Jay Slater: Dad of teenager missing in Tenerife says it is 'living hell' (2025)

ByIan Casey,Fiona Trott,BBC News

The father of missing British teenager Jay Slater says he is experiencing "a living hell", as the search for his son in Tenerife enters a second week.

Warren Slater said "I just want him found", while speaking to reporters in the town of Santiago del Teide, around four miles (6.4km) from where search teams are looking.

On Monday, police cars parked at the entrance to a mountain track near where the 19-year-old's mobile phone was last traced.

Mr Slater has not been heard from since calling one of the friends on the island with him eight days ago - telling her he was lost, his phone was running out of battery and he needed water.

Specialist dog teams have also been out looking for him, with much of the search focusing on an area near a national park in north-western Tenerife.

Mr Slater's father has been appealing for help from the local community in Santiago del Teide, where the family went after an unconfirmed report of a possible local sighting.

They have put up missing posters written in Spanish, including at the tourist information centre and in shop windows.

Warren Slater was emotional as he told reporters: "Somebody must know something. I just want him to be found. End of.”

The search teams are working in challenging conditions at Rural de Teno National Park - Mr Slater's last known location.

Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary island were spotted searching two structures at the bottom of a ravine in the park on Sunday.

Efforts appeared to be primarily focused on the one area after days of searches in the nearby village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

When asked how the search operation is going, police in Tenerife said that they do not comment on ongoing investigations.

One man who had flown out from the UK to help described his role in the search operation through ravines as like "looking for a needle in a haystack".

Mountaineer Paul Arnott, 29, of Flitwick, Bedfordshire, said: "You cannot believe how steep and big an area it is until you get out here.

"I thought there would be more people searching, though."

Mr Slater's friends and family have said he had earlier left the group he travelled with in the tourist hotspot of Playa de las Americas, on the south of the island.

After leaving the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club, the apprentice bricklayer got in a car with two men he had met to drive to the national park in north-west Tenerife.

In a statement, NRG described Mr Slater's disappearance as a "devastating situation" that "has deeply affected us all". Organisers continued to "hope for his safe return," it added.

Lancashire Police said last week it had offered to assist Spanish police searching for him, but were told their counterparts in Tenerife felt they had enough resources.

Mr Slater was on his first holiday without family and had travelled to attend the festival with two friends.

One of them, Lucy Law, is thought to have been the last person to speak to him, said he told her over the phone he had missed a bus and decided to walk the 10-hour journey home but was lost, needed water and only had 1% battery left.

Earlier in the week a fundraising page set up by Ms Law to help find him gathered more than £30,000 worth of donations.

Mr Slater's employer, PH Build Group, said it had deleted a post about the missing teenager on its Facebook page after it was inundated with "negative comments."

"Jay has been with us since he left school and is liked by all. He's a valued member of our team and we stand by him," the construction company wrote.

"The fact is he's a 19-year-old lad missing in a foreign country. He needs to be back home where he belongs."

The Rural de Teno Park is about a 40-minute drive from where Mr Slater and his friends were staying.

A remote and wild national park, it is a world away from Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas, the party town holiday resorts of the island’s south coast.

Deep ravines and huge daunting mountains make the national park a difficult place for the Spanish search teams to navigate.

  • Sunday 16 June - Jay Slater and friends attend final day of the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club in the tourist hotspot of Playa de las Americas
  • Monday 17 June - Between 03:00 and 06:00 BST Mr Slater got into a car with two men he had met during the holiday and left Playa de las Americas
  • 07:30 - Mr Slater posts a photograph on his Snapchat account showing him at the doorway of a property, tagged with the location Parque Rural de Teno
  • Between 08:30 and 09:00 - Mr Slater calls his friend and says he missed a bus back south and was attempting to walk the 10-hour journey
  • The call cuts out, with his phone's last location showing a path in the mountainous Rural de Teno national park, popular with hikers
  • Tuesday 18 June - Despite his friends searching the area, no sign of Mr Slater emerges and he does not return to his accommodation
  • Local police and mountain rescue teams begin searching and his mother and brother board a flight to Tenerife
  • Wednesday 19 June - The Spanish Guardia Civil continue the search using drones, dogs and a helicopter but no trace is found
  • The search is briefly moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island due to a potential sighting, but police quickly "discount" that lead and move the search back to the original area
  • Thursday 20 June - The Guardia Civil, mountain rescue, firefighters and volunteers return to scour the national park
  • Friday 21 June - Lancashire Police confirms it has offered to help the search but says Spanish Police are "satisfied that they have the resources they need"
  • Saturday 22 June - Police, rescue dog teams and firefighters continue combing the mountainous terrain at Rural de Teno
  • His mother, Debbie Duncan, issues a direct plea to her son, saying: "We just need you home"
  • Sunday 23 June - Police examine outbuildings at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno, close to where his phone last pinged
Jay Slater: Dad of teenager missing in Tenerife says it is 'living hell' (2025)

