Jay Slater's father is utterly baffled, confessing he "can't understand" his son's decision to stray off the beaten track into the perilous valleys near where Jay was last seen.

The Slater family, stricken with grief and confusion, have tirelessly combed through about "80 per cent" of the Barranco de Juan Lopez Valley, close to the hamlet of Masca in Tenerife, which is the area where Jay's phone signal vanished. Warren Slater, Jay's distraught dad, described how their search led them to a sheer cliff drop, leaving him perplexed as to why his son would take such a dangerous path.

He also voiced his bewilderment over the absence of any reports of Jay along what is typically a bustling tourist route, remarking that 'dozens' of vehicles must have passed by. "It doesn't make sense, he's either hid himself, but why would he hide himself? Or he's just ....? " Mr Slater questioned.

"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 found it difficult to comprehend why someone would not choose the obvious trail, which avoids the thick brush, as reported by 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".

He also discussed the route on the road, saying: "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 called for more assistance from British authorities after Spanish police ended their search last Sunday. He highlighted that Jay is a 'British citizen' and voiced his wish 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.