Jay Slater: Dad of teenager missing in Tenerife says it is 'living hell'

Written by Ian Casey and Fiona Trott, from BBC News

The dad of the British teenager Jay Slater, who has gone missing, describes his current situation as a nightmare as they continue to look for his son in Tenerife for another week.

Warren Slater expressed his desire for the missing person to be located during a conversation with journalists in the town of Santiago del Teide, which is approximately four miles away from the current search area.

The police cars were seen at the start of a trail in the mountains where the 19-year-old's phone was located.

No one has heard from Mr. Slater since he phoned one of his friends on the island he is visiting eight days ago. He mentioned that he was lost, his phone was almost out of battery, and he needed water.

Experts with trained dogs have also been searching for him, mostly concentrating on an area close to a national park in the northwest of Tenerife.

Mr. Slater's dad is asking for assistance from the people in Santiago del Teide. The family traveled there because there was a report of a possible sighting in the area, but it has not been confirmed.

They have displayed lost posters in Spanish, such as at the visitor information center and in the windows of stores.

Warren Slater was visibly upset as he spoke to the media, expressing his hope that someone has information that will help find his missing loved one.

The search teams are facing difficult conditions as they work to find Mr. Slater in Rural de Teno National Park.

Police from the Civil Guard in the Canary Islands were seen searching two buildings at the edge of a cliff in the park on Sunday.

The search efforts were mostly concentrated in one specific area after days of searching in the village of Masca and the surrounding area.

When questioned about the progress of the search operation, Tenerife police stated that they do not provide updates on active investigations.

A man who traveled from the UK to assist in the search described his job as trying to find something very small and difficult in a large area.

Paul Arnott, a 29-year-old mountaineer from Flitwick, Bedfordshire, expressed amazement at the sheer size and steepness of the area once he arrived.

I expected to see more people searching, but there aren't as many as I thought.

Mr. Slater's friends and family mentioned that he had departed from the group he was traveling with at the popular tourist destination of Playa de las Americas, located on the southern part of the island.

Once he left the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club, the novice bricklayer hopped into a car with two guys he had just met to head to the national park in the northwest part of Tenerife.

NRG expressed their sadness over Mr. Slater going missing, describing it as a heartbreaking situation that has had a strong impact on everyone. The organizers are still holding onto hope that he will be found safe.

Last week, Lancashire Police offered to help Spanish authorities in their search for him. However, the police in Tenerife felt that they already had sufficient resources and declined the offer.

Mr. Slater was on his inaugural solo vacation and had journeyed to the festival with two companions.

One individual, Lucy Law, is believed to have been the final person to converse with him. She mentioned that he informed her via phone that he had missed his bus and chose to walk home, which was a 10-hour journey. However, he became lost, required water, and had only 1% battery remaining.

At the beginning of the week, a donation page created by Ms. Law to assist in his search collected over £30,000 in contributions.

Mr. Slater's boss at PH Build Group stated that they had removed a social media post regarding the disappeared adolescent because of the overwhelming amount of unfavorable feedback they received.

Jay has been with us since he graduated and is well-liked by everyone. He is a valuable part of our team and we support him.

The truth is he is a 19-year-old young man who is lost in a different country. He should be back in his own country where he should be.

The Teno Rural Park is located a short 40-minute drive away from the accommodation of Mr. Slater and his companions.

An isolated and natural national park, it is completely different from Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas, the lively holiday destinations on the southern coast of the island.

The steep canyons and towering mountains make it tough for the Spanish search teams to move around the national park.