FAQs

Did they find Jay in Tenerife? ›

The search for Jay Slater in an area of Tenerife has been called off, police have said, nearly two weeks after his disappearance. The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, has been missing in Tenerife since 17 June, when he vanished the morning after a rave.

How many days has Jay Slater been missing? ›

The mother of Jay Slater has issued a heartbreaking statement days after Spanish police ended their search for the missing teenager, who disappeared over two weeks ago in Tenerife.

Where was Jay Slater staying? ›

However, two officers in plain clothes, wearing forensic-style blue slip-ons over their shoes, were seen searching the cottage where he stayed, which is known as Casa Abuela Tina, on Tuesday morning. The property in the mountain village of Masca is listed for £40 per night on Airbnb.

Where was Jay Slater from? ›

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, has been missing since 17 June, after he told a friend he was lost in the mountains.

Was Jay actually adopted? ›

Immediately, Jay rushed to his parent's home where he called out for his father only for Ed to come out alive and well. Jay was relieved at the news but questioned the contents of the letter; Ed and his wife decided it was time to tell Jay the truth and inform him that he was adopted.

Are they still searching for Jay? ›

The search for missing British teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife has been called off, police say. Tenerife's Guardia Civil told the BBC: “The search operation is over.

Where does Jay Slater live? ›

Police in Tenerife have said the unsuccessful two-week search in the mountains for a missing British teenager is now over, although the case remains open. Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing on Monday 17 June after attending a weekend rave with friends.

Where lives Kelly Slater? ›

Early years. Of Syrian-Irish descent, Slater grew up in Cocoa Beach, Florida, where he still lives.

How did Slater and Kryz meet? ›

In an interview, Slater and Kryz shared that they met when a common friend invited them to a party. While they mentioned that they didn't like each other at first, the two got to know each other and eventually became engaged. A year later, they were married in Cebu.

Who is Slater band? ›

Los Angeles, California USA pop punk rockers SLATER Official Band Site (formerly SLATR) consists of singer, Paige Augusta, Alex Arnaout (bass, backup vocals), Connor Trietsch (guitar, backup vocals) and Jagger Krusen (drummer).

Where is AC Slater from? ›

Los Angeles, CA, United States · November 9, 1979 · Dance

Active on the hardcore scene since the early 2000s, he made a much greater impact once he switched to more accessible club styles around 2008.

Does Kelly Slater have a house on the North Shore? ›

Public records show that Slater picked up the property in 2017 for $7.8 million. Slater's compound encompasses three buildings. Listing details reveal that the grand spread sits on Papailoa Road, the most coveted street on the North Shore.

When did Kelly Slater leave Channel Islands? ›

In 2015, Kelly left his long-time sponsor Channel Islands and bought a majority interest in Firewire Surfboards, the most sustainable major surfboard company in the world.

Where did Kelly Slater learn to surf? ›

Pretty good for a guy from the small wave beaches of Cocoa Beach, Florida. Kelly began surfing at only 5 years of age, he learned how to surf on an adapted body board, which he used to better his surfboard owning friends.

Where is Kelly Slater from in Florida? ›

Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972, Cocoa Beach, Florida, U.S.) is widely considered the greatest surfer of all time. He earned the title of world champion an unprecedented 11 times, including a record five times consecutively (1994–98), and he was also the all-time leader in event wins.

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