Latest Jay Slater: Mum of missing British teenager in Tenerife releases 'agonising' statement after search called off

She said “words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing” after searches have failed to trace the missing 19-year-old. Debbie Duncan who spoke through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global said: “My son, Jay Dean Slater, came to the holiday island of Tenerife on the 13th of June with his friend to attend a music festival.

“On the 17th of June after not returning to his apartment he was reported as a missing person. Jay is a normal guy who is in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends. “We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance.

“Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him. We do not have any information on his whereabouts.”

She added: “The Guardia Civil have worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced. They conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available.

“Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation. We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of inquiries.”

Ms Duncan went on to say that conspiracy theories and speculation on social media about his disappearance are “vile” and the “negative comments are extremely distressing to our family”. She said: “We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe. It has not gone unnoticed, especially his home town in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this present time.”

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, has been missing since 17 June, after he told a friend he was lost in the mountains. Mr Slater went to the holiday island on June 13 to attend the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance. It was the teenager's first holiday abroad without parents.

He disappeared after setting off to walk back to his accommodation on the holiday island after travelling to an Airbnb with two friends he had met at the event. Helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find the apprentice bricklayer, but to no avail.

His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island – which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation. Tenerife's Guardia Civil have now called off the search for the missing apprentice bricklayer.