MISSING Jay Slater could have fallen into a steep gorge after getting lost on a mountain trail – but could still be alive, an expert has claimed.
Surveying expert Brian Harrison, who lives in Tenerife, believes Jay, 19, could have taken the Masca Gorge Trail, a popular hiking route.
The trail begins not far from where Jay went missing 11 days ago and heads towards the ocean.
Local police have searched the gorge with dogs, helicopters and drones, but a person could easily be overlooked amid the thick brush and cacti.
And ex-pat Mr Harrison, 57, says the route, known locally as Barranco de Masca, can be extremely perilous if hikers diverge from the path.
But he added that the area also has dozens of narrow aqueducts and waterfalls meaning Jay could have found access to water.
“Logic suggests that if Jay did get lost, maybe he was heading down towards the ocean,” he said.
“It’s feasible he has taken the Masca Gorge Trail and has fallen and injured himself.
“There are some sheer drops along the route, there is danger.
“And if he’s fallen it is feasibly possible that he’s got some water from somewhere, meaning he could still be alive, it’s a possibility.
“The area has lots of aqueducts that farmers use to feed their goats and there’s a waterfall down there.”
Mr Harrison, a telecommunications engineer who is also the Secretary General of the Tenerife Ecological Association, said he knows the remote mountainous area very well.
“I used to work on telecommunications surveys in that area,” he said.
“It’s extremely rugged, there’s extreme highs and lows of temperature even at this time of year.
“You get mist and clouds up at that height where you literally can’t see anything.
“It’s extremely dangerous if you go off the road, you’re very likely to fall or get into trouble.”
But he also said the hike is very popular so believes Jay must have wandered off the path.
“You just never know, maybe he thought he could make it to the coast. Obviously this is what the search and rescue teams will be looking for.
“If you venture off the road in this area and you see the type of terrain there you can see just how difficult this search and rescue operation is. Let’s hope he’s found.”
Mr Harrison also praised police search efforts and said everyone on the holiday island was praying for Jay’s safe return.
He added: “The Canarians are really rallying round, they are putting every effort into finding him and no one is judging him in any way, they just want him found and hopefully to go home safe.”
This comes as the founder and president of an influential Spanish missing persons association has urged Jay’s parents to be patient and said the search for him is in the best hands.
The teenager’s dad Warren Slater has expressed his frustration about being kept in the dark about any leads or clues being pursued by the Tenerife police.
But Joaquin Amills, who founded SOS Desaparecidos more than two decades ago following the disappearance of his own son, said today they could place their trust in the Civil Guard because it was a “top” police force.
He also said silence was “good” because it meant they were working hard behind the scenes to discover what happened.
“If I had Jay’s family in front of me I would tell them to confide in the Civil Guard because it’s a professional force and for me one of the best there is in Europe and they empathise fully with the pain families like this missing lad feel,” he explained.
“I would also tell them that the more silence there is from the Civil Guard, the more they’re working. That’s always the case.”
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family are in ‘a living hell’
TUESDAY 25
Brit hiker found by Jay search teams says he ‘didn’t need to be saved’
Madeleine McCann cop lands in Tenerife to join search
Tenerife cops call in reinforcements from Madrid – including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim they have spotted Jay watching Euros
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men Jay partied with
Cops scour exact spot where ‘mystery grainy figure’ was seen
THURSDAY 27
Detectives ‘fear it’s unlikely Jay will be found alive if in mountains’
Search hones in on series of caves in desolate park
Family ‘turn to help of TikTok sleuth’
FRIDAY 28
GoFundMe goes £10,000 over target as it hits £40,000
Tenerife cops announce huge search for Jay & appeal for volunteers
The expert’s claims that Jay may be alive come after police sources have warned that it is “very unlikely” the teenager has survived if he got lost in the mountains.
Yet authorities have said there are no plans to put a stop to the search yet, despite no signs of Jay.
Today police in Tenerife called on volunteers to join in a massive search operation for Jay.
The search has been organised to start at 9am Saturday morning in the area around Masca.
The police appeal specifies they are seeking only volunteer professionals, including firefighters and Civil Protection workers as well as people with expertise in the type of rough terrain officers have been working in.
Their cry for help comes despite them turning down help from their British counterparts as they insisted they had all the resources required.
Meanwhile, Jay’s best friend Brad – who he was on holiday with in Tenerife – said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call.
Brad has opened up their last conversation, saying Jay wasn’t initially concerned about walking back to their accommodation.
He told Isla Traquair on ITV’s This Morning he could hear Jay’s feet slide on the rocks – signalling to him he’d gone off the road.
Brad said: “That’s how I knew he went off the road because, you know when you walk on gravel, or whatever it is, you can… you know what I mean, stones.”
He admitted, however, he wasn’t worried at that point as Jay reassured him he was fine – but he did tell his friend to put his location on.
Brad added: “We were both, like, laughing about it. He said: ‘look where I am’.”
He said Jay then cut off as he had another call waiting – but promised to phone back.
