Mum of British teen missing in Tenerife speaks out after he made desperate call to friend from 'middle of nowhere'
The mum of a British teenager who has gone missing in Tenerife after making a phone call to his friend from the 'middle of nowhere' has spoken out about his situation.
19-year-old Jay Slater had been in Tenerife with friends when he parted ways with them on Sunday (16 June) evening.
The Oswaldtwistle teenager was attending the New Rave Generation festival with two pals before Jay got separated from his mates by deciding to stay out with a group of people he'd just met.
In the early hours of Monday (17 June) morning, he called one of his friends and told them he was in the middle of mountains with nothing else around.
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The teen said he 'didn't know where he was' and his phone was on one percent battery at the time of the call.
Jay's friend Lucy later said he'd been trying to walk back to his accommodation after not being able to catch a bus and his last known location was the National Park of Teno, a popular hiking spot in Tenerife.
Now, Jay's mum Debbie has spoken out about her missing son after making the journey to Tenerife herself.
She said: "I’ve only been in Tenerife for about 10 minutes and I’ve just had a quick chat with someone from the British Embassy and am waiting for them to call back so I know a bit more. The consulate has been really good so far.
"I’m obviously beside myself with worry which is why I’ve flown out here with my eldest son to do anything we can to help.
"We’re just praying the police or someone finds Jay. I know there’s a mountain rescue team out and a helicopter.
"Nothing’s ever going to be enough when your youngest son’s gone missing but it sounds as if the police here are taking this very seriously and doing the best job they can."
A police helicopter has been deployed to search over the mountainous north west areas of Tenerife where Jay is believed to have been last, while he had been staying on the southern part of the island.
The teen's friend Lucy said that Jay had tried to walk back from the house he'd stayed at on the Sunday night.
Debbie said she thought her son must have been 'a bit disoriented when it came to distances' and not realised that he was facing a 10 hour walk from where he was back to his accommodation.
She added that she expected she'd be heading north towards where her son was last known to be, and claimed that she'd received some unkind calls from British people with 'northern accents' who told her they'd kidnapped her son because he owed them money.
The mum said the calls were 'horrible', but she wasn't going to be put off joining the search for her son.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office has since confirmed they are in touch with local authorities in Tenerife regarding an ongoing missing person's case.
"We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities," they added in a statement.
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the Tenerife Civil Guard added: "Everything possible is being done to try to find the missing man."
Topics: UK News, World News, Travel
Joe Harker