Yahoo News Officers searching for Jay Slater focus on buildings near where phone last pinged
Search teams looking missing British teenager Jay Slater have narrowed their efforts on small buildings close to where his phone last pinged in Tenerife.Officers from the Guardia Civil were today (Sunday, June 23) seen circling two structures at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park.
Efforts appeared to focus solely on the one area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape. On the seventh day of the hunt for the 19-year-old, search team members could be seen looking into blue barrels outside one of the small buildings.
It comes as the teenager’s mother issued a direct plea to her missing son, saying: “We just need you home.” Debbie Duncan told the PA news agency she has not slept since Jay disappeared.
READ MORE: One thing immediately obvious about the Tenerife Airbnb where missing teen Jay Slater stayed
Asked how the family was coping with the situation, Ms Duncan told PA: “We’re not. I’m not coping very well at all. “I’ve not slept, I’m exhausted. It’s been awful. I can’t give up on him, I just can’t.” Jay, from the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.
He was last heard from on Monday morning. Jay had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance. The walk from his last-known location to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.
Lancashire Constabulary said it had made “an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources”. The offer was rejected by Spanish authorities.
Questioned on whether Spanish police should have accepted help from the UK, Ms Duncan said: “I believe they said they’ve got enough resources and they don’t need the help from English police. I don’t know if they find it an insult – I really don’t know. I really don’t know. They say they’ve got enough resources to get on with the investigation… I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Asked if her head was spinning from the past few days, she said: “It is, it is. People say, ‘Yeah, I understand’ – no, you don’t, you don’t understand.” The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up
Family friend Rachel Hargreaves told PA that those close to Mr Slater were staying in Tenerife “until we’ve got an outcome”. She said: “We’ve got to live in hope, haven’t we?
“You can’t give up on anything, can you really? We’re here and we’re staying until we’ve got an outcome.”
Addressing the support the family had received from well-wishers, she said: “We’re happy for anyone who wants to help or anyone with information or anything like that. Like I say, we’re still living in hope that we’re going to get a positive outcome. We just feel like we’ll leave it to the professionals now and that’s the best thing to do.”
The NRG festival issued a statement in which it said it was able to “give some practical support” to Mr Slater’s family.
A GoFundMe page for Mr Slater’s family has raised more than £29,000 and will go towards family and friends staying in Tenerife while the hunt continues. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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