Jay Slater: Tenerife residents 'shocked' that search was called off

Tenerife residents have been left “shocked” and “surprised” by the Guardia Civil’s decision to call off the search for missing teenager Jay Slater, it has been claimed.

Slater, 19, disappeared on the Spanish island two weeks ago after attending the NRG music festival on the island, before heading to an AirBnb with two other Brits he had met that evening .

After an extensive search in the mountainous area where Slater’s phone was last active, Spanish police announced they were ending their efforts.

Speaking to GB News, journalist Joe Cawley said news that the search had been called off “came out of nowhere” following a call for “mass volunteers” to join.

Jay Slater disappeared two weeks ago after attending a music festival in Tenerife

Reuters/GB News/PA

Noting that only six volunteers helped the Guardia Civil in its search, Cawley revealed that the call for help from outside experts was a “last ditch effort” in this line of investigation to find Slater.

Cawley explained: “It was a surprise. It seemed to come out of nowhere. The people of Tenerife seem quite shocked that the event was canceled after two weeks.

“The search with the additional people was a final effort, from the police point of view.”

However, Cawley told GB News that the low turnout of volunteers could be because the appeal was aimed at “expert assistance” rather than the general public.

The Guardia Civil has called off its search for the missing British teenager after two weeks

Reuters

Cawley said: “The call for volunteers was a call for professional volunteers or experts in mountain rescue, hikers who are experts in climbing. It wasn’t really an appeal to the general public.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

“There may have been a limited number of such people here at the time.”

Addressing the question of how residents on the island will react as the investigation into Slater’s disappearance continues, Cawley added that much of Tenerife’s Spanish population is “unaware” of the case, as the police made no public appeal for help.

Cawley told hosts Tom Harwood and Sophie Reaper: “I’ve spoken to young people in Spain, and a lot of the population are not aware of this case.

“Within the British expat community it’s a topic of conversation and concern. But a lot of the locals I’ve spoken to have said, ‘Jay who?’ and then added, ‘A lot of people get lost in the mountains.’”

Joe Cawley says police investigation into Slater ‘still open’

GB News

When Sophie asked what remaining lines of inquiry police should investigate now that the field search had been called off, Cawley suggested the case was “still ongoing” and police were “keeping lines of inquiry open”.

Cawley concluded: “As everyone knows, there’s been a lot of speculation, there’s a lot of theories. The police here don’t reveal much publicly, that’s just not the way they do things.

“They said that the case is indeed open, that the investigation is still ongoing, but that, obviously, the search is over.

“I don’t know where we’ll get the next update from, and the family will move on, but I’m not sure what particular lines of investigation the Guardia Civil are currently following.”