POLICE hunting for Jay Slater in Tenerife fear it is unlikely he will be found alive if he got lost in the mountains.
Authorities on the island are pushing ahead with the search for the 19-year-old, who vanished 11 days ago.
Jay has been missing since last MondaySolarpix
PADetectives have so far found no trace of Jay[/caption]
Cops say there is no talk yet of halting the search despite growing concerns they will find a body.
The Civil Guard which has been leading the operation near the village of Masca where the teenager was last seen said today it was continuing as normal.
More sniffer dogs trained in searching for people over large expanses of land were flown in from Madrid and incorporated into the operation on Tuesday.
A spokesman said: “The Civil Guard is continuing to search for the young British man who disappeared, carrying out inspections of all the paths, trails and ravines belonging to the village of Masca within the municipality of Buenavista del Norte.”
The force also released footage showing officers moving on foot through some of the rough and remote terrain.
Other cops could be seen carrying out aerial inspections in the Civil Guard helicopter.
A well-placed source added: “No-one at the moment is talking about the search being brought to an end, even though it’s very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains in the way we were told he did.
“There will be a point when the operation that’s taking place at the moment has to at least be scaled back but right now the search teams appear to have decided they want to give themselves more time.”
After going to a rave that finished in the early hours of June 17, Jay headed to Masca with two British men he had met that night.
He shared a final Snapchat from their Airbnb of a hand holding a cigarette at 7.30am.
Jay then tried to make his way back to his holiday accommodation – an 11 hour walk away.
But at around 8.50am he made a final frantic call to friend Lucy, telling her he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
It sparked a mammoth search operation involving helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs that has so far drawn blanks.
Rescue crews have been focusing their efforts on the 2,000ft Masca ravine in the north, where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower.
Police have described the area they are scouring north of the Masca Gorge as “immense”.
Despite an apparent lack of progress in finding Jay, his mum has praised investigators and called on the public to pray for her son.
She told Sky News: “I have every faith in them down on the ground and the amazing searches they are carrying out along with more amazing guys up there.
“As a family we are in a living nightmare. We have no further updates other than Jay is still missing and we are just ignoring the social media side of things.”
Today, Debbie revealed she is withdrawing some of the £36,000 worth of donations raised amid the hunt for her son.
She said cash from the GoFundMe page will be used to fly out the “loved ones” of the “wonderful people” who are with her in Tenerife.
Heartbroken Debbie, 55, said money would also go towards the teams on their 11th day searching for Jay, as well as her family’s accommodation and food.
She wrote on the page this morning: “We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held.
“I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.
“Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses.
“I’m surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we’ll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times.”