Mother of British teen missing in Tenerife says searching for son ‘horrendous’

The mother of a British teenager who has gone missing during a holiday in Tenerife said having to search for her son has been “horrendous”.

Jay Slater, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday morning as he told a friend he planned to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus, a journey expected to take around 11 hours on foot.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, flew to Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands on Tuesday morning to search for him.

Ms Duncan said she feared her son, who is an apprentice bricklayer, had “been taken against his will”.

She told the PA news agency: “It’s just traumatic and it doesn’t feel real. It’s just awful, it’s horrendous.

“I think he’s been taken against his will with what’s been said, but it’s in the hands of the police.”

Speaking about her son, Ms Duncan said: “He’s just a great person who everyone wanted to be with. He’s good looking, he’s a popular boy.”

She added that the police leading the search had been “very good”.

Mr Slater’s friend Lucy – who had gone to the island with him to attend the NRG music festival – told the Manchester Evening News (MEN) that he had gone to stay with people he had met on holiday after a night out.

She said she had received a call from Mr Slater at around 8.15am on Monday after he missed the bus and was trying to walk back although he had said he was lost, needed a drink of water and had only 1% battery on his phone.

Mr Slater’s phone then cut off, with his last location showing as the Rural de Teno park – a mountainous area popular with hikers.

Lucy told the MEN that one of the people Mr Slater had met had driven them back to his apartment in a hire car and the missing man had not realised how far away it was.

“He’s ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there,” she said.

“But then in the morning he’s set off walking, using his maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of mountains with nothing around.”

Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”