Jay Slater could be facing testing conditions as the search for the missing teen enters a fifth day, according to a local journalist.
The British teenager, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday morning when he called his friend, Lucy Law, after attempting to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.
Speaking on GB News was Chris Elkington from Canarian Weekly, who is concerned about temperature dips.
He says the 19-year-old could still be outside, a worry given how cold it can get in the middle of the night on the Spanish island.
Chris Elkington says Jay Slater could be faced with 'very chilly' conditions
GB NEWS
“In that area, it is a bit cooler than it is in the south”, Elkington said on GB News.
“In the daytime, we’re currently in the mid to high 20s. In the park, it drops to around 16 degrees.
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“At night time, it can get very chilly. Particularly if you are out there in shorts and a T-shirt.
“It’s not ideal conditions at all, it can be harsh in the daytime and very cold at night.”
The walk from Rural de Teno park, his last known location, to the south of the Spanish island, would take around 11 hours on foot.
Law said Slater, who she attended NRG music festival with, called her at around 8.30am on Monday and told her she was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on one per cent”.
Chris Elkington joined Ellie Costello and Stephen Dixon
GB NEWS
She added that he had left the apartment at 8am on Monday and walked for half an hour before “frantically ringing” her.
Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, flew to Tenerife on Tuesday morning and said searching for her son was “an absolute living nightmare”.
Duncan told ITV News: “I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. I just want my baby back.
“Please just anybody who can help – look for him. It’s a massive area up there.
Jay Slater flew from Lancashire to the Canary Islands for a music festival when he disappeared PA Wire“He’s out there somewhere or somebody knows where he is.”
Duncan added: “I wish I hadn’t encouraged him to go to this. I should have said: ‘Don’t go to Tenerife’.
“I just think he was probably still in high spirits, buzzing – he’s not known where he is.
“He’s not known the extent of the long journey that he went on to get up there.
“And he’s just thought: ‘I’m gonna walk’. And that’s what apparently he said to the last person he contacted.”