As the search for missing UK teenager Jay Slater enters its fourth day, authorities in Tenerife are continuing to search for clues.
However, local police have faced criticism from Jay's loved ones, as they fear something more sinister may have happened to him.
On Monday (June 17), 19-year-old Jay was reported missing by his friend - Lucy Mae Law - whom he was vacationing with on the Spanish island as they attended the NRG music festival.
The night before, Lucy Mae had returned to their shared holiday apartment as Jay chose to stay out with people he had met that evening.
At 8:15AM, Lucy Mae then received a phone call from a "lost" Jay, who told her that his phone battery was low and that he was very thirsty. Before the call ended, Jay said that he was going to attempt the approximately 10-hour walk home.
Lucy Mae reported him missing to local authorities less than an hour later.
On Thursday (June 20), Manchester Evening News has reported that police have now searched Jay's apartment for clues to his whereabouts.
Credit: Facebook
It comes after Jay's mom - Debbie Duncan - revealed that she had received a vile and concerning message moments after landing in Tenerife to look for her son.
"I got a Snapchat [message] about ten minutes after I got off the plane saying ‘Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money,'" the mom revealed.
Fortunately, Debbie's eldest son Zac was able to take a screenshot of the message and pass it on to police.
Per the Daily Mail, Debbie has described the ordeal as a "living nightmare", adding: "I've got a bad feeling. I'm being warned there's a lot of bad people in Tenerife. I just think he's being held against his will.
"He's not a stupid lad. He wouldn't have gone walking down bloody mountains."
The concerned mom described her son as "streetwise" and "not stupid", Debbie is not fearing the worst. "There's no ransom demand come in yet. I've told them [police] my suspicions, that I think Jay's been taken up north by people against his will," she added.
As well as the concerning Snapchat message, Debbie has also been receiving troubling phone calls.
"'Some of the phone calls I've been getting have been horrible. I just don't know why people would want to do things like this," she said. "I've been getting lots of prank calls. It's sickening. People ringing me and saying they've got Jay because he owes them money."
Additionally, Lucy Mae also fears that something more sinister has happened to Jay, and that local police aren't "doing enough" to find him.
Following search efforts being directed to another area of the island on Wednesday - a decision that was reportedly made due to a false sighting - Lucy Mae said: “Someone has given a false lead to the police saying he’s rang a taxi down to Los Cristianos.
"If this was the case he would have rang his mum or one of us. I know him well and he would NOT have us worrying."
“Someone is trying to deter the police from him being up there," she added. "I’m starting to think he’s been kidnapped.”
Jay Slater wearing the shirt he believed to have disappeared in. Credit: Instagram
Speaking to The Independent, Lucy Mae said: "The police are not doing everything they can.
“It’s been longer than 72 hours now and there isn’t enough going on. They are still asking the same questions that should have been logged at 10:00AM on Monday when I first reported this."
"We need British police here," Lucy Mae added in an interview with the Mirror. "I just want to find my mate. He’s been missing three days. It’s not looking good now. We feel as though it’s down to us to find him and that we’re doing more than the police.
"The police here don’t speak English and don’t even have a translator after three days. I feel like they’re fobbing me off. They’re still asking me the same questions as when I first reported Jay missing.”