Missing Briton sparks large search operation after Tenerife music fest

The Briton Jay Slater went missing in Tenerife on Sunday, 16 June after flying with friends to the NRG music festival. The Spanish police organised a large-scale search. The family of the missing person also flew to the island.

Music festivals around the world attract tens of thousands of interested participants. Coachella, Burning Man, and Tomorrowland connect music fans from all over the globe. These types of events come with not only joy and gigantic bills but also potential dangers. Date rape pills dropped into drinks, thefts, sexual assaults, beatings, and finally - disappearances or death. The family of the 19-year-old Briton who went missing after the NRG festival knows this all too well.

Nineteen-year-old Jay Slater from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, England, flew to the Canary Islands with friends. The group wanted to attend the NRG festival, which took place from 14 June to 16 June 2024 in Tenerife. The trip to the Spanish islands was supposed to be Jay's first time travelling alone without his parents. After the festival, the boy decided to visit newly made acquaintances in the northwestern part of the island.

Jay went missing on Monday, 17 June. The last person who spoke to Slater was his friend Lucy Law, whom he called around 8:00 GMT. The boy said that he missed the bus, so he intended to return to his friends on foot. He probably didn't realise that the hike would take him about 11 kilometres. Jay also mentioned that a cactus had injured his leg and that his phone was about to die. Lucy Law managed to ask her friend to return to the new acquaintances before the call dropped.

The day after Jay went missing on Tenerife, his parents and brother flew in. The family wants to assist the Spanish police in their search efforts. Currently, the officers are focusing on the Teno Nature Park area. This was the last place where the missing person's phone logged on. This part of Tenerife is exceptionally dry, with no rivers or lakes, which could contribute to Jay’s dehydration, who mentioned during his phone conversation with Lucy Law that he was thirsty. British law enforcement from Lancashire offered Guardia Civil support, but the Spanish government declined, stating they have adequate tools.

A week has passed since Jay Slater's disappearance. Despite extensive search efforts, the boy is still considered missing, which takes a toll on his family's mental health. In an interview with "The Guardian," the boy's mother, Debbie Duncan, said: "We are not coping. I am not coping at all. I haven't slept, and I am exhausted. It has been terrible. I cannot give up, I just can't."

Lucy Law decided to take action. She started a GoFundMe fundraiser, where she wrote: "Jay left at 8:00 GMT (from the new acquaintances - editor's note), and walked for half an hour before desperately calling me when his phone reached 1%. That was 3 days ago, and since then, no one has seen or heard from him. His last known location was on a dirt road, 10 10-kilometre from the hotel where we were staying. Weather conditions are terrible for someone in shorts and a T-shirt, both during the day and at night. There is no water when it is warm during the day, and there is no jacket or appropriate clothing when it is cold at night. It was about 1°C outside and very windy. We are all apprehensive and just want him to come home."

The NRG festival, where the boy was having fun, also commented on Jay Slater's disappearance. In a statement, they wrote: "As you probably know, among the participants was 19-year-old Jay Slater, whose disappearance was reported on Monday in the north of the island after leaving the event. We are grateful to the many thousands of people who have since shared appeals for information through our and many other channels and shared them. Despite the extensive reach and hard work of local authorities and volunteers involved in the search, at the time of posting, they had arrived in Tenerife under such difficult circumstances, and their resilience and determination inspired us. Like them and you, we hope for Jay's safe return. Authorities in Tenerife can be contacted for any information at local numbers 062 or 112".