Jay Slater cops hunting for missing Tenerife teen call in reinforcements with specialist sniffer dog teams from Madrid

POLICE searching for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife have called in reinforcements with specialist sniffer dog teams.

Officers from the Civil Guard’s canine unit on the island had already been searching with scent dogs.

MEN Media

Jay Slater has been missing since last Monday[/caption]

PA

The search for Jay has entered its 9th day[/caption]

PA

More search dogs are being brought in to find Jay[/caption]

But today officers announced more officers with sniffer dogs had joined the operation after flying in from Madrid.

Cops also released new footage of today’s search operation which included the dogs brought in as reinforcements at work.

The footage appeared to show one of the officers calling his dog by the name Sasha and three handlers walking behind it through undergrowth as it sniffed the ground in front of it.

At one point they walked past the remains of a ruined building before reaching a rugged mountain top.

The footage showed the difficult terrain they are searching in.

It comes as The Sun revealed Brit cops still have not quizzed two mystery pals Jay went home with before he vanished last week.

A spokesman for the force said: “The Civil Guard is continuing with the search operation for the young British man who went missing near the Masca area of the municipality of Buenavista del Norte in which different units are participating.

“In addition today several dog trainers and their expert dogs who have transferred from Madrid have joined the search.

“These dogs are specifically trained in searching for people over large swathes of land.”

He added: “The difference is that specialisation in large expanses of land.

“The dogs that were already taking place in the operation were trained for searches in smaller areas.”

Yesterday officers confirmed new areas to the north of the Masca Gorge where Jay’s phone is last thought to have pinged from were now being searched.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard described the area as “immense”, saying: “Officers involved in the search are going over old ground in the gorge but teams are also looking at other areas such as forest trails and tracks in other parts of Buenavista del Norte.

“We’re talking about an immense area.

“We’re not going to go into every little new detail of the search or give a running commentary but everything possible is being done to find this missing man and we continue to keep an open mind with regards to what could have happened to him.

“It remains a land and air search and hasn’t yet been extended to the sea.”

The force confirmed earlier this morning the search operation involving mountain rescue experts, scent dogs, a helicopter and drones was currently limited to the municipality of Buenavista del Norte which Masca forms part of.

They are not commenting on other aspects of the police investigation over and above the ground and air search.

The number of reinforcements that have been brought in has not been revealed.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online

Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.

Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.