Missing teenager Jay Slater could be alive and surviving on just “rainwater and plants”, a private investigator has claimed.
The 19-year-old flew from Lancashire to the Canary Islands for a music festival but disappeared after he went to stay with people he met during a night out on June 16.
During his final call to his friend Lucy Law at 8am local time on June 17, the 19-year-old said his phone had only one per cent battery, he was thirsty, and he did not know where he was.
His last location showed he was in the Rural de Teno Park – an area popular among hikers. He has not been seen since.
The search has since been called off on June 30, nearly 14 days after Slater went missing, leaving his family “in the dark”.
Juan Garcia, a private investigator, has now said that the investigation ended too early, urging the missing teeanger’s family not to give up hope.
“Two weeks is too premature to end the search,” he told The Times.
“[Slater] could be alive somewhere — someone can drink from rainwater and eat plants.
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“The family should not give up hope.”
Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, the parents of the missing teenager, have pleaded with local police to keep the case alive, after the two-week search was called off over the weekend.
The decision to suspend the search left his family “blindsided” on Sunday, and they subsequently spent over two hours speaking with investigators about the case – meeting at the Civil Guard’s local headquarters in Playa de Las Americas.
Debbie told The Sun: “It’s a mystery and he’s still missing, we need to just let these guys (the police) get on with it.”
She added: “Let’s keep it going, keep it alive. Let them (the police) get on with it, we’ve got to trust in these people.”
It is understood that Slater’s family and friends will stay in Tenerife to continue to look for him.
Speaking via LBT Global, a British overseas missing persons charity, Duncan said the entire Slater family had been left “absolutely devastated” by the 19-year-old’s disappearance.
Duncan thanked the Guardia Civil, but admitted: “Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing.
“He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.”
