Jay Slater major update from Spanish Police as Civil Guard believe teen is still alive

Spanish authorities have not lost hope in the search for missing teenager Jay Slater.

A source close to the investigation has emphasised that the team is not operating under the assumption that Jay is "missing feared dead". And they confirmed that multiple avenues are still being actively explored.

When questioned about any progress in the case and whether there was a clearer picture of Jay's whereabouts, a Civil Guard spokesperson stated: "The investigation is ongoing and several lines of inquiry are being pursued."

READ MORE: Jay Slater's dad suggests son could be in hiding as search 'doesn't make sense

The 19 year old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared after a rave in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife, three weeks ago.

Jay's family has expressed their frustration with the local police's perceived inaction, as official searches were halted after two weeks.

Confusion also surrounds the decision to quickly dismiss two individuals who had driven Jay to a secluded Airbnb near Masco, allowing them to return to the UK without further scrutiny, reports the Mirror.

Warren Slater, Jay's father, along with his brother Zak, have taken it upon themselves to scour the dangerous mountainous area where Jay's phone was last active. On July 8, Warren made an urgent appeal to British officials for assistance in locating his son.

However, Lancashire Police have stated that their stance remains unchanged and they will not be sending officers to join the search efforts.

The search for the missing teen has taken on new dimensions as Warren spoke to The Mirror from Santiago del Teidi, in the looming presence of the mountains that hold the mystery of Jay's disappearance.

He said their efforts have expanded beyond the valley where Jay's phone indicated his last known location, into the neighbouring Los Carrizales valley.

Facing up to the daunting scale of the terrain, Warren expressed it could take an 'army' a decade to thoroughly scour the wild and uneven landscape, recounting "two wild goose chases" that led them to forsaken buildings where they had hoped to find Jay.

The apprentice bricklayer, vanished without a trace on the resort island on 17 June. His last confirmed sighting was when he departed an Airbnb located northward of Masca village.

This followed a lively night spent with friends Lucy Mae Law, 18, and Brad Hargreaves, 19, at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas, after which he left with two British nationals towards their temporary accomodation.

Warren said: "We need to, as a full family, do a proper press conference and ask the British authorities to help. He's a British citizen. Get Interpol involved," indicating a pressing urge to accelerate the efforts.

"It's just us. I haven't got a team. We need a team to come over here and find out for us what the police are doing and what we need to do. Our hands are tied over here, we need experts. How long can you stay here for? It'll take an army 10 years to cover all this. I'd employ a team of Gurkhas."

He added: "We've done the valley where his ping was, we've gone up the road to a vantage point, there's cliffs there and there's a valley and a village there."

He expressed confusion as to why anyone would choose to hike through brambles and cacti when a rough path was available. "All I'm thinking is common sense, would you try and walk through there. Where we've been today you can see there's a hikers path with proper stones. We've gone straight down and you end up in the village," he said.

Warren also questioned why no one had spotted his son walking along the winding mountain road in a popular tourist area. "From the bnb, he's a fit lad, 25 minutes you can get to the top, to where the cafe is. If he's followed the road and been where we've been today, it's took him an hour and a half, " he said.

"Dozens of cars would have gone past him. We got here at 9am and the 10am bus passed us. And it would have passed him. I've been up here three weeks and I've never seen as many cars."

The Airbnb Jay visited was rented by convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim. He has said: "I let the geezer stay at mine because he had nowhere else to go. His friends had all left him."

"I know Jay, through friends, I'm not going to bring someone back to mine if I don't know them. I'm doing the geezer a favour and now my face is all over the news. It's a bit mental. I haven't even done anything."

Qassim also remarked: "The only comment I have to make is that Jay came to the house alive, and he left the house alive."

The search by Spanish authorities concluded last weekend following a 14-day effort.

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