A former Missing Persons Unit boss has offered the family of missing 19-year-old Jay Slater some hope as a search is carried out in Tenerife.
Speaking on GB News, Mike Neville said Slater’s case has a key difference to that of TV doctor Michael Mosley, who was found dead after he went missing on the Greek island of Symi.
The fact Slater was able to speak to a friend before being reported missing is a positive, according to the missing persons expert, who claims the search teams will be able to focus their efforts on a smaller area compared to Mosley.
“I do hope this comes to a successful conclusion. It’s like the tragedy of Mosley here because when you look at the park, it’s a similar environment”, he said.
Mike Neville says there is hope in the search for Jay Slater
GB NEWS
“But because he made that phone call, they may be able to pinpoint that area. It’s different in that way to Mosley, It’s a tighter area.
“The police will be conducting all sorts of search teams and using helicopters and potentially drones.
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Jay Slater told a friend in his last phone call that his phone had only one per cent battery and he did not know where he wasGetty“Park rangers will know particular tracks and where best to search. I am sure the Spanish police will be putting together a professional and coordinated search.”
Andrew Pierce pointed out that as Slater is a lot younger than Mosley was, he may be in a better physical condition to deal with the testing environment.
“I am no medical expert, but he should survive for longer [than Mosley]”, Neville added.
“Looking at the photos of him, he is a fit lad, let’s just hope he has found a source of water and my prayers go to his mum and the rest of his family.
Mike Neville joined Andrew Pierce and Bev Turner on GB News
GB NEWS
“Hopefully he is just dehydrated and the police are able to treat him.”
He added that Slater appears to have got lost “away from the sea”, which is a positive as there are many dangers thrown up when entering the water.
“The good thing here is, it’s away from the sea”, he said.
“The danger is if people go in the sea. That really is a problem. He does appear to be on land in that island.”
Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday as he told a friend he planned to walk to his accommodation after missing a bus, a journey expected to take around 11 hours on foot.
His friend Lucy said that Slater had gone to stay with people he had met on holiday while on a night out.
She said she received a call from the 19-year-old at around 8.15am on Monday after he missed the bus and was trying to walk back to warn that he was lost and only had one per cent battery on his phone.
His last location is shown as the Rural de Reno park, a mountainous area popular with hikers.