Jay Slater’s parents open up on 'mystery' of his disappearance as they plead to 'keep case alive'

The two-week-long search in Tenerife was called off over the weekend.

Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire, first vanished on June 17.

The decision to suspend the search left his family “blindsided” on Sunday.

The family had spent two and a half hours speaking with investigators about the case.

Debbie and Warren met officers at around 2pm at the Civil Guard’s local headquarters in Playa de Las Americas.

Debbie told The Sun: “It’s a mystery and he’s still missing, we need to just let these guys (the police) get on with it.”

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She added: “Let’s keep it going, keep it alive. Let them (the police) get on with it, we’ve got to trust in these people.”

A major development appears to have renewed calls for further inquiries.

Chris Pennington, 43, originally from Chester and a former British Army reservist who served in Iraq, found the sunglasses.

He told MailOnline: “I've done a bit of hiking and mountaineering and wanted to help out the family.

“They are desperate to find their lad and with my background, I thought I could do my bit.

“I parked up near the viewpoint near where the phone last pinged and found them on the ground near some bushes and in the area where they have been searching.

“I don't know if they are Jay's but as a duty of care, I picked them up and told the Guardia Civil about them.

“They told me not to touch them if possible and wrap them in paper not plastic and I did and handed them in.

“They also took my DNA and fingerprints as well. It must be awful for the family with the search sacking back and they haven't had any news for two weeks weeks.

“I walked a bit further towards where they said his phone pinged but it was a challenge to get through, it was impossible.

“You would have needed a machete to get through all that undergrowth so this phone pinged from there it's because someone threw it in there.

“The sunglasses were about 50 metres from the road near a tunnel I wanted to search. I saw them glinting in the sun and picked them up.”