A British teenager who has gone missing during a holiday in Tenerife had cut his leg on a cactus and did not know where he was, according to a friend.
Lucy Law said Jay Slater, 19, is “not a stupid boy” and would have flagged down a car or spoken to passers-by.
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on Monday morning as he told a friend he planned to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus, a journey expected to take around 11 hours on foot.
His mother, Debbie Duncan, flew to Spain’s Canary Islands on Tuesday morning to join the teams of mountain rescuers and local civil guards searching for him.
Ms Law told Sky News Jay rang her to say he didn’t know where he was, that he needed a drink and had “cut his leg on a cactus”.
He managed to send her a photo of his location despite his mobile phone battery being down to one per cent.
“The thing I find the most weird about this is the fact that there’s nobody that’s seen him,” she told the UK Tonight programme.
“And he’s not a stupid boy – he’s got some nous about him.
“I’ve seen so many people up here and I’ve asked every single one if they’ve seen him - this is what I find weird.
“If he’d seen somebody, or a car, he would have flagged down the car - he would have said he needed a phone to contact someone.”
She added: “He would never have his family worrying like this - he would never have us worrying like this.
“If he saw someone, the first thing he would do is say ‘I need to ring my mum’ - I know that for a fact. He would never ever have his mum worrying like this.
“It’s just awful – I’ve never in my life been so worried.
“I’ve literally not slept at all since.”
Ms Duncan said she feared her son, who is an apprentice bricklayer, had “been taken against his will”.
She told the 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.”
Speaking about her son, Ms Duncan said: “He’s just a great person who everyone wanted to be with. He’s good looking, he’s a popular boy.”
She added that the police leading the search had been “very good”.
Mr Slater was last seen wearing a white T-shirt with shorts and trainers.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”
