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Jay Slater’s father has voiced his frustration as the search for his 19-year-old son enters a fourth week.
It is now three weeks exactly since the vanished in Tenerife’s Rural de Teno park on Monday 17 June.
The case has captured the attention of the nation, with over £50,000 being donated to the 19-year-old’s family, who have flown out to continue searching for him – despite authorities ending the official search a week ago.
His mother, Debbie Duncan, said the family has been “overwhelmed” by the support as she issued an update on the GoFundMe.
She said local volunteer groups had offered to continue searching and that they are also in contact with “experienced groups” who have offered assistance.
That included Jay’s father, Warren Slater, who carried out a search with the teenager’s uncle and brother, close to the last location Jay’s phone “pinged” on Saturday.
But he has voiced his concern over the theories being spouted out, and the local police response.
He told MailOnline: “Everything stinks. It’s just a riddle and I don’t know the outcome.”
He also spoke of his frustation about a woman at a restaurant who he said last saw his son walking the wrong way before he vanished.
Three weeks today since Jay went missing
It’s now three weeks since Jay Slater went missing on 17 June, after telling a friend he had got lost in mountains on the island of Tenerife.
The 19-year-old had travelled to the Spanish island on 13 June to attend the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance.
After attending one of the events on 16 June, Jay went to an AirBnB in Parque Rural de Teno Buenavista del Norte, a remote area to the north of the island, known for its rugged and sparse terrain.
At around 8.15am, Mr Slater called his friend Lucy Law, who had been at the festival with him, to tell her he had missed his bus and was planning to make the 11-hour walk back to his accommodation.
He told her he was dehydrated, had cut his leg on a cactus, was unsure of his location, and had hardly any phone battery to use a maps app. This was the last time the teenager’s family and friends heard from him.
‘You start screaming and shouting’- Jay’s father
More has emerged from Jay Salter’s father, Warren’s interview with MailOnline, in which vented his frustration at the police investigation.
The Guardia Civil has wound back its search but welcomed any search and rescue teams to the island to conduct their own operations, so long as they request permission to do so.
But Warren is frustrated at the lack of help. He said: “We’re going round and round in circles. The Spanish police, you can’t go screaming and shouting at them because they don’t do anything.
“If you start screaming and shouting they won’t do anything even more. If they want to go and search a house, they have to go to court first.”
Jay’s father vents frustration at investigation and help from locals
Although the police search on the island for Jay has been scaled back, the family is still leading a operation to find the 19-year-old with help of some volunteers.
On Saturday, Jay’s father, Warren, was part of a 10-strong volunteer team that combed through the treacherous terrain near where the teenager was last seen.
And there has been growing frustration from the family over help from locals who last saw Jay.
Speaking to MailOnline, Warren said: “One woman, he’s knocked on her door, she said at 10 and he went the wrong way.
“This morning I’ve seen her, she didn’t want to stop. It’s somebody’s son, you know if you’re the last person to see someone’s son, you try your damndest to help don’t you? She must be a grandma.
“If your son was here what would you do? If he was at the top of that rock you’d climb it.”
‘Quite disappointed’ – Jay’s father on ‘large-scale’ search
On June 29, a search was organised on the island after Guardia Civil officers put out a plea for help to find Jay Slater – but just six people turned up.
The MailOnline has been speaking to Jay’s father, Warren, who was out searching the area the 19-year-old was last seen on Saturday.
Speaking about the lack of people turning up for the earlier search, he told the outlet: “I was quite disappointed last Saturday when they did the search, they said the whole island was going to turn out.
“Let all the big boys do it, the police told me the big, big search was Saturday. We got down in that valley at 2pm and there wasn’t a soul.
“They might have been there I don’t know, they might have been there before me. But I was quite disappointed because I expected every fire engine, ambulance, looky looky man and every prostitute to be looking for him.”
Jay Slater’s mother shares GoFundMe update
She said local volunteer groups had offered to continue searching and that they are also in contact with “experienced groups” who have offered assistance.
Over £51,000 has been donated to the fundraiser so far.
We have been contacted by a wonderful group of locals who have volunteered to continue the search,” she said.
