Family of Jay Slater vow to continue looking as Spanish police call off search

Jay Slater’s family flew out to Tenerife to assist the Spanish police with their search (Supplied)

The family of Jay Slater have vowed to continue searching for the missing teenager, despite Spanish police calling off their operation after 13 days.

The 19-year-old from Lancashire disappeared near the remote village of Masca in Tenerife, after setting off to walk 11 hours back to his accommodation.

Despite the efforts of mountain rescue teams, the Guardia Civil and volunteers, no trace of the apprentice bricklayer has been found in the mountain region.

After he was reported missing on 17 June, his family and a number of close friends flew out to the island to assist the search, and have vowed to remain there until he is discovered.

Rachel Hargreaves, a close family friend who has joined Mr Slater’s parents on the Canary Island, told MailOnline: “‘No one is leaving until we find Jay.”

She added: “We stay and we do what we need to do. Nothing has changed. We will continue to search for him.”

A Guardia Civil spokesperson said on Sunday: “The search operation has now finished, although the case remains open.”

Helicopters, drones and search dogs were all deployed to find the apprentice bricklayer, and were seen combing through the rugged terrain with the hope of finding the youngster.

On Friday, the force had appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters and individual volunteers who are experts to assist in a “busqueda masiva” – massive search – on Saturday.

However, the teenager’s father Warren Slater revealed he was “disappointed” that just six volunteers turned out to join the search for his son.

The search in the village of Masca, near his last-known location, took in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.

Mr Slater had attended the NRG music festival in Playa de Las Americas with two friends before his disappearance, and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island.

He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca during the early hours of the morning with two older men, who had rented the property. A police spokesperson later said they were ruled “not relevant” to the case.

On Friday, Mr Slater’s friend Brad Hargreaves told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.

He said: “He was on the phone walking down a road and he’d gone over a little bit – not a big drop – but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said ‘I’ll ring ya back, I’ll ring ya back’ because I think someone else was ringing him.”

He confirmed he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and could hear he was walking on gravel.

But Mr Hargreaves said he and his friend were both laughing at that point.

He added: “He didn’t seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was.”

The last person to speak to Mr Slater was his friend Lucy Law, who spoke to him at 8.50am in a frantic phone call. She said that he had told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.

A GoFundMe appeal Get Jay Slater Home was set up by Ms Law and had raised more than £43,000 as the police search came to an end.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, travelled to the island as the search took place.

She said the money raised online would be used to support mountain rescue teams, and to cover her own accommodation and food costs.