THE dad of missing Brit teen Jay Slater paid an emotional visit to the search site last night to mark the first visit by a close family member.
Tearful Warren Slater, 58, said “I just want my boy back” as he overlooked the 2,000ft deep ravine in the remote mountain village of Masca, Tenerife, as the search for his son goes on.
Ian WhittakerWarren Slater, 58, has visited the site where his son Jay was last seen[/caption]
Ian WhittakerSlater’s dad and his brother Zak (right) visited Masca Village Ravine on Saturday[/caption]
Ian WhittakerThe trio pictured together for Zak’s 21st birthday[/caption]
Jay, 19, has been missing in Tenerife since the early hours of Monday morning
Ian WhittakerThe last known image of Jay taken on Sunday night at NRG Festival in the south of the island[/caption]
Mr Slater was supported by his son and Jay’s brother, Zak Slater, 24, who was too upset to comment when approached at a viewing point.
Warren, wearing a dark pair of sunglasses, bucket hat and shorts, wrapped his arm around Zak as they surveyed the scene below them.
Warren and Zak were also joined by eight of Jay’s friends at the viewpoint above Masca.
He said: “I just want the boy back.”
Meanwhile, mum Debbie Duncan, speaking away from the scene, said: “I’m just exhausted. I’m still hopeful. I’m not feeling negative just yet. I know it’s five days.
“It’s not just that they’ve said absolutely not. I don’t know what it’s been like today because I’ve been advised to stay away because I would just break down.
“My boy might be just up there somewhere.
“We’re all devastated. He’s just a normal boy from a little town in Lancashire. These things don’t happen. “
“I was in touch with him while he was in Tenerife. He was just holidaying away, he’d saved up and was looking forward to it.
“I’ve not slept for five days. My brain isn’t functioning well and I’m tired and exhausted.”
Earlier today, devastated Debbie revealed a huge development in the search for the missing teen.
She said her son may have been spotted with two men some ten hours after he was last seen on Monday morning in the remote village of Masca.
She revealed a witness went to cops and claimed to have seen Jay sitting on a bench with the pair of men 3.5 miles away in Santiago del Teide.
The heartbroken mum said she now fears “something untoward” has happened to the teen.
Debbie told Mail Online: “Someone has come forward to say they saw someone who they thought was Jay walking back down the road sat on a bench.
“He was with two men looking a bit worse for wear, and they were by a church, this guy has come forward and told the police about it and they are looking into it.
“We don’t know if it was Jay for sure, but it’s a start.”
Debbie, 55, has been in Tenerife since Tuesday helping with the massive police search for her 19-year-old son.
She revealed that the fresh sighting pinpoints Jay’s possible movements to 6pm on Monday – some 10 hours after his missing persons report was filed.
The worried mum said: “They said it was about 6pm which is ten hours after he was seen by the lady in the village.
“But if it was him what was he doing there and who are these two men?”
She added: “All I know is that I am going to stay here for as long as it takes, I’m not going home unless it’s with Jay. I’m not going anywhere until they find him.”
Cops have yet to confirm the new sighting of the missing teen.
It comes as rescue efforts have turned their focus to an area known locally as “the badlands”, scouring a 2,000ft ravine in a remote park.
Pictures from the scene show cops, firefighters, volunteers and sniffer dogs scanning the desolate Teno Nature Reserve, Jay’s last known location.
Locals and experts have warned of the treacherous conditions in the area – where the air is “thin”, temperatures change rapidly and the mountains drop sharply to the water below.
Jay’s mum Debbie today slammed the investigation into her son’s disappearance for not allowing British cops to contribute.
On Friday Lancashire Constabulary offered to help Spain’s Guardia Civil in their efforts to find the teenager.
But local police rejected the bid and insisted they have the “resources” required to find him.
The mum also told The Guardian she spent eight hours in a police station as they revealed plans for ramping up the rescue effort.