Fireman helping search for missing Jay Slater describes case as 'increasingly strange'

A firefighter involved in the search for 19-year-old Jay Slater, who vanished on June 17 after attending a music festival in Tenerife, has spoken about the 'increasingly strange' nature of the teenager's disappearance. Teams have been combing through mountainous regions near where he was last spotted in an effort to find him.

The search operation has intensified with emergency services, including the Civil Guard, collaborating with mountain rescue and firefighting units across a 30-kilometre expanse. Jay was last spotted walking by himself on the morning of Monday, June 17.

Before disappearing, Jay messaged his friend Lucy Mae, saying he was lost with his phone charge at a critical one per cent. Later his phone pinged not far from Masca village where he was last seen.

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Riccardo, a fireman from the Brigada Forestal, described the area they are looking for Jay in as 'dangerous' terrain. He said: "It's very difficult to find people here, because of the ravines and the mountains", reports Birmingham Live.

He continued: "I've seen the case and about the missing boy on the internet... but the days are now passing by and it's increasingly strange that he hasn't appeared yet. The information we have is that Jay (and his friends) were going to a music festival, and afterwards, the last sign of him was around here in the Teno Rural Park. I don't know if he was walking, hiking... I just don't know. That's where I lose the thread." Riccardo added: "It's so strange."

Search crews have been concentrating their effort near Teno Rural Park nature reserve, an area where Jay was said to be missing, according to reports by the Manchester Evening News.

The search strategy also involves a gorge roughly 100 meters below the rental property where Jay was last sighted, as well as mountainous terrain between Masca and Las Portelas. The vast land under examination, divided into three separate gorges, spans across approximately 30 km, stated officers from the Civil Defence at the search base.

Three specific regions - Gorge of Masca, La Vica, and Las Portelas, in addition to the surrounding areas of Masca, have been carefully scoured for any signs. Expressing a glimmer of hope, a member of the Civil Defence search team previously said: "We still have hope that he's alive, up until the last moment when the last hope is lost."

"The truth is that we feel a bit frustrated because we can't find him. It's so big (here) that it's very difficult to search in such a steep area. But we're doing everything we can."