Jay Slater stepdad says 'why would he' and rules out disappearance 'theory'

Missing Jay Slater would "not walk for eight hours", his stepdad has said, as the search for the missing Brit continues in Tenerife. The 19-year-old vanished in the Canary Islands earlier this week, having attended a music festival in the European Union holiday hotspot.

The stepfather of missing British teenager Jay says he doubts the 19-year-old would have tried to walk back to his hotel in Tenerife as he often helps him run errands at home. Jay’s stepfather, Andy Watson, told MailOnline : “He has me run him down to the hairdressers.

"It is 200 yards away - why would he walk eight hours?" He went on: “Who lives in the mountains? It would be wrong to speculate, but everyone has their own impression in their head. I wouldn't have gone off with two people I didn't know.

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"But he's 19, he's impressionable, isn't he? If someone said there's more drink at our house, he's going to go.” A spokesman for the Civil Guard said yesterday: “The search operation has moved to the south of the island. The search areas are Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas.

"It’s obviously down to information received as the investigation has progressed. As things stand at the moment the search in the mountainous area near Masca in the north has been halted.” It comes after mum Debbie flew to Tenerife.

She said: “I think he’s been taken against his will with what’s been said, but it’s in the hands of the police. It’s just traumatic and it doesn’t feel real. It’s just awful, it’s horrendous. He’s just a great person who everyone wanted to be with."

Speaking out in a tearful ITV interview, Debbie went on and said of the missing Brit, who was out in Tenerife with pal Lucy Mae: "He’s good looking, he’s a popular boy.”