Mother of British teenager missing in Tenerife says search is ‘living nightmare’

19 year old Jay Slater hasn’t been heard from since Monday morning

The mother of a British teenager who has gone missing during a holiday in Tenerife said searching for her son was “an absolute living nightmare”.

Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday morning as he told a friend he planned to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus, a journey expected to take around 11 hours on foot.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, flew to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands on Tuesday morning to search for her son, who is an apprentice bricklayer.

Ms Duncan told ITV News: “It’s just a nightmare, it’s an absolute living nightmare.

“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. I just want my baby back.

“Please just anybody who can help – look for him. It’s a massive area up there.

“He’s out there somewhere or somebody knows where he is.”

Mr Slater had gone to Tenerife to attend the NRG music festival on the island.

Ms Duncan said: “I wish I hadn’t encouraged him to go to this. I should have said: ‘Don’t go to Tenerife.’

“I just think he was probably still in high spirits, buzzing – he’s not known where he is. He’s not known the extent of the long journey that he went on to get up there.

“And he’s just thought: ‘I’m gonna walk.’ And that’s what apparently he said to the last person he contacted.”

Describing her son, Ms Duncan said: “He’s the life and soul, he’s a beautiful boy.”

Mr Slater’s friend Lucy – who went to the island with him to attend the festival – told the Manchester Evening News (MEN) that he had gone to stay with people he had met on holiday after a night out.

She said she had received a call from Mr Slater at around 8.15am on Monday after he missed the bus and was trying to walk back although he said he was lost, needed a drink of water and had only 1% battery on his phone.

Mr Slater’s phone then cut off, with his last location showing as the Rural de Teno park – a mountainous area popular with hikers.

Lucy told the MEN that one of the people Mr Slater had met had driven them back to his apartment in a hire car and the missing man had not realised how far away it was.

“He’s ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there,” she said.

“But then in the morning he’s set off walking, using his maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of mountains with nothing around.”

Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers.

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

Published: 20/06/2024 by Radio NewsHub