Jay Slater’s uncle said “we have to do something” as he promised his family would continue their “desperate” search for the missing Tenerife teenager.
Apprentice bricklayer Mr Slater19 years old, he was last seen on June 17, after leaving an Airbnb in the small village of Masca, in the north, to walk back to his accommodation, which would have taken him 11 hours.
Members of your familytogether with a small group of volunteers, they are now carrying out ad hoc searches on foot after police halted the official land hunt on 30 June.
Speaking to Sky News in the rural town of Santiago del Teide on Tuesday, Slater’s uncle Glen Duncan, 41, described the family’s situation as “just desperate – despair”.
Duncan said the family feels they have been left alone and when asked if they wanted help from police in the UK, he said: “We would love that, but it’s not that simple.”
“So far, we have just contacted the British consulate here, who have said it is still a real investigation, we just have to wait.
“It just adds to the despair, really.”
Slater’s father Warren Slater, 58, and older brother Zak, 21, were among the small search teams that combed the deep rocky gorges of Teno Country Park, near the remote village of Masca in north.
“It’s not just Warren and Zak, there are people who are out there,” Duncan said.
From June: Jay Slater’s dad Warren says ‘I just want him back’
Duncan added that the family has not given up hope and will continue to search until he is found.
“We’re going to have to do something because otherwise you’ll be sitting in the apartment looking at the same four walls,” he said.
The area is still being searched by Jay Slater’s family and a small group of volunteers
Duncan also called for “more communication” from the island’s police.
The police search encompassed a steep rocky area, gullies and trails as helicopters, drones and search dogs were sent to find Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, but to no avail.
After halting the operation in early July, the Guardia Civil told Sky News that his family could bring in their own search and rescue teams to look for the missing teenager.
They said the investigation is still ongoing but will not disclose their lines of inquiry.
Police end search for Jay Slater in mountains
Mr. Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncanwho is also on the island, has already thanked local volunteers helping with the search in an update to a GoFundMe page set up to help find her son, which has already received more than £52,000 in donations.
“We were overwhelmed by the kindness and support we received and would like to thank the local walking group for all their help in planning routes to find our Jay,” she said.
Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Jay Slater’s last known moves
Slater traveled to Tenerife with friends on June 13 to attend a music festival at Papagayo nightclub in the southern resort of Playa de las Americas on June 16.
After leaving the event, he got into a car the next morning and traveled to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said were “not relevant” to the case.
Jay Slater was last heard from near Masca, which is far from the festival he attended
At 8.30am on June 17, he called his friend Lucy Law, saying he had missed the bus and tried to walk back to his accommodation.
He said he “cut the leg off” a cactus, “had no idea where he was,” was “lost in the mountains” and that his phone battery was at “1%,” Law said.
Shortly afterwards, his battery died and he was reported missing at 9:04 am.
See more information:
What could have happened to Jay Slater?
Jay Slater’s family on ‘torture’
Research ‘could be boosted by partridge hunting season’
The festival is a short drive from Jay Slater’s accommodation
Its last known location was in the Teno Rural Park, near Masca.
The owner of a local cafe previously told Sky News that Slater tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.
Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8 a.m. the day he disappeared, telling him the bus would arrive at 10 a.m. — but he started walking.
She said she later passed him “walking fast.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
