Jay Slater: Search for missing Briton in Tenerife focuses on Masca village and valley

The search for a British teenager who went missing after a night out in Tenerife has entered its fifth day, with rescue teams and police focusing on a rural village and valley below.

Despite numerous search efforts involving drones, dogs and a helicopter, no trace of Jay Slater has been found.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, was last heard from when he called a friend shortly before 9am BST on Monday.

Its last known location was on a path in the mountainous terrain of Teno Rural National Park, in the northwest of the island.

Mr Slater's friends and family said he got into a car with two men he had met while on holiday and left the group he was traveling with in the tourist area of ​​Playa de las Americas, in south of Tenerife.

Search teams appeared to be methodically searching along a mountain road and focused on a ravine, before heading toward a valley in the village of Masca.

Police and mountain rescue were seen examining a steep area behind the apartment Mr Slater was allegedly taken to.

They carefully combed through dead palm trees covering a river at the base of the hill near the property.

Investigators have taken bags of trash into the area to try to find clues, but have so far had no leads.

The owner of the apartment told reporters she saw Mr Slater walking on the road outside her property, but did not see him again afterwards – describing the situation as “worrying”.

The apprentice mason spent his first vacation without his parents and attended the NRG music festival with two friends.

Lucy Law, who was the last person to speak to him, said he told her during their call that he had missed a bus and decided to walk 10 hours home but was lost , that he needed water and that his phone was at 1% battery. .

The national park is about a 40-minute drive from where Mr Slater and his friends were staying.

In his Lancashire home town, people placed blue ribbons on buildings in support of Mr Slater and his family and a prayer service was held on Thursday evening at the West End Methodist Church.

His friend Callum Thorpe, who has known him since primary school, said initially he thought Mr Slater had simply “gone to an afterparty” and failed to turn up.

However, he said that over time the situation had “become more serious and it's getting a bit scary now”.

“I've been following him on social media and Facebook… and it's becoming more and more worrying now,” he said.

“We all want the best and find out what we can.”

He said the ribbons were in place to represent Mr Slater and “make his hometown blue”.

“We just want him to come home, that’s all we want,” he added.

A post in a Facebook group set up by Mr Slater's friends, which now has more than 450,000 members, said the search had left them “exhausted beyond words”.

Rachel Louise Harg wrote Thursday evening that she was “struggling for words,” but added: “All I can say is that we are still searching and everyone is doing everything they can. can”.

She said she is in a “living nightmare”, but the search continues “and we remain positive”.

But Ms Harg later told her followers they should stop posting in the group because too many “conspiracy theories” were “affecting the case”.

The British owner of a car rental company on Tenerife said the community had “mobilized” and he had made 10 cars available on the island for people helping with the search.

Andrew Knight moved to the island from Liverpool 10 years ago and said he felt compelled to help because it was in his “nature” and “just like Tenerife as a community”.

On Tuesday, Mr Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, and older brother, Zak Slater, traveled to the island to join the search.

On Wednesday, the Guardia Civil de Tenerife moved the search area to the south of the island, around Los Cristianos, based on a tip.

However, a spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the information had been “discarded” and the search had been moved to the north of the island.

Lancashire Police said they were supporting the family and liaising with the British embassy, ​​but had not deployed officers to the island or interviewed witnesses.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Law said Mr Slater “was wearing shorts and a t-shirt” but had “no sunscreen, he has no water, he has no of coat”.

“He's not prepared for any of the weather conditions here. It's not safe,” she said.

“He’s never been here before, it would be so easy for him to get lost.”

Ms Law asked British police to help with the investigation, so “we can bring him home to his family”.

“That’s all we want, all we need,” she said.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”