Spanish police reject help from Lancashire Constabulary in hunt for Jay Slater

Spanish police have rejected an offer of support from Lancashire Constabulary as the hunt for Jay Slater in Tenerife continued in the rural areas of the holiday island.

Rescue teams on the Canary island appeared to make no breakthroughs after another long day of searches.

Lancashire police said it had made "an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources" in their efforts.

Mr Slater is from the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle, where specialist officers are continuing to support his family, the force said.

A Lancashire Constabulary statement said: "First and foremost, our thoughts are with Jay’s family at this time.

"They must be going through the most distressing ordeal not knowing what has happened to their loved one.

"Whilst this case falls outside the jurisdiction of UK policing, we have made an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources.

"They have confirmed that at this time they are satisfied that they have the resources they need, but that offer remains open and they will contact us should that position change."

Police, firefighters and search and rescue personnel combed a vast area of land in and around the village of Masca on Friday.

Emergency workers met in various locations throughout the day, combing bushes, overgrown terrain, hillsides and rivers but failed to find the missing 19-year-old.

Mr Slater disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.

He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.

Search and rescue personnel carefully looked through dead palm trees covering a river at the bottom of the hillside near to an Airbnb property he had reportedly been driven to.

The owner of the property, who gave her name as Ophelia, told reporters she saw Mr Slater walk up the road past her property but did not see him again after that – describing the situation as worrying.

A post was issued on Facebook on Friday which said Mr Slater’s family and friends were “drained beyond words”.

Helicopters, rescue dogs and drones have been used in an effort to find the teenager, who was last heard from when he called his friend Lucy Law on Monday morning.

Officers have since been seen peering over the hillside and staring intently at the landscape through binoculars near to his last known location close to the village of Masca.

The walk from Mr Slater’s last known location to his accommodation would have taken about 11 hours on foot.

On the fifth day of the hunt for Mr Slater, search teams paid close attention to a river called Barranco Madre del Agua at the bottom of a ravine, where personnel with sticks carefully searched through fallen dead trees.

They later moved to other areas, focusing a lot of their resources in an area near Rural de Teno park.

In a post on the Facebook page called Jay Slater Missing, the administrator of the group Rachel Louise Harg said family and friends of Mr Slater were in a “living nightmare”.

She said: “There isn’t an update for anyone unfortunately.

“Struggling to find words at this time but all I can say is we are looking still and everyone is doing all they can.

“We are drained beyond words – I just can’t say no more, I wish I could.

“I wish this would end now, this living nightmare.

“Searches are ongoing and we remain positive.

“Thanks to you all supporting and helping we can’t thank you any more, much love.”

Ms Law, who attended the NRG music festival with Mr Slater, said he called her at about 8.30am on Monday and told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%”.

Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, who flew to Tenerife on Tuesday, said searching for her son was “an absolute living nightmare”.

Ms Duncan told ITV News: “He’s the life and soul, he’s a beautiful boy.”

Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers and with a black bag. A fundraiser set up by Ms Law to “get Jay Slater home” has since received more than £24,500 in donations.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman 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.”

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