Jay Slater's father is at a loss, admitting he "can't understand" why his son would veer off the road into the treacherous valleys near the last known location of his missing child.
The family, heartbroken and bewildered, have scoured approximately "80 per cent" of the Valley of Barranco de Juan Lopez, near the village of Masca in Tenerife, where Jay's mobile signal was last detected. Warren Slater, Jay's father, recounted how the path they followed abruptly ended at a cliff's edge, leaving him puzzled as to why Jay would choose such a route.
He also expressed confusion over the lack of sightings of Jay on what should be a busy tourist trail, noting that 'dozens' of cars must have driven by. "It doesn't make sense, he's either hid himself, but why would he hide himself? Or he's just ....?" Mr Slater said. "We've done the valley where his ping was, we've gone up the road to a vantage point, there's cliffs there and there's a valley and a village there."
He struggled to see why anyone would not opt for the clear path, avoiding the dense undergrowth, according to the Manchester Evening News.
"All I'm thinking is common sense, would you try and walk through there," he said. "Where we've been today you can see there's a hikers path with proper stones. We've gone straight down and you end up in the village. I'd go into the first building you see. An ideal spot for shelter is that little cave isn't it, get a bit of shade, you're hungover, get your head down in there. The police are convinced that's where his last ping were".
Speaking about the route on the road, he mentioned: "From the bnb, he's a fit lad, 25 minutes you can get to the top, to where the cafe is. If he's followed the road and been where we've been today, it's took him an hour and a half. Dozens of cars would have gone past him. We got here at 9am and the 10am bus passed us. And it would have passed him. I've been up here three weeks and I've never seen as many cars."
Mr Slater has also demanded more support from British authorities after Spanish police ceased their search last Sunday. He pointed out that Jay is a 'British citizen' and expressed his desire to get 'Interpol involved'.
The family, along with some volunteers, continues the search in Tenerife for Jay. On Monday, Mr Slater and Jay's brother Zak were spotted in Santiago del Teide, indicating they are expanding their search efforts.