Ex-Met cop claims ‘unlikely’ Jay Slater remains to be alive as search space ‘so massive’

An ex-Met Police officer has claimed that missing British teenager Jay Slater is “unlikely” to be alive, as the search enters day 12.

The 19-year-old from Lancashire was reported missing in Tenerife more than a week ago (June 17) after he called his friend Lucy, telling her he was lost in a rural area of the island with only 1% battery left on his phone.

His last known location was half a mile north of Masca village. Despite ongoing efforts by emergency workers, including the Civil Guard, mountain rescue team and fire crews, the challenging terrain of the Rural de Teno park is proving difficult to search.

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And that, Peter Kirkham has claimed, could lead to very bad news for the family in the long run.

Writing for The Mirror, Kirkham, who was Detective Chief Inspector for the force during his 20-year career, he also shared possible theories over what happened to Jay.

He said: “The most obvious theory is that he became lost whilst trying to walk back through a remote and difficult area totally unknown to him. He may also have fallen into a ravine or something similar and have become injured and incapacitated.

“This possibility leads to the searches that we have seen the police making but the area involved is so large that, even now, only a fraction can possibly have been thoroughly searched. Sadly, if this is the explanation, after such an extended period missing, it is unlikely that Jay will be found alive. “But the police will keep reviewing what they have done and moving on to the next most likely area. A second possibility, which must always be considered, is that Jay has deliberately disappeared for some reason.

“As we find out more about him, it seems he has a somewhat chequered past which may well have led to his disappearance. The police will be pursuing lines of enquiry related to his background and domestic circumstances to identify if this is a viable possibility

“This is an aspect of the investigation which the UK police will be far better placed to progress. I would hope that the Spanish authorities, who retain primacy in this investigation, have made contact with the Lancashire Police with a request to assist in this regard.”

And as theories continue to mount up about the disappearance, and potential avenues of enquiry, a Guardia Civil official said that “all hypotheses are open” when it comes to searching for him – but that it is still a “missing person case”.

The search efforts are still focussed on the Masca Valley region, and areas near to Buenavista del Norte and Teno Rural Park.

The search continues.

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