Police searching for Jay Slater investigate if teenager’s background is ‘relevant’ to disappearance

Spanish police searching for missing British teenager Jay Slater are reportedly investigating his background to determine whether it is relevant to him vanishing.

During the search in Tenerife for Mr Slater, police on Tuesday rescued a “tired and disorientated” Scottish hiker, 51, who got into difficulty in the same region where Mr Slater was last seen.

The hiker was stuck in a ravine after being reported missing by people in Los Carrizales in Buenavista del Norte, police said. He left for a hike but did not return to the starting point for "several hours" on Friday.

Officers added that he would not have managed to get out of the ravine "by his own means" due to the "difficulty and lack of communication" in the area where he was found.

However the hiker, who the MailOnline named as David Larkin, claimed that he “didn’t need rescuing”.

Meanwhile 19-year-old Mr Slater was last heard from over a week ago after attending a music festival in Tenerife.

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared while attempting a long walk back to his accommodation while on holiday with two friends.

He vanished at around 8.50am last Monday, shortly after he had frantically called his friend Lucy Law, with just one percent phone battery, explaining he was lost.

A huge mission is underway to try and find the teenager, with both his parents flying out to the Spanish island to find out more about what has happened to their loved one.

As search efforts appeared to narrow to a cluster of small buildings close to where Mr Slater’s phone last pinged, it has been revealed the missing 19-year-old has a criminal history.

The teenager was previously involved in an attack that left a teenager fighting for his life after he was chased by a gang, including Mr Slater, who were armed with a knife, golf clubs and an axe, LBC reports.

Mr Slater was handed an 18-month community order with 25 days of rehabilitation activities and 150 hours of unpaid work for violent disorder following the trial.

Spanish police confirmed amid the reports that they are not “ruling anything out” as the search continues.

A source told the MailOnline: “In cases of missing people it's natural to investigate their background in case it's relevant to the hunt.

“This case is unusual as it's been a week and there has been no sighting or leads on him at all and searches have thrown up no clues.

“We have to consider the possibility of something else happening.”

Mr Slater’s previous conviction has led to widespread conspiracy theories online leading to the teenager who was attacked, Tom Hilton, calling for people to “give it a rest”.

Mr Hilton wrote on Facebook: “Whoever is writing on these TikToks, give it a rest. This young lad's missing and his family's heartbroken.

“Put yourself in their shoes. Stop talking nonsense on social and get this lad found, mentioning my name all this and that.

“Have some respect and help find this boy and get him back to his family.”

Mr Slater’s family have also been forced to speak out, taking aim at armchair detectives posting unfounded theories - including attempts to access Mr Slater’s social media.