British teenager Jay Slater, 19, missing in Tenerife as family and friends launch desperate appeal

Family and friends of a teenager who went missing in Tenerife have said they “have never been more worried”.

Jay Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, traveled to the Canary Islands for a music festival with his girlfriend Lucy and another friend. But the 19-year-old was reported missing after going to visit people he had met on holiday following a night out.

Their apartment was “in the middle of nowhere,” Lucy told the Manchester Evening News. She said he “wouldn’t have realized” how far away it was from where they were staying.

READ NEXT: Police arrest man at Manchester Airport and take passport after he flies home after Euro 2024

Yesterday morning (June 17), Jay called Lucy to tell her he was trying to walk home after not being able to catch a bus. He told her his phone battery was at 1 percent, that he needed to drink some water and “I didn’t know where he was,” Lucy said.

His phone then died and his last location was revealed to be “in the middle of the mountains, with nothing around”. The location is in the Teno Rural Park – or Teno National Park – popular with hikers.

The nearest town is Santiago del Teide. Lucy said she was now frantically looking for her friend on the island.

She said she had made several reports to local police in Tenerife and had also been in contact with the British embassy. Jay's mother is also on her way to Tenerife, she added.

Addressing the MEN regarding Jay's disappearance, she said: “He went out in the evening, he went to a friend's house, someone he met on vacation. One of the people he met rented a car from here, so he drove them back to his apartment and Jay went there without realizing how far away he was.

“He ended up in the middle of nowhere. Jay obviously thought he could get home from there.

“But in the morning, he went for a walk, using his maps on his phone and found himself in the middle of the mountains with nothing around. He called me around 8 a.m. to tell me that his phone was on at 1 percent,” he said. “I don’t know where I am, I need a drink and my phone is about to die.”

She said police said they had sent mountain rescue to the area yesterday. She spoke to the people Jay was staying with, who said he left their apartment around 8 a.m. yesterday to “catch a bus.”

“I have never been so worried in my life. I was there yesterday, a lovely lady messaged me on Facebook and said she had rented a car and would take me there ” Lucy added.

“We were there all day yesterday, driving around looking everywhere, looking in every nook and cranny.”

Jay was last seen wearing a white t-shirt with shorts and sneakers. He also allegedly carried a black bag.

THE MEN contacted the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regarding Jay's disappearance.

Read more of today's top stories here