Jay Slater could be alive somewhere 'drinking rainwater and eating plants', says private investigator who urges family 'not to give up hope' after police ended search 'prematurely'

Missing teenager Jay Slater could be alive and keeping hydrated and fed by 'drinking rainwater and eating plants', a private investigator has claimed. 

The 19-year-old bricklayer went missing after a rave on the Spanish island of Tenerife. He was last seen at around 8am on June 17, when he tried to make his way back to his holiday accommodation.

Army reservist and private investigator Juan García told The Times 'two weeks is too premature to end the search'.

He added: '[Slater] could be alive somewhere — someone can drink from rainwater and eat plants. The family should not give up hope.'

The 53-year-old said he had 'spoken directly to the family and offered my advice'.

It comes as:

• MailOnline revealed the 31-year-old British man who Jay Slater visited in AirBnb before vanishing is a convicted drug dealer who insists the missing teen 'came to the house alive, and he left the house alive'
• MailOnline revealed the first picture of Briton who booked £40-a-night Airbnb where missing teen Jay Slater stayed hours before he vanished 
• Spanish police return to search the Airbnb where Jay Slater stayed just before he disappeared in Tenerife
• Missing Jay Slater's family are being targeted with fake 'ransom demands' 
• Jay's mother Debbie urges police to keep going with investigation
• Jay Slater volunteers say they WON'T give up search for missing 19-year-old
• Jay's 'disappointed' family meet with Spanish police after search is called off
• Spanish police END hunt for missing teen 14 days after Brit disappeared in Tenerife 
• Jay's father reveals he is 'disappointed' after just six volunteers turn up to join the hunt 

Jay had been attending a three day NRG festival which ended on Sunday, 16 June in Papagayo beach club in South Tenerife. 

A friend of the teenager - who had gone to the festival with him - said Jay had gone to stay with people he met after a night out. 

The friend, Lucy Mae, received a phone call from Jay at around 8am on Monday morning saying he'd missed his bus and was trying to walk back but was lost, needed a drink and only had 1% battery on his phone. The phone call then cut off. 

The teenager's phone died at around 8.50am, with his last known location registered in the remote Rural de Teno park, more than ten miles from the popular resort Guía de Isora.

Jay was reported missing at around 9am the same morning and police launched a mountain rescue. 

Mountain rescue crews and sniffer dogs had been searching the mountainous area of north-west Tenerife for the 19-year-old up until this afternoon. 

But suddenly police focus shifted to the tourist hotspots of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas in south Tenerife, after a false sighting of him getting out of a taxi.

It later emerged the report was false and police, having wasted precious time in the blistering 27C heat, were forced to move attention back to their original site. 

Spanish police called off the search for Jay on Monday but said their investigation into his disappearance was ongoing.