Yahoo News Just six volunteers join 'massive' search for Jay Slater after police appeal
Just six volunteers - including a British TikToker - have stepped forward to join today's search for Jay Slater following a Spanish police appeal for help.
The 19-year-old vanished in the northwest of Tenerife on June 17 and it was hoped a fresh appeal for search efforts would shed light on the case.
But the call to action has seen a disappointing response from the public, with only six individuals joining the nearly 30 professional searchers as they enter the 13th day of operations.
Cipriano Martin, who leads the Civil Guard's Greim mountain rescue unit, said of the poor turnout: "Well, we've been searching for lots of days and with the search today, we're talking about 30 people."
The Guardia Civil had issued a plea on Friday for volunteer groups and skilled individuals familiar with harsh terrains to come forward for a "busqueda masiva" or massive search scheduled for Saturday.
The extensive operation was set to take place in Masca village, close to where Jay was last seen and would cover challenging areas such as steep cliffs, ravines, and various trails.
Jay was last seen in Masca, Teno Rural Park where he had stayed in an Airbnb with two other men after attending a rave in the south of the island.
The owner of the accommodation was the last person to see him following Jay's enquiry about the next bus back to his friends in southern Tenerife.
He later contacted his friends Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves by phone, stating his intention to attempt the approximately 11-hour walk back, The Mirror reports.
Among those who arrived this morning were a Spanish army reservist, a local mum and British TikToker Paul Arnott, who is in touch with Jay's friends and family, including heartbroken mum Debbie Duncan, 55.
Asked about the turnout and accusations of a lack of publicity in the local media, Paul, 29, from Bedfordshire, said: "I think the exposure has been really good.
"I've had loads of people that say they're going to come because they've seen my posts and the police, so personally from my point of view I think it's been brilliant. It's what the family wanted and that's what I'm interested in - helping the family."
Asked about Jay's family and if he expects them to join today's search, he said: "They've said I'm doing a good job and I'm making them proud.
"I wouldn't want them to come out here. It's the worst terrain ever. I wouldn't want my family coming out here, no chance. They're broken. I admire them so much for their strength.
It's the worst situation any family could be in. It's horrible." He added: "I've been checking loads of different areas and some days I've been with the police and mountain rescue who have told me where to go to search.
We spoke to Brad and we know that Jay has been sliding down the mountains so I'm looking for slide marks. I've got a picture of his shoes on my phone and I'm looking for any breakages in the plant material. Just any evidence that he has been through this way."
Fellow volunteer Livia Karczewski, 40, said she wanted to help because she has a 19-year-old son herself. The experienced hiker heard about the search on Facebook and decided to join in.
She said: “I have a son the same age and if something happened to him I would like to think people would come to help find him. It really hits home. I am experienced but not an expert so I will search the paths. It is difficult terrain so you need to be prepared.”
Army reservist Juan Garcia, who has mountain search and rescue experience, said he felt compelled to help after reading Jay’s story in the local newspaper. Juan, 53, who brought his podenco-cross hunting dog Caperucita with him, described the area as “difficult” and like a “labyrinth”.
He said: “This landscape can be very dangerous. I am from the island so we are used to this kind of landscape. If you search maybe we are lucky and we find him. We have to put a lot of effort to look slowly, it is like a labyrinth, there’s a lot of bushes so it’s easy to miss something, especially with the helicopter and drones. That’s why you have to walk and I brought my dog in case he can smell something, but it’s not an easy task.”
On Friday, Jay's friend Brad told ITV’s This Morning he had been on a video call with him before his disappearance when he heard him go off the road.
He said: “He was on the phone walking down a road and he’d gone over a little bit – not a big drop – but a tiny little drop and he was going down, and he said ‘I’ll ring ya back, I’ll ring ya back’ because I think someone else was ringing him.”
He confirmed he could see his friend’s feet “sliding” down the hill and could hear he was walking on gravel. But Brad said he and his friend were both laughing at that point. He added: “He didn’t seem concerned on the phone until we knew how far away he was.”
He told the programme he still had hope for Jay and was “praying” for him to come home. Earlier this week, his mother Debbie Duncan, who travelled to the island following his disappearance, said money raised online would be used to support mountain rescue teams, and to cover her own accommodation and food costs.
