As the search for missing UK teenager Jay Slater continues on the island of Tenerife, a local mayor has scuppered hopes following a possible sighting.
On June 16, Jay - from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire - attended an event as part of the NRG music festival with friend Lucy Mae Law.
However, later that evening, Jay opted to continue partying with two British men he had met that evening, rather than return to his shared accommodation with Lucy Mae.
It is believed Jay took a one-hour taxi ride with the men from the venue to their Airbnb in the village of Masca near the Rural de Teno Park. While at the farmhouse, he shared a Snapchat post outside while standing on the property's distinctive steps.
The photo was shared at roughly 7:30AM on June 17. Around 45 minutes later, Jay called Lucy Mae to say that he was lost, thirsty, and was going to attempt to walk back to their shared accommodation - a journey that would have taken him around 10 hours.
Shortly after 9:00AM, Lucy Mae reported Jay missing to local authorities.
As search efforts from local rescue teams continue, a possible sighting of Jay was shared by the teen's family over the weekend.
Sharing a screenshot from what was said to be CCTV footage, Jay's mom - Debbie Duncan - told the MailOnline: "Someone has come forward to say they saw someone who they thought was Jay walking back down the road sat on a bench.
“He was with two men looking a bit worse for wear, and they were by a church, this guy has come forward and told the police about it and they are looking into it. We don’t know if it was Jay for sure, but it’s a start."
The sighting came at around 6:00PM on June 17 - roughly 10 hours after Jay was reported missing.
A spokesperson for the Spanish Civil Guard responded to the image by saying, per LBC: "Nothing has been ruled out and nothing has been ruled."
The circulating image reportedly shows a man resembling Jay walking across a church square in Santiago del Teide village - located roughly 7km from the Airbnb where Jay spent the evening prior.
However, now local mayor Emilio Jose Navarro Castanedo has denied that Jay was in the town and believes the location is not the church square many believe it to be.
“The Guardia Civil sent us an email asking for our security cameras. We could not give it to them as they are organized through a separate company, so the police are speaking to them," Mayor Navarro Castanedo told The Independent.
"But that CCTV picture is not from us and I do not recognize that place," the mayor added. "I do not think it is in Santiago del Tiede and he is not here.
"We will help the police but it makes no sense. We have had family and journalists here but we have seen no police."
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The Mayor's comments come after he also had to clarify a statement he made regarding further possible sightings of the missing teenager.
In a previous interview with Reuters, Mr. Navarro Castanedo confirmed that the Civil Guard are combing through CCTV images, and had requested any footage from the town hall's security cameras.
The mayor also confirmed that police have interviewed several witnesses, some of whom believe they saw Jay on the coast watching Euro 2024 soccer matches.
The eyebrow-raising comments have led to the Mayor once again speaking out to clarify exactly what he meant by his comments.
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In an interview with the MailOnline, Mr. Navarro Castanedo said: "There has been a lot of fake news and misunderstanding of what I said.
"To be clear, I did not say I saw him watching football, locals have told me that they have heard from others that they saw someone looking like the boy in a bar at Los Gigantes further along the coast.
"I have no idea if it was him, but holidaymakers of his age all dress the same and I have no idea in which bars he was seen, I don't know if the police have been there they are not telling me about their investigation."
"I know that local police have spoken to these people who said they saw him cheering in a bar watching football," the Mayor added.
"I don't know when he was supposed to have been seen but it was supposedly certainly in the days after he disappeared but I have to underline this is unconfirmed information and only what I have been told."
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