Police searching for Jay Slater investigate whether teen's background is 'relevant' to disappearance

Spanish police searching for missing British teenager Jay Slater are reportedly investigating his background to determine whether it is relevant to his disappearance.

During the search for Mr Slater in Tenerife, police on Tuesday rescued a “tired and disoriented” Scottish hiker, aged 51, who was in difficulty in the same area where Mr Slater was last seen.

The hiker got stuck in a ravine after being reported missing by residents of Los Carrizales, Buenavista del Norte, police said. He went hiking but didn't return to the starting point until “several hours” on Friday.

The police added that he would not have managed to get out of the ravine “on his own” due to the “difficulties and lack of communication” in the area where he was found.

However the hiker, who MailOnline named David Larkinclaimed he “didn’t need to be rescued.”

Meanwhile, Mr Slater, 19, was last heard from more than a week ago after attending a music festival in Tenerife.

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared while trying to walk home while on holiday with two friends.

He disappeared around 8.50am last Monday, shortly after frantically calling his friend Lucy Law, with only 1% phone battery, telling her he was lost.

A huge mission is underway to try and find the teenager, with both his parents flying to the Spanish island to find out more about what happened to their loved one.

While search efforts appeared to be limited to a group of small buildings near where Mr Slater's phone last rang, it was revealed that the missing 19-year-old had criminal history.

The teenager had previously been involved in an attack which left him fighting for his life after being chased by a gang, including Mr Slater, armed with a knife, golf clubs and an axe, reports LBC.

Mr Slater was given an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work for violent disorder following the trial.

Spanish police confirmed amid reports they are not ruling anything out as the search continues.

A source told the MailOnline: 'In missing persons cases it is natural to investigate their backgrounds in case it is relevant to the hunt.

“This case is unusual because it has been a week and there have been no sightings or leads regarding him and searches have not yielded any clues.

“We have to consider the possibility of something else happening.”

Mr Slater's previous conviction gave rise to numerous conspiracy theories online, leading the attacked teenager, Tom Hilton, to call on people to “rest”.

Mr. Hilton wrote on Facebook: “Whoever is writing on these TikToks, let him rest. This young boy is missing and his family is heartbroken.

“Put yourself in their place. Stop talking stupid things on social media and find this boy by mentioning my name all this and that.

“Have some respect and help find this boy and return him to his family.”

Mr. Slater's family was also forced to speak out, lashing out at armchair detectives who were publishing unfounded theories, including attempting to access Mr. Slater's social media.