JAY Slater’s devastated family have been left “in the dark” after police abruptly halted the search for the missing teen, friends say.
Cops in Tenerife dramatically called off the hunt for Jay yesterday after failing to find any trace of him in the two weeks since he vanished.
The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared on June 17 while on holiday with two friends.
While the on the ground search has stopped, police on the island have insisted the case is still very much open.
Detectives have promised to continue investigating and probe any new tip-offs or information that come in.
But Jay‘s family have been left bewildered by the sudden search call off and have vowed to keep looking for answers.
Close family friend Rachel Hargreaves, who has joined them in Tenerife, said: “Nothing has changed. We will continue to search for him.”
Parents Debbie and Warren, as well as brother Zak, are all in Tenerife still looking for answers on what happened to Jay.
They were left “blindsided” by the speed at which the decision to end the search was made.
A family friend told The Times his loved ones were still “in the dark” over what will happen now the hunt has ended.
But a top investigator who worked on the Madeleine McCann case has urged Jay’s family to use £45,000 donated by well-wishers to fund a private search.
Former cop Mark Williams-Thomas – who jetted to Tenerife to help the search – said the GoFundMe cash could be used to draft in a team of experts.
He told The Mirror: “The police have put considerable resources into searching for Jay and of course it is very disappointing for the family that the search by the police has now ended.
“I have advised the family to use the GoFundMe money to bring in a large team of experts to flood the area from where we know Jay last was.”
So far, supporters have donated more than £45,000 to the page set up by Jay’s friend Lucy Law.
Last week, Jay’s heartbroken mum Debbie Duncan confirmed plans to withdraw some of the cash to fly out family friends.
They also want to use money towards their own accommodation and food on the island as they continue to hunt for Jay.
It is understood Jay’s family will meet with Spanish police today.
It comes as…
Before the search was called off, Tenerife cops organised a “last push” operation to scour for Jay.
Some 30 cops, firefighters and rescuers all took to the mountains in Masca – along with a handful of volunteers – on Saturday.
The hunt, which centred around Jay’s last known location, failed to find any trace of the teen.
But an expert climber who volunteered to join the final search had slammed it as a “PR stunt”.
Self-described explorer Paul Arnott, 29, flew out to Tenerife on June 22 and has been sharing updates on his TikTok page.
After joining the final search with police on Saturday, Paul, from Bedfordshire, vented to his followers.
He claimed: “I’ve literally been waiting for absolutely ages now. This is a massive PR thing, I’m telling you now.”
Jay vanished on the morning of June 17 after a night out at the NRG festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas.
He was last seen travelling with the two mystery men in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno park.
Jay made a final frantic phone call to pal Lucy Law to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere” at about 8.50am on June 17.
Panicked Jay, facing an 11-hour walk back to their hotel, told her he needed water and only had one per cent of battery left on his phone.
His other friend Brad Hargreaves revealed a second call in which Jay told him he had veered off the main path – leading to speculation he may have slid down rocks.
Brad said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call.
The disappearance sparked a desperate round-the-clock search with his heartbroken mum and family jetting out to the island to join the hunt.
Rescue crews focused their efforts around the 2,000ft Masca ravine close to Jay’s last known location – the desolate Teno Nature Reserve.
On Thursday, they shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with the two men.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay had flown out to Tenerife with friends Lucy and Brad for the New Rave Generation (NRG) festival, which ended on Sunday.
His final Snapchat picture was an out-of-focus image of a hand holding cigarettes in Buenavista del Norte, which sits within Rural de Teno park, at around 7.30am on Monday.
It was taken at the location he went to with the two men he met at the club – with haunting pictures showing the inside of the Airbnb.
It is claimed he was spotted “walking alone” by locals before his disappearance.