“While they don’t wish to accept financial help for their search, we will be supporting them with supplies and are so grateful for their willingness to help. “We also continue to be contacted by experienced groups offering to support our search. We are busy talking to them about what they can do to assist. But in order for us to employ their help, they need to have permission from the Spanish authorities.”
The Guardia Civil told SkyNews that external search groups could come and help “without any problem” but must notify authorities for “good management of information and resources”.
They said they have not yet received a request.
TikToker searching for Jay Slater who quit because he ‘didn’t feel safe’ in Tenerife ‘didn’t want to fail’
But sick trolls were waiting for Callum Fahim as he touched down in the capital on Thursday after tracking his flight number from his livestreams online.
Mr Fahim said the situation had become “horrific” after he received a terrifying cryptic warning on social media, which read: “Be careful people are going to find you at the airport take extra care. He said he would love to get hold of you.”
My Colleague Barney Davis has the full story:
Women’s clothes amongst ‘eerie signs of signs of life’ found at ravine near Jay Slater search
“Eerie signs of life” have been spotted near the ravine near where Jay Slater went missing in Tenerife.
When the apprentice bricklayer went missing on the morning of June 17, a huge search was launched in the remote Rural de Teno national park.
After embarking on an 11-hour hike back to his accommodation, the 19-year-old’s phone last location was recorded near a ravine in the challenging terrain.
On Thursday, Mail+ reporters visited the ravine and found: “Shoelaces tied with twigs to form haunting symbols like something out of a horror film, empty water bottles, and — most strange of all — a set of clean women’s clothes.”
Debbie Duncan’s full GoFundMe statement
“Hello everyone, I wanted to give you all an update on our continued efforts to find our Jay.
“We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support we have received and would like to thank the local hiking group for all of their help planning the routes to find our Jay. We have been contacted by a wonderful group of locals who have volunteered to continue the search. While they don’t wish to accept financial help for their search, we will be supporting them with supplies and are so grateful for their willingness to help.
“We also continue to be contacted by experienced groups offering to support our search. We are busy talking to them about what they can do to assist. But in order for us to employ their help, they need to have permission from the Spanish authorities.
“We will be sure to keep you all updated on our progress and are so grateful for your continued support to bring our boy home. Please keep sharing and supporting our fundraiser however you can.”
Mystery surrounding ‘Jonny Vegas’ character continues
Mystery has continued to surround the two men staying at the AirBnb that Jay Slater visited before going missing.
Jay returned to the AirBnb in the early hours of the morning on the day he went missing with two men he had met in Tenerife. He left the holiday accommodation at around 7:30am and, after missing a bus back to where he was staying, went missing while embarking on an 11 hour hike.
One of the men staying at the AirBnb has been confirmed as Mr Qassim, who previously told the MailOnline that Jay left the property “alive” and well.
The other man was thought to be an unidentified man with the elusive nickname ‘Jonny Vegas’.
However, a TV-detective investigating Jay Slater’s disappearance has claimed the mysterious ‘Jonny Vegas’ character is Ayub Qassim himself.
Mark Williams-Thomas claims he has spoken to Mr Qassim who reportedly confirmed it was his own nickname.
He told The Mail Online: “We know the two men that took Jay back to their rental apartment were key people to speak to.
“And as a result, I’ve now spoken in some detail to one of these men, Ayub Qassim, who is known as Johnny Vegas.”
The detective – who flew out to Tenerife to conduct his own investigation – also said: “And I’ve also identified the other male who was with him, but I’ve not yet spoken to him”.
Qassim has not commented on the Mail’s report.
Jay Slater’s family ‘not going anywhere’ as they continue search in ‘treacherous gorge’
Jay Slater’s family have continued their search for the missing teenager in a ‘treacherous’ gorge as they vow to remain in Tenerife.
Spanish authorities culled their search last Sunday after 13 days of searching for the apprentice bricklayer in the Rural de Teno park.
However, his family and a few volunteers have remained on the island as they continue to scour near the last location Jay’s phone was tracked to.
Jay’s uncle, father and brother were joined by local hiker Juan Garcia on Saturday who said the area was a “labyrinth” and that the operation was “like looking for a needle in a haystack”.
Asked how the family are coping, Jay’s uncle told SkyNews: “It’s just torture.”
Source: independent.co.uk
