay Slater watching Euro 2024 matches after his last contact with friends, a local mayor has said.
Emilio Jose Navarro, mayor of the town of Santiago del Teide, said officers have interviewed a number of people who believe they saw the 19-year-old.
Police are examining grainy CCTV footage from the town, which is around three-and-a-half miles from the mountainous Rural de Teno park - the apprentice bricklacker's last known location - to determine whether it is a possible sighting.
The image, shared by the family to media outlets, shows a person walking through town and was captured around 10 hours after Jay's phone last pinged.
Mr Slater’s family also gave a statement through a spokesperson on Wednesday afternoon, telling reporters in Tenerife they are “utterly broken” but “very united”.
Jay Slater search teams fly in specialist sniffer dogs in hunt for missing teenager on Tenerife
‘There isn’t much here’: Exploring the isolated Tenerife landscape of Jay Slater’s last known location
Jay Slater’s disappearance has exposed the horrifying cruelty of social media- My daughter went missing like Jay Slater – then I was targeted
What Tenerife locals are saying
On the ground with the desperate search for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife
Deep ravines, sharp drops and cacti hinder search efforts for teenager in the mountainous terrain
Jay Slater’s last known movements
Mapped: Jay Slater’s last known movements in Tenerife as search for teen continues
The 19-year-old vanished on Monday after last being seen by a local 11 hours from his accommodation
Watch: Police and sniffer dogs continue search
Spanish police and sniffer dogs continue search for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife
Spanish police have released helicopter footage as the search for Jay Slater continues. The search for the British teenager, who went missing during a holiday in Tenerife, has already entered its second week. Sniffer dogs and helicopters are still being used to try and find the 19-year-old. “We continue with the search for the young British man who disappeared in Tenerife,” the Guardia Civil wrote, sharing the helicopter footage on social media. Mr Slater had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance and was last heard from on Monday 17 June.
The isolated landscape of Jay’s last known location
Exploring the isolated Tenerife landscape of Jay Slater’s last known location
As the desperate search for missing British teenager Jay Slater continues, The Independent’s Holly Evans has travelled to Tenerife to bring readers the latest in the ongoing investigation. The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared in Tenerife over a week ago following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus. He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance. The location where Mr Slater’s phone pinged last Monday (17 June) is in an area of difficult terrain, with a narrow path and dramatic drops into the mountains. Today (25 June), four police cars can be seen in the background.
Opinion: The horrifying cruelty of social media
A concerning majority of onlookers seem to have completely disconnected from the fact that Jay Slater’s disappearance involves real people with real lives and real emotions:
Jay Slater’s disappearance has exposed the horrifying cruelty of social media
Trolls mocking missing Jay Slater, Baby Reindeer’s real-life Martha tracked down and hounded online, armchair sleuths endlessly theorising about Nicola Bulley’s disappearance – Helen Coffey asks, when did we collectively lose our empathy?
Police searching for Jay Slater rescue lost Scottish hiker in Tenerife national park
Police searching for missing hiker Jay Slater have rescued a Scottish hiker from the same Tenerife national park in Spain.
The 51-year-old hiker from Scotland was rescued on Friday during a search for Mr Slater, 19, who went missing a week ago, police said on Tuesday.
The Scot was found “tired and disoriented” having gone into a “difficult” area not suitable for travel.
Police said “he was located by the agents and the rescue team who helped him get out of the ravine”.
Police searching for Jay Slater rescue lost Scottish hiker in Tenerife national park
Police say ‘tired and disoriented’ hiker wouldn’t have got out without help
ICYMI: Family ‘utterly broken’ but mission remains to find Jay Slater alive
Earlier on Wednesday, Mark Williams-Thomas, a private investigator, spoke to the press in Tenerife this afternoon on behalf of Jay Slater’s family, including The Independent’s Holly Evans.
He told reporters: “They are a very, very united family and they are very supportive and their one mission is to find out what happened to Jay.
“They still live with the hope that Jay will return and that he is not safe, but still alive. They themselves have been out searching and have put out pictures and posters and of course, they are responding to as many enquiries as they possibly can.”
He added they had provided him with an “in-depth insight” into what had happened in the hours leading up to his disappearance.
Asked how the family have been coping, he responded: “They are utterly broken, having done this many times and having been a family liaison officer, they are an incredibly united family.
“Not just in terms of the family but also the friends that are here to support. They are all very focused in terms of finding Jay. The problem is they are now without information, a lot of information was coming in initially but they are now without much information.”
Father of Jay Slater says he is in ‘living hell’ after son’s disappearance
The father of missing British teenager Jay Slater described his ordeal as “a living hell” as the search for his son in Tenerife extended into its second week.
Speaking to reporters this week in Santiago del Teide, approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the search area, Warren Slater said: “I just want him found.”
“Somebody must know something.”
Despite efforts by specialist dog teams and police focusing on the rugged terrain of Rural de Teno National Park, the search has been likened to “looking for a needle in a haystack”.
Mr Slater’s family and friends have been actively seeking help, putting up missing posters, and raising funds for the search.
Latest pictures of search operation in Tenerife
Here are some of the latest images of the search for Jay Slater in Tenerife.
Rescue teams deployed drones on Wednesday as they continue their efforts to locate the missing British teenager, who has not been seen since last Monday.
Are TikTokers and Facebook sleuths drowning out actual leads in the hunt for Jay Slater?
Fake rumours of a body being found in the hunt for Jay Slater had spread like wildfire across Facebook, TikTok and other social media sites as thousands of users share disinformation.
But distastful pranks like this could cause a fatal distraction with days going by since Jay was last seen and friends of the teenager begged for people to keep up the massive search along the rocky hillsides of Tenerife full of treacherous ravines and cacti.
Read more from Barney Davis:
Are TikTokers and Facebook sleuths drowning out leads in the hunt for Jay Slater?
Investigators say armchair sleuths spreading memes and misinformation are harming missing teenager’s family
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.