Search for Jay Slater: Missing teen's best friend reveals he heard him 'sliding on…

June 28, 2024, 2:09 p.m.

Jay Slater's best friend said he could hear the missing teenager sliding down rocks during a final video call.

Jay, a 19-year-old apprentice mason from Lancashire, has been missing on the Spanish island for more than ten days.

The missing teenager phoned his friend Brad – with whom he was on holiday in Tenerife – after getting lost on the morning of June 17.

Jay had gone to Tenerife with his friends Brad and Lucy for the three-day NRG festival.

On Sunday, he went to a rave party that ended in the early hours of Monday. After the party, he went to a farm in the village of Masca with two men he had met that night and whom he has not seen since.

He last shared a Snapchat post at 7:30 a.m. from his Airbnb showing a photo of a hand holding a cigarette.

Shortly afterwards, he tried to return on his own to his accommodation, an 11-hour walk away.

The last time Jay was heard from was around 8:50 a.m., during a desperate call to his friend Lucy.

He said he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” and needed water, adding that he had one percent battery on his phone and had cut his leg on a cactus.

It's unclear whether Jay's friend Brad heard from him during the same call with his friend Lucy or if it was separate, but his best friend has since spoken out about their last conversation.

Brad said Jay wasn't initially worried about returning to their accommodation.

Discussing the latest call, Brad told This Morning he heard Jay's feet slipping on rocks, suggesting he had gone off the road.

“That's how I knew he left the road because, you know, when you're walking on gravel, or whatever, you can… you know what I mean, rocks.”

But Brad said he wasn't worried at the time because Jay assured him he was fine.

Brad, however, told him to state his location.

“We both laugh about it,” Brad continued. He said, 'look where I am'.”

He said Jay was then cut off because he had another call waiting but promised to call back.

Learn more: Police searching for Jay Slater are appealing for volunteers to help in 'massive search' for missing teenager Saturday

Learn more: Jay Slater's Macabre Tourists Take Jeep Trips to Home Where Teen Vanished as Mom Calls TikTok Detectives for Help

It comes as police searching for Jay urged volunteers to mobilize for a “massive search” for the missing teenager on Saturday.

Several people, including so-called “TikTok detectives”, have already travelled to Tenerife to look for him.

Police said extensive searches would take place around Masca from Saturday morning.

Officers said in a statement: “The Guardia Civil is preparing and coordinating a wide-ranging search for the young British man who went missing in the village of Masca.

“The collaboration of all these volunteer associations is requested: Civil Protection, Fire Brigade, etc., and even private volunteers who are experts in steep search areas.

“The massive search will be carried out on Saturday June 29 from 9 a.m. »

“Considering that it is a steep and rocky area, full of unevenness and with a multitude of ravines, trails and roads, the collaboration of all the volunteer associations that can help in this raid which will take place in a directed and coordinated manner is required.”

Jay visited the farm, according to the owner, before heading into the surrounding Teno mountains.

And dozens of visitors have since come, traveling to the site by jeep.

A Birmingham woman visited the farm twice and said it gave her “chills”.

She told The Times: “I asked to walk this route because I just wanted to see it one more time. I want to get answers.”

Jay told his friend he was lost in the middle of nowhere with no water and only had one percent battery on his phone.

When she told him to go back to where he had started from, he replied that he did not know where that was.

He looked disoriented and explained that he was “in the middle of the mountains” with “nothing around.”

Some locals claim to have seen him since, including one alleged sighting of him watching the Euros, but this has not been confirmed.

Meanwhile, Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, asked TikTok investigator Paul Arnott to help her in the search for her missing son.

Mr Arnott works in Tenerife, alongside other social media detectives such as Callum Rahim.

A fundraiser to help him return home was a great success, reaching £40,000.

Ms Duncan, who traveled to the Spanish island, said on Thursday she was considering withdrawing some of the money.

She said the money withdrawn would be used to support the rescuers, their food and accommodation, as well as to fly in the “relatives” of the “wonderful people” who had come to Tenerife to be with her.

Ms Duncan said: “Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for your support, kind messages and well wishes.

“It's difficult to understand what's happening right now, but we're not giving up hope that we'll find Jay and return home together.”

She added: “We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw some of the funds, which are being held securely. I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.

“In addition, as our stay in Tenerife is to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food costs.

“I am surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but away from their loved ones, so we will also use part of these funds to bring them to Tenerife so that we can support each other during these difficult times.

“Thank you again for all your donations and support, it means a lot to us.”

Spanish authorities continue to search for Jay nearly two weeks after he was last seen.

But police fear they may never find Jay in the “huge” mountains of the region north of the Masca Gorge, ten days after he disappeared.

A source told The Sun: “No one is talking about stopping the search at the moment, although it is highly unlikely Jay would have survived if he got lost in the mountains as we have been told . »

“There will come a time when the current operation will have to at least be scaled back, but for now the search teams seem to have decided to give themselves more time. »