Jay Slater is NOT 'missing feared dead', Tenerife police say

Jay Slater ISN’T "missing feared dead," a police source has said as "lines of inquiry" are kept open. A Spanish Guardia Civil source revealed to The Sun that the missing teen isn't deemed 'missing feared dead' to them yet as they continue to investigate.

Cops called off their official search after two weeks but have vowed to continue to follow up with leads. Despite the criticism, the Guardia Civil say they are continuing at pace to follow up with numerous leads in the Canary Islands.

A spokesman told The Sun: "The investigation is ongoing and several lines of inquiry are being pursued." A source close to the probe went even further and said they were still hopeful of finding the teenager alive despite the time that has passed.

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They insisted that the investigation had not yet classed Jay as "missing feared dead". It comes as mum Debbie Duncan described the online speculation as “horrible” and said that Spanish police had told her it may actually hinder their investigation.

“I think as well they have actually said that there’s too much noise, that’s affecting it,” she said. She said she believes “there’s something untoward” about her son’s disappearance, and that police told her they are considering all possibilities. “They’ve said we’re investigating all leads,” Duncan said.

“I really am saddened by all your comments,” Duncan wrote in an update a GoFundMe page set up to support the family. “I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag.” The teenager was last heard from in mid-June when he phoned a friend saying he was lost, needed water, and that his phone battery was on 1%.

He had been with friends at the NRG music festival, but had gone back with two men he had met, who are believed to be British, to their holiday cottage on the outskirts of the village of Masca, almost 25 miles (40km) north of the holiday resort in Los Cristianos where he was staying with friends.

A spokesperson for the music festival said it had been able to “give some practical support” to Slater’s family.