British teenager Jay Slater had been on holiday in Tenerife but has been missing since Monday after telling a friend he would be setting off on an 11-hour walk to get home. At a service of hope held Thursday members of his local village wore blue ribbons and left messages to him.
As the search continues for missing Jay Slater, members of the local community rallied at a church event as his friends hoped for the return of the British teen they described as the “life and soul of the party”.
The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, near Blackburn in Lancashire, was on holiday in Tenerife with friends when he went missing on Monday.
He vanished after he told a friend he would be setting off on an 11-hour walk to get home, after he missed his bus, and new photographs show the property where he was last seen.
At a church in his home town, locals used blue ribbons to mark a service of hope as they left messages to the missing teen.
Two friends, speaking to Sky News, also shared stories of the teen they hoped would soon be found.
One friend of Mr Slater’s said: “We’ve known him for a long time. We’re always out with him. He’s the life and soul of the party.
“Everywhere you see him he’s just constantly got a smile on his face. He’s always just a happy chap.”
“He’s just one of a kind really,” they added.
They continued: “I don’t think you could walk through any street [in Oswaldtwistle] and someone would say they don’t know him. He’s just constantly happy wherever you see him, no matter what.
“He’s just always got a smile on his face. Hopefully, someone somewhere knows something and hopefully he can get found.”
A second friend told Sky News: “I can’t hope enough, I literally can’t. It’s been on my mind since Monday morning.
“I just can’t seem to understand why this has happened to him and why no-one has heard anything. It’s crazy, I’m lost for words.”
The friend continued: “We feel like we can’t do anything about it because we’re over here and he’s over there. If we could get a flight tomorrow we would do.”