Jay Slater's heartbroken dad says 'it doesn't make sense' as search continues

The father of missing teenager Jay Slater said his son's sudden disappearance in the mountains of north west Tenerife "doesn't make sense". Warren Slater was joined by son Zak and family friend Rachel Hargreaves as they put up missing posters on buildings in the village of Santiago del Teide on Sunday.

On the seventh day of extensive search efforts, he said police were investigating "every lead". Jay, 19, from Lancashire, disappeared on Monday morning (June 17) after he was reportedly seen walking uphill into the mountains alone.

It is believed that he had spent the previous night at a remote Airbnb north of Masca village with two acquaintances he met at the NRG music event. However, the seventh day of searches in the Rural de Teno park, involving mountain rescue teams, local police, the Civil Guard and fire crews, once again left his distraught family without any answers.

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It comes after Jay's mother Debbie previously told reporters about a potential sighting of someone resembling Jay near a church in the nearby village of Santiago del Teide, approximately 7km away from Masca village. This possible sighting has not yet been confirmed by the Civil Guard, but Jay's friends and family have reported it to the police and are hopeful that CCTV footage will provide further clues, reports the Manchester Evening News.

As they distributed printed posters to pedestrians and affixed them on buildings in the vicinity, they also shared a still image of an individual who they believe resembles Jay.

They alleged that someone had reported a potential sighting of a person resembling Jay, strolling through the local church square around 6pm on Monday - ten hours after he was reportedly last heard from. Posters are now reminding locals of the ongoing investigation, urging anyone with any information to contact the police immediately.

The Civil Guard has not directly confirmed to the M. E.N whether this sighting is being investigated. Despite the grainy image, family friend Rachel Hargreaves said the police are investigating "every lead".

Speaking from the village of Santiago del Teide, dad Warren said: "You think, has somebody got him? Because no matter if you were drunk or whatever, you don't go off that road up there.

"And there are people up there... you don't go along that road for more than 20 minutes without somebody stopping you or passing you. I knew right from when I went up there that he wouldn't have gone [off that road].

"He isn't stupid. When I saw the police I asked them, seriously, 'would you go off that road? 'and I think it woke them up a bit. It started out as it being a lad who had gone walking and got lost, or that he may have fallen.

"But it doesn't make sense. Nobody would walk off that road. Why would he have gone uphill? It's dangerous; it's a massive mountain.

"It's not just a hill. It was only when I went up there myself [that I noticed]. People that go out to a party don't come up here."

Rachel Hargreaves said they were "doing all they can to bring him home", commending the tireless work of mountain rescue teams. "We have to take each lead and act on it," she stated.

"Having been up there [the mountain] ourselves, and after all the searching, we get the impression that he can't be there. We are six days in, but doing all we can to bring him home.

"This morning I told police where the CCTV cameras are around here. We aren't giving up.

"He's an intelligent boy; nearly a fully qualified bricklayer. He would've stood out like a sore thumb up there and somebody would've seen him.

"They've got on foot patrols, drones, helicopters out. The mountain rescue teams have mapped the area out and shown us they're doing all they can. They had a detailed map and showed us where they were searching."

A firefighter involved in the search told the Manchester Evening News they thought it was strange Jay had not yet been found. He said: "The days are passing by... but he still hasn't appeared."

It has been reported that the most recent contact from Jay was on the morning of Monday (June 17) when his phone "pinged" in the middle of a mountainous ravine around half a mile north of Masca. Sunday (June 23) marked the seventh day of intense searches, with drones, helicopters, fire crews and search dogs alongside mountain rescue teams all deployed in a desperate bid to find him.

Throughout Sunday morning, search teams trying to locate the British teenager also focused their efforts on a small hut close to the area where Jay's phone is last said to have "pinged". Emergency workers are currently scouring a 30-kilometre area in hopes of finding the 19 year old, concentrating on three different areas - the Masca Gorge, La Vica, and Las Portelas, as well as the surrounding Masca area.