'Just six volunteers' turn up to help with 'massive search' for Jay Slater, police respond

Despite a public plea for assistance, an underwhelming number of volunteers have turned up for today's "massive search" for Jay Slater.

The search for Jay Slater has entered its second week. Credit: Facebook

The UK teenager was reported missing on June 17, following a night out on the Spanish island of Tenerife.

Jay - from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire - had been visiting the island with friends as part of the NRG music festival.

However, during one event at the resort of Playa da las Americas, Jay opted to stay out with two British men rather than return to his shared accommodation with friends.

The next morning, Jay called his friends Lucy Mae Law and Brad Hargreaves to say that he was lost, thirsty, and that he was going to attempt to walk back to their holiday apartment - a journey that would have taken him around 10 hours.

Jay's phone died shortly after, with his last tracked location being near the village of Masca, located in the mountainous Rural de Teno Park area. This is where the primary search efforts have taken place ever since.

On Friday, the Spanish Civil Guard announced plans for a "busqueda masiva" - or "massive search" - for Jay, issuing a plea for volunteers to join rescue teams.

In a statement, the police chief of the Civil Guard in Tenerife - Angel Sanz Coronado - said (translated): "Given that it is a steep, rocky area, full of uneven terrain and with many ravines, tracks, and trails.

"We request the collaboration of all those volunteer associations that can help in this planned search that is intended to be carried out in a directed and coordinated way.

“This massive search will begin on Saturday, 29 June at 09:00 hours. A meeting point will be established at the Mirador de la Cruz de Hilda in Masca to start the search in a logical and orderly way along the many paths and ravines that are found in Masca."

With the search now underway, The Mirror has reported that only six volunteers turned up. One of the individuals was British TikToker Paul Arnott, who has previously been in contact with Jay's family to assist with the search.

During a press conference this morning, the head of the Civil Guard’s Greim mountain rescue unit Cipriano Martin was asked about the underwhelming turnout. "Well, we’ve been searching for lots of days, and with the search today, we’re talking about 30 people," Martin responded.

Another individual to join the search is experienced hiker Juan Garcia.

Joined by his sniffer dog, Garcia spoke to Sky News about his reasons for being there. "I think for myself, if something happened to one of my sons… I would like people to help me to solve this case," he said. "Sometimes, even with only the police it's hard because this is a very difficult area and you need a lot of experience walking.

"[There are] a lot of bushes and it's very hard to walk and even in a few kilometers it takes a lot of time and it's not so easy."

Per the Manchester Evening News, Martin also told reporters that authorities are keeping an "open mind" about what has happened to Jay.

"Yes [we are keeping an open mind], at the moment, yes. While we still don’t know, we’re not going to posit any theories. Various lines (of inquiry) are being worked on."

"We know to a certain science that he was here because the coverage of his phone its undeniable that he was around this point. And that’s where we have difficulties, because once you turn off your phone, it can no longer be traced," Martin continued.

"So while he was walking - and we don’t know how long he could have walked for - with his phone switched off, no antenna is going to pick that up. And the technology we have - it traces phones, but not people. We have certain clues, and we have to stick to those."

Featured image credit: Facebook