A specialised team of Dutch volunteers is set to launch a new search effort for Jay Slater, the 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle who vanished in Tenerife last month. The non-profit organisation Signi Zoekhonden, based in the Netherlands, has dispatched a team of five people and four highly trained dogs to the Spanish island, with a sixth member due to join on Monday.
Speaking from Brussels Airport, volunteer Marieke Krans told the BBC that the group remains optimistic about their chances of locating Mr Slater. “We are confident in our abilities and those of our dogs”, she stated. “Our canines are trained to find people, whether alive or deceased, and possess a wide range of skills including underwater and mountain searches”.
The team’s deployment has been made possible by the generosity of donors contributing to a crowdfunding campaign, according to Mr Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan. She described her son as “a normal, hardworking young lad from Lancashire who is very loved by all who know him”, adding that he was on the verge of completing his three-year apprenticeship.
Mr Slater was last heard from on the morning of 17 June, when he phoned friends to say he was lost in a mountainous area with his mobile phone battery nearly depleted. He had been staying in the village of Masca following a night out at the NRG music festival in Playa de Las Americas.
Despite an extensive 12-day search by Spanish police, no trace of the young man was found. The Guardia Civil has since called off the official search but maintains that the investigation into Mr Slater’s disappearance is ongoing.
Signi Zoekhonden, which boasts two decades of experience in locating missing persons, plans to employ drones in their search efforts, pending approval from local authorities. The organisation has previously assisted in various global search operations, including natural disaster zones and cold cases.
Upon arrival in Tenerife, the Dutch team intends to liaise with Mr Slater’s family and the Guardia Civil to gather crucial information before commencing their five-and-a-half-day search operation.
As the Slater family remains in Tenerife, determined to stay “for as long as it takes”, this new search effort brings a glimmer of hope in solving the mystery of Jay Slater’s disappearance.
