A specialist search team from the Netherlands, known as Signi Zoekhonden, has arrived in Tenerife to assist in finding 19-year-old Jay Slater, who has been missing for nearly four weeks. The team, funded by a £52,000 GoFundMe campaign organized by Jay’s family, is confident in their ability to locate the teenager.
In an update on the GoFundMe page, Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, expressed gratitude for the donations that made it possible to bring in the Dutch experts. “We have been actively working with search and rescue teams and we can now confirm that we have a team of experts flying in over the weekend from the Netherlands, who will carry on the search with their specialist dogs,” she said.
The Signi Zoekhonden team consists of five people and four dogs, with a sixth member joining on Monday. Marieke Krans, a volunteer with the group, told the BBC that they are committed to the search and confident in their dogs’ abilities. The team plans to use drones, subject to flight permission from local authorities, and will search both land and underwater areas.
“We are very committed to come and we are confident in the dogs and in ourselves. Our dogs are trained to find people, both alive or dead, and have more skills. They can search underwater, and up mountains, whatever it may be,” Krans said.
The group aims to search for about five-and-a-half days and has updated their Facebook page to confirm their arrival in Tenerife.
Jay Slater has been missing since June 17, and the arrival of the Dutch team brings renewed hope to his family and the community involved in the search. The efforts of Signi Zoekhonden, combined with local authorities and volunteers, aim to cover extensive areas to find any trace of the missing teenager.