Last person to speak to Jay Slater claims he has been kidnapped and slams Spanish police for not taking hunt seriously as search for teenager missing on Tenerife enters fourth day
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The last person to speak to Jay Slater claims 'something sinister is going on' as family fears he could have been kidnapped grow with each passing day the teenager is not found.
The apprentice bricklayer, 19, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday morning as he tried to walk home along a mountainous path in north-west Tenerife.
He rang his friend Lucy Law to say he was lost, dehydrated and only had one per cent battery on his phone, but the call cut out suddenly and he has not been seen or heard from since.
His mother, Debbie Duncan believes Jay has been 'taken against his will', although Spanish police have never said this is a line of enquiry and are treating him as a missing person.
Today, Lucy repeated those fears, exclusively telling MailOnline that 'the whole thing is just so weird' and out of character for the teenager.
She said: 'It's been three days now since he was last seen and the more time goes on the more I'm sure he has been taken. At first I wasn't so sure but now I'm convinced.
'He is not stupid if he left the house on his own he would have walked to the road and then tried to flag a car down or stop someone for help.
'The last time we heard from him it was around 9am so the place where he would have been walking would have had hikers and holidaymakers.
'The more time passes and he has not been seen then the more we are convinced he has been taken by someone and is being held against his will.'
Jay was last seen getting into a car with two people he met on Sunday night after NRG music festival in south Tenerife.
He travelled with them to a property in Rural de Teno Park, a 40-minute drive or 10-hour walk from where he was staying in Playa de las Americas.
Jay's final Snapchat picture is an out-of-focus image of a hand holding a cigarettes at a property in the Buenavista del Norte area at 7.30am on Monday.
The search for Jay has entered its fourth day with mountain rescue crews, sniffer dogs and police scouring the remote north-west side of the island for any signs of him.
Around 15 of Jay's family and friends have flown out to Tenerife to help with the search, including his mother Debbie Duncan, father Warren Slater and brother Zak.
Yesterday afternoon, concern for Jay's wellbeing deepened as the chaotic search to track him down shifted dramatically.
The search had centred on the remote area near the village of Masca in north-west Tenerife.
But suddenly police focus shifted to the tourist hotspots of Los Cristianos and Playa de las Americas in south Tenerife, after a false sighting of him getting out of a taxi.
It later emerged the report was false and police, having wasted precious time in the blistering 27C heat, were forced to move attention back to their original site.
Ms Law slammed Spanish police for not taking the hunt seriously, adding 'I think they could be doing more'.
She told MailOnline: 'I know they have had a helicopter and drones up but to be honest I think they could be doing more.
'The other day I was on Veronica's Strip in Los Cristianos and I picked up some information and I went to the Guardia Civilia and they said "who is Jay Slater?"
'Can you believe that? It doesn't really give you much confidence does it. I've been out looking and so have his friends and family.
'We are just all so desperate for some news, we need people to keep looking we need Jay back.
'The whole thing is just so weird someone must have seen him, we are all extremely worried and the more it goes on the more dodgier it looks.
'I just think the fact that no one has seen him makes it all the more sinister.'
Ms Duncan also fears her son could have been kidnapped, saying he is 'streetwise' and 'not stupid'.
She said: 'I've got a bad feeling. I'm being warned there's a lot of bad people in Tenerife. I just think he's being held against his will. He's not a stupid lad. He wouldn't have gone walking down bloody mountains.
'There's no ransom demand come in yet. I've told them [police] my suspicions, that I think Jay's been taken up north by people against his will.'
Since he went missing, Ms Duncan has been receiving sickening phone calls from Brits with 'northern accents' claiming to have kidnapped her son.
Yesterday, she revealed another horrifying message sent to her just moments after touching down in Tenerife.
It read: 'Kiss goodbye to your boy, you're never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.'
On Thursday, Accrington and Rossendale College, where Jay was studying for his apprenticeship, issued a statement. It said: 'We are deeply concerned about the recent news regarding one of our apprentices, Jay Slater, who has gone missing while on holiday in Tenerife.
'The safety and wellbeing of our students are of utmost importance to us, and our thoughts at this worrying time are with Jay's family and friends.'
Speaking from the south of the island where her son had been staying, mother Debbie said: 'I'm obviously beside myself with worry which is why I've flown out here with my eldest son to do anything we can to help.
'We're just praying the police or someone finds Jay. I know there's a mountain rescue team out and a helicopter.
'Nothing's ever going to be enough when your youngest son's gone missing but it sounds as if the police here are taking this very seriously and doing the best job they can.'
Debbie also revealed she had received several prank calls from hidden numbers claiming they had taken her son and held him for ransom, describing the pranksters' jokes as 'sickening'.
After around seven fake GoFundMe pages were set up and debunked by his family, a real fundraising page by Jay's friends has now been verified.
More than £13,000 has been raised since the fundraiser went live.
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