Jay Slater hopes rise as 'hunters and dogs' target specific area
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The partridge hunting season is set to begin in early August, meaning there will be more people with dogs walking through the area
Hope has been renewed to find missing teenager Jay Slater after “hunters and dogs” have been sent in to target specific areas.
The 19-year-old flew from Lancashire to the Canary Islands for a music festival but disappeared after he went to stay with people he met during a night out on June 16.
During his final call to his friend Lucy Law at 8am local time the following day, the 19-year-old said his phone had only one per cent battery, he was thirsty, and he did not know where he was.
His last location showed he was in the Rural de Teno Park - an area popular among hikers. He has not been seen since.
'Hunters and dogs' set to flood the site where Jay Slater disappeared
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The official search led by local police, which included scouring a 2,000ft-deep ravine, was called off on June 30, nearly 14 days after Slater went missing.
Volunteers, including a local hiking group, as well as amateur social media detectives, have continued the search efforts ever since - but to no avail.
Now, hopes to find the missing teen have been reignited, as the partridge hunting season in the area is set to get underway, meaning there will be more people with dogs walking through the region.
Discussing the season which starts in early August, a local woman explained to Sky News: “There will be different people in the area and a better chance of finding him.”
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Some hunters are already in the region ahead of the season, with the outlet reporting that two huntsmen and their dogs were spotted in the area at the same time local hikers were searching for the teenager.
Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, the parents of the missing teenager, have pleaded with local police to keep the case alive, after the two-week search was called off last week.
The decision to suspend the search left his family “blindsided” on Sunday, but they will continue to stay in Tenerife to continue to look for the 19-year-old.
Juan Garcia, a private investigator, has said that the investigation ended too early, urging the missing teeanger’s family not to give up hope.
“Two weeks is too premature to end the search,” he told The Times.
“[Slater] could be alive somewhere — someone can drink from rainwater and eat plants.
“The family should not give up hope.”
TikTok amateur detectives also have flown out to Tenerife to join in the hunt for the missing teenager. In clips posted online, the sleuths have described the “very difficult” terrain, which is covered with cacti, steep cliffs and has an unforgiving altitude.