The latest police appeal for volunteer searchers to help find missing teenager Jay Slater has sparked concern for the inexperienced navigating “treacherous terrain”.
In the latest development of the investigation into the 19-year-old Briton’s disappearance, Spanish police have asked for volunteers to join a large-scale search operation.
In a statement, police said: “The Guardia Civil is preparing and coordinating a large search to find the young British man missing in the village of Masca.
“We are requesting collaboration of all volunteer associations: Civil Protection, Fire Department etc, and including private expert volunteers in the difficult search terrain.”
The search for Jay Slater has sparked an appeal for mass volunteers as the operation reaches its twelfth day
PA / GB News / Reuters
The Guardia Civil also stressed that the area is “a difficult, rocky terrain, with many steep inclines and cliffs, footpaths and roads”.
Speaking to GB News, Journalist Nick Pisa suggested that authorities either “do not have enough resources” or are needing “more and more people on the ground” to navigate the vast search area.
Sharing the latest on the search operation, Pisa told GB News: “We are nearly 13 days into this search, and they’ve been up there with drones, with dogs and with helicopters.
“I have seen the civil protection teams, the mountain rescue teams and the police up there, but it is a massive area of terrain to cover. It’s a good 30 square miles.”
The Guardia Civil has been looking for the missing Briton for almost two weeks
Reuters
Detailing who the police are needing to help with the search for Slater, Pisa revealed that they will be needed “as soon as tomorrow”.
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Pisa revealed: “They are looking for people who can come up there tomorrow morning. They’ve also asked people before they set out, obviously, just to underline the fact of how treacherous this terrain is.
“They must also leave their names and numbers with those officers who will be up there coordinating the search as well, because obviously, God forbid, we don’t want to be looking for any other people up there.”
Pisa added that the police have stressed they are only wanting “people with experience of the terrain” as it is “quite exposed, barren, and quite windy”.
Discussing the temperatures on the island, Pisa highlighted: “People obviously think Tenerife is hot and sunny, which is the case down at sea level. It’s a good 30 degrees.
Nick Pisa claimed the cold temperatures may be ‘more of an issue’ for Jay Slater
GB News
“But up where Jay disappeared, it’s 3,000ft above sea level, and the temperature difference is about ten degrees.
“So during the day it’s not too bad up there, it’s actually quite pleasant, but at night the temperature can drop to a degree or so above zero.”
Warning of the possible dangers of Slater being exposed to cold temperatures as well as hot, Pisa told GB News: “The last thing we know is that he was wearing is a pair of shorts and a flimsy T-shirt.
“So I think if anything, it’s the cold that might be an issue up there and not the heat.”
