Jay Slater's father makes emotional plea as he joins the search for missing teen

Jay Slater's father has shared a tearful plea as the search for the missing teenager enters its seventh day.

The 19-year-old was reported missing after failing to return to his accommodation in Tenerife following a night out with friends.

Jay had been on his first holiday with friends to attend the NRG music festival, but had decided to stay out with two British men he had met and went back to their rented accommodation.

He was last heard from just after 8am on Monday (June 17) when he phoned his friend Lucy Mae Law to say he was beginning a walk back to where he was staying, telling her his phone battery was running out and that he was thirsty and needed water.

Jay Slater has been missing since June 17. Credit: Facebook

This was the last contact with the teenager, and it is unclear if he was aware the walk would take around 11 hours.

A large-scale search has been underway for the past week to try and locate Jay, with his parents having flown out to Tenerife after he was reported missing.

His father, Warren Slater, has shared an emotional plea, revealing he hopes that "somebody has helped him off this mountain" after search efforts were concentrated around ravines in the area.

He told Sky News through tears: "That's all I want, that somebody has helped him get off this mountain. I just want him back and that's it. He's my son."

Warren added that the past week has been "a nightmare, just a nightmare," adding: "I just want him back and that's it."

Jay's brother, Zak Slater, was also overcome with emotion as he told reporters: "We don't know where he is, what's happened, or anything.

"I don't know what to say. We just want him to come home safe. I just wish he'd come home."

The pair have been helping with the search in Tenerife, while Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, has also been awaiting updates on the island.

She told the Daily Mail that she would not be visiting the mountain itself, explaining: "I don't want to go up there in case I see something that I don't want to.

"I'm just hoping everything will turn out for the better. If I went up there I would just break down."

She added: "The last few days have been awful. I just need him back. He is a handsome lad from Lancashire and he shouldn't be missing in Tenerife."

On Saturday, the sixth day of the search, police, firefighters, and rescue dogs reconvened at Rural de Teno Park, the last location logged by Jay's phone.

Debbie shared a message for Jay, who is an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, UK, saying: "We just need you home - we just need him home."

She told the Associated Press that the family was not "coping" with the situation, saying: "We're not. I'm not coping very well at all. I've not slept, I'm exhausted. It's been awful. I can't give up on him, I just can't."

Featured image credit: Facebook