Final days of Jay Slater search branded 'PR stunt' as family make vow

The world was met with the devastating news that the search for missing British teenager Jay Slater has been called off by Spanish police in Tenerife on Sunday. The search efforts have seen thousands of people sending messages of support, making donations, and closely following every update as the case entered its fourteenth day.

However, the case has been marred by online trolls targeting the grieving family, and the search efforts have been met with scepticism, with one British volunteer labelling the final push to find Jay as nothing more than a "PR stunt".

Despite all this, one thing remains certain - Jay's loved ones are desperate to bring him home - and they won't stop searching.

READ MORE: Top cop says Jay Slater 'may not be missing' at all in bombshell new theory

Tenerife's Civil Guard, who have been leading the efforts to locate the 19 year old from Lancashire, announced today (June 30) that it was suspending its active search for Jay Slater. The extensive search involving sniffer dogs, a helicopter and mountain rescue experts has now come to a halt.

They stated that officers would continue to act on any leads or other information that came in - but the active work that has been ongoing since June 17 when the 19 year old apprentice bricklayer was reported missing will now cease, reports the Mirror.

This significant development in the investigation came less than a day after an intensive final push. Despite the surge of hope from the hundreds involved in the search for Jay, their spirits were dampened as the operation saw about 30 police officers, firefighters, Civil Protection personnel, and a few volunteers come together.

The Manchester Evening News has been informed that the search efforts for Jay have escalated to extraordinary levels, even exceeding the initial desperate attempts when his disappearance was first reported.

On the thirteenth day of the search, the Civil Guard finally faced the press to announce a 'massive search', yet details provided were minimal. When questioned on June 2 about how they planned to effectively scour the expansive 30km search area with merely 30 rescuers and a small group of volunteers, the Civil Guard told reporters: "We have already spent days searching. The search we are going to do today is going to be around 30 people."

Directly from the epicentre of the search efforts, Cipriano Martin, head of the Civil Guard's Greim mountain rescue team, confirmed yesterday that two individuals who had been staying with Jay at a Masca Airbnb are no longer considered part of the investigation. He stated: "We're mountain specialists and we're in charge of searching here, and it's the Civil Guard investigators who have been responsible for the investigation, those men have been spoken to and they don't have any relevance whatsoever for the case."

Later, a Civil Guard spokesperson provided more details, stating: "What he was saying was that the investigators have not found anything pointing to those two people being linked to the disappearance."

The search for the missing individual, Jay, sparked debate among volunteers who faced hazardous mountain conditions to assist in his location. TikTok star and climber Paul Arnott, from Bedfordshire, rushed to join the efforts after responding to the family's desperate pleas for help on social media.

29 year old Paul postponed a charity event and spent a significant amount of money on travel expenses to reach the island, becoming part of the search team on June 22. Yet, just yesterday, he expressed his frustration in a critical TikTok video, calling the search a 'massive PR thing', before it was abruptly cancelled the following day.

After several days without success, Paul shared his feelings with his TikTok followers on his 'downtherapids' account: "So, guys, I've literally been waiting for absolutely ages now. This is a massive PR thing, I'm telling you now. I'm gonna ask him in a second to take my name off the list. I'm just gonna go down there and do my thing. I'm gonna do that now, I think. Because there's people everywhere. Literally people everywhere and nobody's doing anything."

The exasperated man informed the Spanish police that he no longer wished to be part of their coordinated efforts, expressing his frustration: "[Speaking to Spanish police] Hey, hey, guys, for the list, this thing, just cross out take my name off. Yeah, because I'm going here now. It's too busy. I wanna go search. I'm gonna search over here cause it's ridiculous. So, yeah, guys, I can't deal with this. This is absolutely mad. I've been up here for ages."

He continued, venting about the chaotic scene: "Yeah, there's people everywhere. I'm just putting it how it is. Everyone is still in their cars. It's all a big thing. It's all chat, chat, chat, chat, chat. I'm putting it out there now. I'm sick of it. I'm so stressed out. I tell you what, I'm coming down here, I'm gonna go get some food cause my morning's already been wasted. And then I'm gonna crack on a search for Jay in the area where I think he is. I can't deal with this, guys. I've been so quiet about this now. I've been so quiet about this. Not doing it anymore, people. I'm sick of this c**p."

An enquiry has been directed to the Civil Guard regarding Mr Arnott's remarks. His videos have amassed over half a million views on TikTok.

The search persisted yesterday, exacerbating the already high-strung atmosphere. Warren, Jay's father, and Zak, his brother, braved the intense heat to climb to the Hilda area at high altitude - the epicentre of the ongoing search operation above the targeted ravines.

Warren, who has been targeted by online trolls, stated: "It's a bit disappointing that there are no British apart from Paul [Arnott] but I suppose to them he's just a British lad who's come out here and got drunk,".

He continued: "I'm grateful to those who have come out here because you can see just how dangerous it is and what gets me is the trollers who are having a go at us for not searching. It's not the local park, these are big mountains, the terrain is dangerous, put yourself in our position. Would you go out in these conditions? ".

It's been an uphill battle for the parents as Warren explained: "It's tough, it's hard, we are leaving it to the professionals and I'm grateful for those who have turned out today and I want to thank them for what they are doing. We just still can't believe it; it's been so tough on us, and I want people to think about us as parents and what we are going through. All those trollers having a go at us, they don't know how we feel, why don't they come up here and have a look and see for themselves how dangerous it is."

On visiting the site of the search, he recalled: "I've come up here now myself because I wanted to have a look about with Zak and to thank those who are up here and have given their time. I just didn't think this would go on for so long, I dropped his mum and brother off at the airport and thought they would be back in a few days. I just thought he's gone out, had a drink, and ended up at some girl's place as we all did when we were younger. He's our youngest, I just want him home."

Despite extensive searches yielding no results yesterday, as reported by the Manchester Evening News, it's evident that the probe into Jay's disappearance is still very much active. While there's no definitive evidence linking Jay's vanishing to criminal activity, the Civil Guard isn't discounting any theories.

A spokesperson for the Civil Guard confirmed on Sunday: "The search operation has now finished although the case remains open." Today, the Civil Guard has been reticent about any ongoing investigations into whether Jay's disappearance is connected to an altercation outside a nightclub.

This incident is said to have taken place in Los Cristianos, a resort town in the south of Tenerife, after a well-off Eastern European man's luxury watch was stolen. Alarmingly, one of Jay's friends has purportedly told officers about potential ties between the theft and the teenager's enigmatic absence.

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While maintaining that "nothing has been ruled out", officials have consistently approached Jay's case as a missing person inquiry rather than a criminal one. However, this afternoon it was clear that Jay's loved ones are not ready to lose hope. Confronted with harsh online criticism and fading hope, they are adamant about continuing the search.

Rachel Hargreaves, a family confidante, spoke to the Manchester Evening News earlier today. She declared that everyone who had made the journey to help in the ongoing search for Jay remains highly focused and committed, insisting they're 'still going to keep searching'.

Ms Hargreaves, whose son Brad was with Jay at the NRG festival in Tenerife when he disappeared, flew out to join Jay's desolate family - his mum Debbie, dad Warren, and brother Zak, in their quest to find him.

Representing all those who are helping in the search, Ms Hargreaves pledged: "We will be staying out here and doing all we can to find Jay."