The mom of Jay Slater, who’s lacking in Tenerife, has mentioned she believes Spanish police have intensified their seek for the 19-year-old, six days after he disappeared.
Debbie Duncan advised the Guardian she spent eight hours in a police station on Friday as police outlined their detailed plans to seek for the lacking apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire. “I believe it’s been stepped up,” she mentioned, which she described as “too proper”.
Duncan, who flew to the island on Tuesday, a day after Slater went lacking, mentioned she nonetheless believes “one thing untoward” might have occurred to her son, and that police had advised her they had been “investigating all leads”.
She additionally mentioned Spanish police had been involved that “noise” across the case might have a destructive affect on the search.
“They’ve really mentioned that there’s an excessive amount of noise, that’s affecting it,” she mentioned. “They’ve received all of the plans, their areas. They’ve this map they had been displaying us, shaded completely different colors.”
Duncan renewed calls from the household for British police to fly to Tenerife to affix the search. However final night time, in a press release, Lancashire constabulary mentioned that their supply of assist had been refused by Spanish counterparts.
“We’ve had an issue with the language barrier,” Duncan mentioned. “It’s tough with all of the Spanish police and British police, they must let the Spanish police do the investigation, however I would like any individual to come back out right here.”
Lancashire police mentioned specialist officers from the drive had been persevering with to help the household.
“Whereas this case falls outdoors the jurisdiction of UK policing, we now have made a proposal of help to the Guardia Civil to see in the event that they want any extra sources,” a spokesperson mentioned.
“They’ve confirmed that right now they’re happy that they’ve the sources they want, however that supply stays open and they’ll contact us ought to that place change.”
On Friday, search groups within the Rural De Teno nature park mentioned that they had not given up hope of discovering Slater alive. They mentioned the search centered on three distinct areas, overlaying a distance of 30sq km.
“We nonetheless have hope that he’s alive, up till the final second when the final hope is misplaced,” one rescuer mentioned. “The reality is that we really feel a bit annoyed as a result of we are able to’t discover him. It’s so large [here] that it’s very tough to look in such a steep space. However we’re doing the whole lot we are able to.
“We haven’t discovered something, we now have combed this complete path, we’ve been up and down however, till now, nothing.”
{The teenager} was final heard from on Monday morning when he phoned a good friend saying he was misplaced, wanted water, and that his cellphone battery was on 1%.
He had been with pals on the NRG music competition, however had gone again with two males he had met, who’re believed to be British, to their vacation cottage on the outskirts of the village of Masca, virtually 25 miles (40km) north of the vacation resort in Los Cristianos the place he was staying with pals.
The final recognized sighting of Slater was by Ofelia Medina Hernandez, whose brother owns the cottage the place the boys had been staying.
She mentioned Slater had requested her about bus instances, then later noticed him strolling up a hill – in the wrong way to Los Cristianos.
“He walked alongside the highway after I noticed him for the final time, up there … He was there alone,” she mentioned. “He was strolling usually, although quick, somewhat quick.”
To stroll again on foot would have taken about 11 hours.
On Friday night, search groups deployed canines and drones from the Cruz de Hilda viewpoint, close to the place Slater was final seen.
The Guardia Civil mentioned on Friday: “There’s a search on going and the police operation is concentrated on the world of Masca (Tenerife). We can not verify any extra info.”