The mother of Jay Slater has issued a direct plea to her missing son on the sixth day of the hunt for the British teenager, saying: “We just need you home.”
Debbie Duncan told the PA news agency she has “not slept” since the 19-year-old disappeared on the Canary Island of Tenerife.
She said she did not know whether the Spanish authorities turning down an offer of help from the UK was because they viewed it as “an insult”.
Mr Slater disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus and was last heard from on Monday morning.
He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.
Asked how the family was coping with the situation, Ms Duncan told PA: “We’re not. I’m not coping very well at all.
“I’ve not slept, I’m exhausted. It’s been awful.”
“I can’t give up on him, I just can’t.”
Lancashire Constabulary said it had made “an offer of support to the Guardia Civil to see if they need any additional resources”, which was rejected by Spanish authorities.
Questioned on whether Spanish police should have accepted help from the UK force, Ms Duncan said: “I believe they said they’ve got enough resources and they don’t need the help from English police.
“I don’t know if they find it an insult – I really don’t know. I really don’t know.
“They say they’ve got enough resources to get on with the investigation… I don’t know, I don’t know.”
Asked if her head was spinning from the past few days, she said: “It is, it is.
“People say: ‘Yeah, I understand’ – no, you don’t, you don’t understand.”
Speaking about what message she would have for her son, Ms Duncan added: “We just need you home – we just need him home.”
