Jay Slater latest as Tenerife police give update on 'new lead' as search for teenager called off

The Civil Guard has not confirmed whether it is investigating a connection between Jay Slater's disappearance and a fight outside a club.

The alleged incident occurred in the southern Tenerife resort of Los Cristianos, following the theft of a wealthy Eastern European man's designer watch. One of Jay's friends reportedly informed the police of a possible link between the watch theft and the teenager's disappearance.

The authorities have consistently maintained that "nothing has been ruled out" but continue to classify Jay's case as a missing persons inquiry rather than a criminal investigation. The announcement comes as the search for the 19-year-old from Lancashire is halted.

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Authorities have concluded their search near the mountain village of Masca for the missing teen. However, the police have stated the case 'remains open', and await any additional information that may assist in locating Jay.

The Civil Guard announced today the nearly two-week long search involving sniffer dogs, a helicopter, and mountain rescue experts, has ended. The active operation ongoing since June 17, when the 19 year old apprentice bricklayer was reported missing, will now cease, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Nonetheless, officers will continue to act on any leads or other information received. But they declined to say actively investigating whether Jay’s disappearance was linked to an altercation outside a club in the southern Tenerife resort of Los Cristianos after a wealthy Eastern European man had his designer watch stolen.

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Confirmation of the dramatic development came less than 24 hours after a 'last push' operation involving around 30 police, firefighters and Civil Protection along with a handful of volunteers, failed to find any trace of Jay

A Civil Guard spokeswoman said today: "The search operation has now finished although the case remains open."

A well-placed source added: "The daily operation which has been going on in and around Masca close to where Jay was last seen has been brought to an end. If any information comes in that merits a new search though it will be acted upon."

"My understanding is Jay's parents have been informed of what obviously is a major development. Nothing of any relevance was found during yesterday's large-scale search."

Jay was last seen by a local resident in Masca in north-west Tenerife just after 8am on June 17 walking northwards along the road out of the village after stopping to ask her for directions. His phone last pinged near to a look-out point where search teams gathered yesterday to begin the last day of the operation.

Friend Lucy Law said Jay had called her shortly after he was last seen to say he was thirsty and had no water and just one per cent battery on his phone. The Civil Guard says the 'parallel' investigation by police investigators which they are not sharing information on is continuing despite the suspension of the 'visible' mountain search in and around Masca.