The mother of missing Jay Slater said “words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing” after searches on Tenerife failed to trace the missing 19-year-old.

In a statement issued through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, Debbie Duncan said the land search for her son has been called off, but thanked the Guardia Civil who she said had “worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced”.

The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle, disappeared on June 17 after setting off to walk back to his accommodation on the holiday island.

His mother’s statement 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.”

Helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find the apprentice bricklayer.

Jay went to the holiday island on June 13 to attend the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance.

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.

“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,” Ms Duncan said.

“We do not have any information on his whereabouts.

“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.”

On Friday, the Guardia Civil had appealed for volunteer associations, such as firefighters and individual volunteers who were experts in rugged terrain to assist in a “busqueda masiva” – 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, according to reports.

(Image: Photo issued by LBT Global, of Jay Slater)

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Full statement from ‘devastated’ family of missing Jay Slater

“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.

“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.

“We would like to say to the press/news/reporters, that although we do not want to lose the momentum of Jay’s disappearance, we really would like to maintain our privacy and crucially let the Spanish police get on with their investigations without hindrance from press.

“We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.

“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.”