The close friend of missing Brit Jay Slater has been slammed by Spanish media after she questioned what was being done to find him.
Lucy Mae Law was the last person to speak to the 19-year-old on the phone before he was reported missing in Tenerife more than a week ago (June 17). She claims the pair had a call where he was 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.
READ MORE: Jay Slater ‘seen watching Euros football matches on Tenerife coast’, mayor claims
Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.
(Image: Lancs Live/MEN Media)
And during the search, Lucy Mae slammed the Guardia Civil while calling on British police to go to Spain to help find him.
She said, at the time: “We need British police here. 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. The two boys that he was last with have left the country. They need to be questioned by British police.”
(Image: facebook)
However, the comments have gone down badly in Spanish media – and the response from one outlet doesn’t hold back. In an editorial written by the Atlantico Hoy news outlet, several issues were taken with Lucy Mae’s comments.
They raged: “Firstly, the Guardia Civil, Agents from the Special Mountain Intervention Rescue Groups (GREIM), Civil Protection of Buenavista del Norte, and the volunteer firefighters of Santiago del Teide have deployed a significant operation on the ground, with Canine Division dogs, drones, and helicopters from the air.
(Image: PA)
“Secondly, it should also be noted that the Guardia Civil is not leading the search party, but is carrying out an investigation of the events that involves records and interviews with the last people who saw Jay Slater, online teams looking at CCTV, social media and other leads on the internet, and that, since the investigation is still ongoing, the results of these have not been made public because they are being conducted under the secrecy act.”
Lucy Mae is now thought to be in Tenerife trying to help with the search, but hasn’t spoken out about it in recent days.
The search continues.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.