Coronation Street star Vicky Entwistle - who is most known for her role as Janice Battersby - issued an update on Jay Slater who went missing during his first holiday away from his family in Tenerife.
Slater was last heard from on Monday, June 17 when he told a friend he had planned to walk back to their accommodation after missing a bus, a journey expected to take around 11 hours on foot.
The apprentice bricklayer was on the island attending the NRG music festival with friends and reportedly left early after going to stay with some people they had met during the festival.
Slater had been driven back to their apartment in a hire car but hadn't realised how far away it was from his accommodation.
His friend Lucy Law told Manchester Evening News that Slater called her around 9am and told her that he had missed his bus and was attempting to walk home, to which she asked him to go back where he came from.
He informed her he couldn't as he was lost, needed water and that his phone battery was on one per cent.
Jay was on his first friend's holiday away from his family
INSTAGRAM/LUCY LAW
"He’s ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there. But then in the morning he set off walking, using his maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of the mountains with nothing around," she said.
The 19-year-old phone was soon cut off, with his last location showing as the Rural de Teno park – a mountainous area popular with hikers in the north of the island.
After it was alerted to the authorities that he had gone missing, a specialist mountain rescue team, including a police helicopter, was deployed to look for him in the last known location.
Authorities briefly switched their search to the south of the island in tourists on Wednesday, close to where Slater was staying with friends in the popular tourist hotspots Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas.
Jay had left the festival early to go back with some friends they had met
PA WIRE
They later returned the search to the Rural de Teno park after the alleged sighting of Slater was believed to be false.
Entwistle posted an appeal on her X account after revealing she was linked to Slater and said: "My God Mother’s Grandson has gone missing. His Mother has flown out 7pm.
"To join the police search. Hope to God they find him. Please [pray] for him."
Fans flocked to the comment section to send their well wishes, with one noting: "Saw this on Facebook Vicky, it seems to be getting shared far and wide, hopefully, there will be some good news imminently with all the love and support out there. Just makes it so much harder when abroad! Love and prayers for you all."
Another penned: "I've been following this for hours. I hope they find him safe Vicky.
"Some women on Facebook are looking at the live webcam of the area he was last tracked to & they have been posting photos of certain things etc so hoping they can help. My heart goes out to his family."
Entwistle replied: "Thank You. It seems everyone is looking so that gives us all some hope that he will be found."
"Hoping Jay is found safe and well, we all are!!!!" someone else added before a fourth expressed: "Hope he is found safe and well."
Someone else said: "My goodness Vicky, my thoughts & prayers are with you, your godparents & close family & friends, I want to say more, but just prayers for you my friend, hope so much they find Jay." (sic)
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Lucy and his family have been appealing for all the help they can get
INSTAGRAM/LUCY LAW/LUCYMAENEW
Slater's mum Debbie Duncan, flew to the island on Tuesday morning to help with the search and feared that he had been "taken against his will", and told PA news agency: "It’s just traumatic and it doesn’t feel real. It’s just awful, it’s horrendous.
“I think he’s been taken against his will with what’s been said, but it’s in the hands of the police," she continued before adding that the police in the search had been "very good".
Law also believes her friend has been taken as she told the Daily Mail: "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."
