Jay Slater police hit by 'hidden traps' in search to find him

Jay Slater police and rescue teams searching for the missing team in Tenerife face "hidden traps" in a bid to find him. Local journalist Clio O’Flynn spoke on GB News about the geographical realities authorities are having to contend with as the search for the 19-year-old continues for a third day.

She told Tom Harwood and Emily Carver they will be using “everything at their disposal” in a bid to find Slater. “I know there has been some criticism because they have asked for volunteer teams to stay away from certain parts of the search because they just simply might be getting in the way," she said.

“They are using everything at their disposal, these are not simply roads and mountains to be searched. There are gulfs, there are ravines, these are volcanic zones, so they do have hidden traps if you’re walking down.”

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The Tenerife-based journalist said the search for Mr Slater has been “very intense”, with emergency services using all resources available to them. Clio told Sky News that mountain specialists, search dogs, drones and helicopters had been involved, and that they were “taking suggestions from his family”.

She said: “From what we gather, Jay would have gone off the road because there’s only one road up to the area that his phone was last pinged from. If he wasn’t on the main road, the only speculation that you can conclude is that he went off the road and onto one of the unmarked paths to try and make his way down to the coast.

“This is a difficult area to search, and they have been using everything at their disposal. I think most of the expat community who have been following the search and rescue and helping the family are actually appreciative of the work that the police are doing.”

She added that the area of the island where his phone was last registered is a dry, arid part of the island which has a number of ravines and gullies, with little access to fresh water. However, she said the island, is currently not experiencing the sort of heatwaves seen recently in Greece and Cyprus, with temperatures at around 26C.

Tenerife-based reporter Clio O’Flynn said Thursday “is a key day, the day they [the rescuers] want to have good news and say they’ve found Jay”. “If he’s taken shelter, the hope is he’s waiting for help to come along,” she told Sky News.

“The problem will be ‘does he have a phone signal? Will people be able to locate him? Can he hear their cries?’” She added that the local authorities are “very, very keen to find this young man, for his sake and the sake of the island”.