Inside gruelling hunt for Jay Slater in 2,000ft ‘badlands’ ravine where air is thin & cops face sheer drops into sea
THE HUNT for missing British teenager Jay Slater enters its sixth day today as cops scour a brutal and sparse area of northern Tenerife.
Mountain rescue turned their efforts to an area known locally as “the badlands” yesterday, scouring a 2,000ft ravine in a remote park.
Pictures from the scene show cops, firefighters, volunteers and sniffer dogs scanning the desolate Teno Nature Reserve, Jay’s last known location.
Locals and experts have warned of the treacherous conditions in the area – where the air is “thin”, temperatures change rapidly and the mountains drop sharply to the water below.
Lancashire teen Jay, 19, vanished on Monday while on holiday with two friends and hasn’t been seen since.
He left a rave with two people he’d just met on Sunday night, stayed at their AirBnB in the village of Masca and missed his bus home on Monday.
Jay made a frantic phone call to pal Lucy Law to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere” and appeared to embark on an 11-hour trek home.
An urgent round-the-clock search was quickly launched, with Jay’s heartbroken mum and family jetting to the island to join the hunt.
Today police efforts are spread across 30 kilometres in and around the Masca area where Jay was last seen.
A local car rental owner has warned of the treacherous conditions in the parklands where efforts are concentrated.
It does go very cold at night, especially with the thin air and the wind chill
Andrew Knight, local
Andrew Knight, who runs Sanasty Car Hire Tenerife, has lent his vehicles to help in the hunt.
He told The Mirror: “You’re up there, it’s very thin air, you’ve got cloud around.
“It does go very cold at night, especially with the thin air and the wind chill.
“It would be pretty cold if you were up there without jumpers and jackets and things.”
The 29-year-old warned that the weather up in the hills is also “constantly changing”.
It comes as…
- Bombshell new vid shows Jay at a rave hours being he vanished
- Pics show Airbnb teen partied at before going missing
- Jay was spotted ‘walking alone’ by locals
- Jay’s mum was sent a message saying “kiss goodbye to your son” amid family fears he’s been kidnapped
- She gave a tearful plea and said “I just want my baby back”
- His family have endured days of bogus theories and sick messages from trolls
- Cops searched the teen’s hotel room in Tenerife for clues on Wednesday
Jay’s last-known location was on a mountain road on the north west side of the island on Monday.
He was facing at least a 11-hour walk home after missing the bus and ended up trekking through the harsh environment.
An area popular with hikers, the park includes challenging trails, uneven terrain and sharp drops down into the water below.
Jonathan Stones, who moved to Tenerife more than two decades ago at 13, said the Teno Nature Reserve is one of the island’s most inhospitable spots.
He told The Sun: “Where Jay was last located through his mobile phone is where he stands the least chance of survival.
“The desolate landscapes around the island’s holiday hotspots are referred to as ‘malpais’ by locals — a word that translates into English as ‘bad land’.”
The former journalist, 50, warned the searing heat could be deceptive, with comfortable temperatures in the morning turning into roasting highs by 11am.
He added: “With no shade in sight, no water to hand and a deep ravine, the sun becomes an even more fierce adversary.
“And the shadowy respite offered by the hilltops is short-lived.
“The sun moves around the mountain sides quickly and anyone sheltering behind a craggy outcrop is soon flushed from their hide in search of the next one.
“I hope desperately that it’s a riddle solved in time for Jay to be reunited safely with his family.”
What happens nowadays is that many people go with normal trainers, shorts, shirts… Sooner or later an accident will happen
Vicente Infante, Tenerife Mountain Federatio
Vicente Infante, from the Tenerife Mountain Federation, previously warned of the dangers of hiking there without proper gear.
He said: “Hikers in the past were prepared, used suitable footwear, helmets… In short, they carried all the equipment.”
“What happens nowadays is that many people go with normal trainers, shorts, shirts… that’s where the risks are.
“More and more people are going, so sooner or later an accident will happen. It’s inevitable.”
The apprentice bricklayer Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, had travelled to a rental property in the village of Masca with two pals he met at a festival rave on Sunday night.
The owner of the Airbnb said Jay asked about a local bus before attempting the almost 11-hour trek back to his hotel on Monday morning.
Ophelia, the owner of the holiday rental Casa Abuela Tina – where Jay stayed on Sunday – has said she is “very worried about” the teen.
She said she saw him walking off on his own uphill in the vast mountainous area near Masca.
British cops yesterday offered to help in the search for Jay.
But Lancashire Police said Spain’s Guardia Civil turned down its “offer of support” to help in the search for the teen.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
