Jay Slater’s family plan to call on British police to help find their teenager after being ‘caught off guard’ by search axe

Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing on June 17 while on holiday with two friends.

Although the search on the ground was suspended on Sunday, police on the island insisted the case remained very much open.

Detectives have promised to continue their investigation and will investigate any new reports or information that comes to them.

But the decision to radically halt the search is the “nightmare scenario” Jay’s family “dreaded”, a source close to them revealed.

His parents, Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, and his brother Zak feared that this weekend would be decisive in the search for the apprentice mason.

Around thirty police officers, firefighters and rescuers went to the Masca mountains on Saturday, accompanied by a handful of volunteers, for a “final attack”.

But the hunt, centered around Jay’s last known location, failed to find any trace of the teen.

A source in the UK, who has been in regular contact with the family, told The Sun: “Jay’s family knew the search would eventually stop. They understand it. »

“But it was a nightmare scenario that they didn’t want to think about.” And it wasn’t something they thought wouldn’t happen immediately.

“So the fact that the decision was made after only two weeks left them feeling bewildered and helpless.”

The source said Jay’s family “is not convinced” that police searched everywhere possible for clues.

They have vowed to stay in Tenerife to continue the search themselves, which they fear has been hampered by vicious trolls.

The insider added: “Jay’s family can’t help but feel like the trolls have won and they’ve gotten their way.

“Many people have spread horrible messages which have only added to the family’s torment.

“They won’t stop looking for Jay or give up.

“They will stay in Tenerife and try to do everything they can to maintain the momentum and reunite with Jay.”

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Jay’s family, faced with false ransom demands, is also considering other options to continue the hunt.

A senior investigator who worked on the Madeleine McCann case has urged Jay’s family to use £45,000 donated by supporters to fund a private search.

Former police officer Mark Williams-Thomas, who travelled to Tenerife to help with the search, said the GoFundMe money could be used to put together a team of experts.

Jay’s family may also beg British police to intervene after authorities in Tenerife rejected their help.

Police on the island had insisted they had the necessary resources for the hunt before appealing for volunteers for Saturday’s final search.

The source added: “They have been trying to make contact with groups in Tenerife and beyond who specialize in missing people.

“They could also try to appeal, once again, to the British police for help. They do not understand why the police in Tenerife would not accept the additional support and help offered to them.

“What did they have to lose? If everything had been done, Jay’s family could have accepted this situation. But they can’t.”

The shattered family still has no answers about what happened to Jay – who has not been seen or heard from since June 17.

Jay disappeared after a night at the NRG festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas.

He was last seen while traveling with the two mysterious men in the north of the island, in Teno Rural Park.

Jay made a final frantic phone call to his girlfriend Lucy Law to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere” at around 8.50am on June 17.

Panicked, Jay, who had to walk 11 hours back to their hotel, told her he needed water and that he only had one percent battery left on his phone.

His other friend, Brad Hargreaves, revealed a second call in which Jay told him he had strayed from the main path, leading to speculation he might have slipped on some rocks.

Brad said he could hear the missing teenager sliding down rocks during a final video call.

The disappearance sparked a desperate round-the-clock search, with the heartbroken mother and her family flying to the island to join the hunt.

Rescue teams focused their efforts around Masca Ravine, located 2,000 feet above sea level, near Jay’s last known location: the desolate Teno Nature Reserve.

On Thursday, they shifted their focus to the caves near Los Carrizales, about an hour and a half walk from the Airbnb where Jay went with the two men.

But on Sunday, the search ended when police revealed they would no longer scour the mountainous terrain for Jay.