The mother of missing Jay Slater says she and her family are “absolutely devastated” about the teenager’s disappearance.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared on 17 June after setting off to walk back to his accommodation while on holiday in Tenerife.

In a statement issued through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, Debbie Duncan said “words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing”.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

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Helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find the apprentice bricklayer, who arrived on the island on 13 June for the NRG music festival with two friends.

Ms Duncan praised the Spanish police, who she said had “worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phonecall was traced”.

His last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the island – which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

“They [police] conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available,” Ms Duncan added.

“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.”

On Friday, the Guardia Civil appealed for experts in rugged terrain to assist in a “massive search” on Saturday.

The search in the village of Masca, near his last-known location, took in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.

He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca and the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled “not relevant” to the case.

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As the family continues to hope for a breakthrough in investigations, Ms Duncan asked the media to respect their privacy and said they are aware of conspiracy theories.

She said she can only describe the speculation as “vile”, adding the “negative comments are extremely distressing” to the family.

“We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe,” she added.

“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.”

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