Jay Slater's dad completely baffled by Tenerife decision after searching 80 per cent of valley

Jay Slater's father is left utterly bewildered, admitting he "can't understand" why his son would veer off into the dangerous valleys near where Jay was last spotted before going missing.

The Slater family, overwhelmed with sorrow and bewilderment, have scoured roughly "80 per cent" of the Barranco de Juan Lopez Valley, near the small village of Masca in Tenerife, where Jay's mobile signal last pinged. Warren Slater, Jay's anguished father, recounted their search efforts that led to a precipitous cliff edge, leaving him at a loss as to why his son would choose such a risky route.

He also expressed his confusion over the lack of sightings of Jay on what is usually a busy tourist trail, noting that 'dozens' of cars would have driven past. "It doesn't make sense, he's either hid himself, but why would he hide himself? Or he's just ....? " Mr Slater said. "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 struggled to fathom why anyone would not take the clear path, which bypasses the dense undergrowth, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

"All I'm thinking is common sense, would you try and walk through there," he said. "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. I'd go into the first building you see. An ideal spot for shelter is that little cave isn't it, get a bit of shade, you're hungover, get your head down in there. The police are convinced that's where his last ping were".

He also discussed the route on the road, saying: "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. 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."

Mr Slater has also called for more assistance from British authorities after Spanish police ended their search last Sunday. He highlighted that Jay is a 'British citizen' and voiced his wish to get 'Interpol involved'.

The family, along with some volunteers, continues the search in Tenerife for Jay. On Monday, Mr Slater and Jay's brother Zak were spotted in Santiago del Teide, indicating they are expanding their search efforts.