Jay Slater's search teams scour a vast area of caves, ravines and towering volcanic cliffs

Lina Portman3 days ago

0 5 minutes read

Author, Nick Garnett and Mohamed Madi
Role, BBC News
Report of Tenerife
2 hours ago

“Why would anyone come to Masca?” asks Wayne Bennett, 39, from Wiltshire.

He has just arrived in Tenerife with two friends for a pre-booked holiday, and Masca was at the top of his car rental agent's list of recommended places.

Calling it a village is a generous designation. At most, a dozen houses and villas are dwarfed on all sides by imposing volcanic cliffs. The road that crosses it barely allows two cars to pass.

Getting there is a roller coaster ride that feels like throwing up and sometimes like going through the sky.

It attracts panorama seekers, die-hard hikers and nature lovers, mainly from Germany and mainland Spain. It's literally and figuratively miles away from the typical Tenerife party scene.

“There's nothing, is there?” Wayne said, sounding slightly disappointed.

What Wayne and his friends didn't know, until we told them, was that this was where 19-year-old Jay Slater had spent the night before he disappeared.

They had all heard Jay's story, but were surprised to find themselves right across the street from the rented holiday apartment he was last seen leaving on June 17.

That morning, Jay was seen climbing the steep mountain road away from the village. His friend, Lucy Mae Law, said he called her and told her he had no water, was at 1% battery and was lost.

His phone was located near a cell phone tower at the top of the valley. Then Jay disappeared, without a trace.

The “massive search” that was not

On Saturday, nearly two weeks after Jay disappeared, authorities in Tenerife organized a public search in an attempt to comb the area.

Rescuers have been combing the Masca Valley and other nearby ravines, caves and trails daily, without success.

They hoped the call for a “massive search” would bring experienced climbers and hikers to the area to scour the undergrowth for clues about what happened to Jay.

That day, fewer than a dozen volunteers showed up.

A total of 30 people, including professionals, were mobilized to comb a vast and difficult-to-access search area. For most of the morning, there were more journalists than rescuers at the meeting point.

Police forces around the world operate in different ways when it comes to dealing with the media, and here in Tenerife the policy seems to be not to comment on an ongoing investigation.

There were no calls for help, no posters and no interviews. It fell to Jay Slater's father and older brother to put up posters in the town of Santiago del Teide, at the foot of the national park.

Then a – partial – change of heart. Just before the search began on Saturday, Brigadier General Cipriani Martin of the Spanish Guardia Civil patiently answered questions from British and local journalists explaining the stage of the investigation.

Because of this two-week window of no information, many believe that a vacuum was created, which in turn was filled with conjecture and conspiracy theories.

Wild rumors spread on TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook have led to real-life harassment and trolling. Jay’s family said the fake social media posts are preventing them from getting real information that could actually help their search.

One person they thanked was climber and TikTok personality Paul Arnott, who landed on the island about a week after Jay went missing and helped with the search.

We saw him the morning of the open search, looking tired and frustrated.

“I checked out a lot of different areas,” he said. “Some days I worked with the police and mountain rescue. These guys told me where to look.

He also posts tirelessly on TikTok – dozens of videos per day – for his 280,000 followers. That's a staggering number, and almost half of them have discovered it since he started posting about Jay Slater.

We asked him what he would say to those who told him he was doing this to promote his own profile.

“I’m already working on social media,” he said. “I film mountain scenes. His family wanted help and exposure, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Lancashire Police said in an earlier statement that it had made an offer of support to the Spanish Civil Guard, but had been informed that the agency was “pleased to have the resources it needs”.

Legend, A cluster of dilapidated farm buildings caught the attention of search teams

The excavated area has expanded over time.

During the first days after our arrival, teams of firefighters, civil guards and mountain rescuers focused on the area closest to the house Jay had left on the morning of June 17.

A team of about a dozen city workers scoured the area below the rock outcropping on which the cluster of small homes was built.

When nothing was found, the search moved to the next valley, where Jay's phone last rang.

At the bottom of the valley, partly hidden by dense undergrowth, are a few dilapidated farm buildings.

Search dogs were deployed and officers carried out extensive work in the buildings.

Had Jay been there? Were there any clues that suggested he had come looking for something to drink?

For three or four days, police cars were stationed in the valley. The trail leading to the buildings was closed by police, and as we left the area late at night, a patrol car with headlights on stood guard.

It seemed like this might be the breakthrough the police were looking for.

But the next morning the cars were gone, the trail opened and the search was moved elsewhere.

We went to see why they had spent so many days in this particular area and found a treasure trove of abandoned objects in the destroyed rooms: an empty bottle of sunscreen, boxes of tea bags, water bottles, women's clothes on hangers, and an old mattress.

Every area was checked for any signs of Jay's presence, but police moved to other search areas and it appears nothing was deemed important to the investigation.

Jay Slater's disappearance has affected many people, including his mother and father, who have been in Tenerife since his disappearance.

They have called on the support of friends and family to help them cope.

With each passing day, the worry only gets worse and this is what has prompted so many people to donate money to help. Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, said the funds had been used to help Tenerife's mountain rescue teams as well as to cover the family's living costs on the island while they waited for news.

The concern is also shared by others. Livia Karczewski took part in the weekend's research. The 40-year-old mother lives in Tenerife and regularly walks around the area where Jay was last seen.

“The terrain is sometimes a little difficult here,” she says. “There are a lot of stones. You need good shoes, you have to be careful. It's not easy, you have to be prepared. »

We ask her what made her come here to join the search. His response was simple: “I wanted to come here because I have a son who is the same age as Jay. I think if something were to happen to my boy, I would really appreciate it if others helped me find him.

As the search drew to a close, it was clear there had been no breakthrough. A helicopter returned to base, the drones were stowed away and the search teams went home for the night and the wait for Jay Slater's family continues.