The family of missing teenager Jay Slater say they are “utterly broken” as the search continues in Tenerife for a tenth day with no clues to shed light on his disappearance.
The 19-year-old has not been heard from since last Monday morning, when he contacted a friend shortly after 8am to say he was lost in the Rural de Teno park and had only one per cent phone battery.
Former detective Mark Williams-Thomas has now flown over from the UK after offering the family his assistance, as Spanish police and sniffer dogs continue to scour the mountainous region in the north of the island.
Speaking to reporters in Costa Adeje, the TV sleuth said the family of the apprentice bricklayer are “very united” and focused on their mission to discover Mr Slater’s whereabouts.
“They still live with the hope that Jay will return and that he is not safe, but still alive. They themselves have been out searching and have put out pictures and posters and of course, they are responding to as many enquiries as they possibly can,” he said.
Since he was reported missing at 9am on 17 June, several family friends and Mr Slater’s ex-girlfriend have flown out to the Canary Islands to join the search, while his father has been seen pinning up posters in the town of Santiago del Tiete.
Talking to reporters on Sunday, Warren Slater said: “It is a living hell. Unless you’re going through it, you cannot explain. Please, please please, if anybody knows anything, just come forward and help us.”
Criticising the abuse the family have received on social media, Mr Mark-Williams said: “This is unacceptable. You’ve got a young lad who is missing and the family deserve respect. I would urge anyone on social media to think before you post.”
Conspiracy theorists and internet trolls have set up a separate Facebook page which has been inundated with wild ideas behind his disappearance, while his family have even received phone calls from people claiming to hold the teen hostage.
Mr Williams-Thomas also urged anyone who may have information to make themselves known. He told reporters: “This is about finding Jay and we need as many people as possible to get involved, and I would urge as another appeal… There are people out here who know more.
“There are people out here who have information who have seen Jay, who had contact with Jay whilst he was here. If you were in those clubs on that evening or in the early hours of that morning, please come forward.”
After attending the NRG music festival in Playa de Las Americas in the south, Mr Slater travelled to the rural village of Masca, around 37km away, during the early hours of the morning after meeting two men over the course of the weekend.
Since leaving Surrey Police in 2000, Mr Williams-Thomas has investigated a number of high-profile cases including paedophile Jimmy Savile and the missing case of Madeleine McCann.
Last year, he was also involved in the disappearance of mother-of-two Nicola Bulley, with it later emerging that she had fallen into the River Wyre in Lancashire and drowned.