Jay Slater’s father criticises lack of British volunteers taking part in search

Jay Slater’s father has criticised the lack of British volunteers who took part in a major search operation for his missing son.

Warren Slater, 55, said he was “disappointed” at the low turnout of helpers at a police search for his 19-year-old on Saturday.

Jay went missing in Tenerife on June 17 and the Guardia Civil has been searching for him for the last 12 days.

The force asked volunteers to meet them at the mountain village of Masca at 9am, but they were greeted by just six people.

The group included British TikTok creator Paul Arnott, 29, and a smattering of Spanish nationals.

Mr Slater visited the search site at around 3pm with his other son Zak, 24, and was clearly emotional as he spoke to journalists.

He said: “It’s a bit disappointing that there are no British apart from Paul but I suppose to them he’s just a British lad who’s come out here and got drunk.
 
“I’m grateful to those who have come out here because you can see just how dangerous it is and what gets me is the trollers who are having a go at us for not searching.

“It’s not the local park, these are big mountains, the terrain is dangerous, put yourself in our position would you go out in these conditions?
 
“It’s tough, it’s hard, we are leaving it to the professionals and I’m grateful for those who have turned out today and I want to thank them for what they are doing.’
 
He added: “We just still can’t believe it; it’s been so tough on us, and I want people to think about us as parents and what we are going through.
 
“All those trollers having a go at us, they don’t know how we feel, why don’t they come up here and have a look and see for themselves how dangerous it is.
 
“I’ve come up here now myself because I wanted to have a look about with Zak and to thank those who are up here and have given their time.
 
“I just didn’t think this would go on for so long, I dropped his mum and brother off at the airport and thought they would be back in a few days.

“I just thought he’s gone out had a drink and ended up at some girl’s place as we all did when we were younger, he’s our youngest I just want him home.”

Spanish police have insisted that two men seen with British teenager Jay Slater just hours before he vanished “don’t have any relevance to the case”.

The 19-year-old went missing in Tenerife on June 17 after calling a friend between 8.30am and 9am to say he was lost and desperately thirsty.

He had earlier travelled to a remote mountain village in the north of the island with two British men he had met at a music festival.

The men, who are believed to be from South East England, were interviewed by Spanish police but were allowed to return to the UK last week.

At a police press conference on Saturday, the first since Mr Slater disappeared 12 days earlier, the head of the Guardia Civil’s Greim mountain rescue unit was asked if police had spoken to the two men.

Cipriano Martin responded: “We’re mountain specialists and we’re in charge of searching here, and it’s the Civil Guard investigators who have been responsible for the investigation, those men have been spoken to and they don’t have any relevance whatsoever for the case.”

He was speaking as a major search for missing British teenager Jay Slater fell flat.

The Guardia Civil had called for people with mountaineering experience to join a one-day “massive search” on Saturday, but were met by just half a dozen people.

The disappointing turnout comes despite intense public interest in Mr Slater’s disappearance, with more than £42,000 being raised on a GoFundMe page for his family.

The smattering of volunteers huddled with the police and firefighters to discuss their search plan before setting off down the steep slope of the Rural de Teno national park in the north of the island.

“It’s not for everyone,” Juan Garcia, 53, a volunteer and Army reserve who took part in the search, told The Telegraph.

“This is not like walking in the city. You need to be trained to know how to work here.”

He arrived with his dog Caperucita, a four-year-old Podenco Cross - a Canarian hunting breed - which can trace a scent from two miles away.

“Rather than helicopters or drones, you need to walk it,” Mr Garcia said. “That’s why I brought the dog.”

Livia Karczewski travelled more than 40 minutes to join the search. She has a 19-year-old son herself and said she hoped others would search for him if he went missing.

“We will be searching all day. I’m quite an experienced hiker,” the 40-year-old said.

Gregorio Lima, 50, spoke no English but demonstrated how he would search the terrain with a long wooden pole that he carried in his hands.

The pole is known as a “lanza” on the Canary Islands and was traditionally used by shepherds to vault down steep hills and rocks.

Mr Slater, who travelled to Tenerife with two friends, left a music festival in a car with the two British men he met that night.

They travelled to Masca and Mr Slater was last seen walking up a steep road in the early hours of June 17.

After setting off, he rang a friend and said he was lost, thirsty, had one per cent charge left on his phone and had cut his leg on a cactus.

His phone ran out of power shortly after the call.