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4 months ago
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BRITISH teen Jay Slater could be alive after disappearing in Tenerife more than two weeks ago, but if he is, time is running out.
Missing person expert Charlie Hedges told The Sun that it’s “certainly possible” Jay is surviving on plants and rainwater somewhere in the mountains.
Jay Slater, 19, has been missing in Tenerife since June 17PA
Brian Harrison, who lives in Tenerife, believes Jay may have taken this hiking route and be trapped in a gorge along the path
Ian Whittaker
Doug SeeburgDifferent theories have suggested Jay could be sheltering in an outbuilding in the wilderness or be trapped in a steep gorge after a nasty fall.
Army reservist and search pro Juan García, believes cops called off the search for missing Jay too soon and warned he could be feeding on plants and rainwater to stay alive.
Ex-detective Hedges has now said: “It’s certainly possible. I think it’s important to let the investigation keep all lines of inquiry open until they’re proven to be not viable.
“It is quite a long time to survive without food. Depends on how much rain there is, as to whether there’s sufficient water.
“But certainly, one should always consider that possibility.”
Temperatures in Tenerife are around 29 degrees this week with chances of rainfall at less than 5 per cent, according to the Met Office.
Surveying expert Brian Harrison, who lives in Tenerife, believes Jay may have taken the Masca Gorge Trail, a popular but dangerous hiking route.
He thinks the teen might have fallen into a gorge and is alive and waiting there for a rescue after vanishing on June 17.
Meanwhile locals have been urged by former detective Mark Williams-Thomas to scour the outbuildings and land near where he was last seen in Rural de Teno park.
Police have searched high and low with dogs, helicopters and drones, but it would be difficult to pinpoint one person amid the thick brush and cacti.
Jay’s family in Tenerife, including his mum and dad Debbie and Warren, have vowed to keep searching for the teen after police called off the hunt.
Hedges said the advice to locals to check outbuildings and their surrounding areas is smart, and what UK police would do too.
He told The Sun: “Our usual advice in the UK is to ask people to check their own properties, outbuildings, land they own… in case there’s someone there, because they know it better than anyone else.”
When asked if time might be running out for the teen, he added: “Yeah. Absolutely… That’s a long time to survive without any support or help.”
Apprentice bricklayer Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on the morning of June 17 when he phoned a pal to tell her he was “lost in the middle of nowhere”.
He had gone back to a remote Airbnb with two British men on the northwest of island in the early hours before leaving later that morning.
After missing the bus, he started walking the 11-hour route back to his accommodation and disappeared in the rural north-west mountains.
On Monday, Jay’s parents pleaded with cops not to give up on the hunt for their son during a crunch meeting.
Detectives promised to probe any new tip-offs or information that comes in but stood firm in axing the active search.
A source close to the family revealed that the decision to cut off the search was the “nightmare scenario” Jay’s family were “dreading”.
While Hedges said “we should keep on hoping and looking”, he explained that “as time passes, that possibility [that Jay is alive] diminishes”.
Do you know ‘Jonny Vegas’ the second Brit that Jay went to the Airbnb with? Email katie.davis@the-sun.co.uk or Whatsapp 07423 720 250
García, 53, has assisted several search missions in the area and has “spoken directly to the family”.
He told The Times on Wednesday: “Two weeks is too premature to end the search.
“[Slater] could be alive somewhere — someone can drink from rainwater and eat plants.
“The family should not give up hope.”
He has urged the family to use part of the £49,000 donated on a GoFundMe page to continue an independent search for Jay.
Meanwhile ex-pat Mr Harrison, 57, says the path he believes Jay may have taken, known as Barranco de Masca, can be extremely dangerous if hikers go off-path.
He said: “It’s feasible he has taken the Masca Gorge Trail and has fallen and injured himself.
“There are some sheer drops along the route, there is danger.
“And if he’s fallen it is feasibly possible that he’s got some water from somewhere, meaning he could still be alive, it’s a possibility.”
And former detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who is out in Tenerife, said the teen left the Airbnb he went to with two men feeling “scared”.
He claimed Jay admitted to stealing a £12,000 Rolex and did not want to return to the remote holiday let despite having little phone battery after venturing on the journey back to his hotel.
Mark has urged people in the surrounding area to search for him in any outbuildings nearby.
He said: “I want to make an appeal for landowners in the area of the rural park to check any outbuildings and land that they have in the hope that further searches will continue by volunteers in the area not yet searched.”
Former British cop Charlie Hedges said Jay could still be alive in Tenerife
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas said Jay may have left the Airbnb he stayed in scared (pictured: two plain-clothed officers search the Airbnb)
Doug Seeburg
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas has urged locals to search nearby outbuildings for Jay
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