The father of a young yachtsman who went missing in Ibizia more than four years ago says Jay Slater’s parents “will start fearing the worst” in their desperate search for their son.
Mark Garland rushed to get a flight to the Spanish island with his two daughters and other son after he received a call to say his son, Ben, had disappeared while filming waves near Portinatx.
The family, joined by several of Ben’s friends, spent two weeks with police during a major search operation that centred on the rocky coastal point the 24-year-old had left his motorbike on 21 January, 2020.
However, hopes of finding him alive faded on the discovery of his watch on the coastline, then his jacket in the water. Mr Garland believes his son was swept out to sea.
The search for Mr Slater in Tenerife has entered its 10th day, with the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Lancashire last seen attempting an 11-hour walk back to his holiday accommodation after missing a bus.
His parents, Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, have flown out to the island to help, putting up missing posters around the town Santiago del Teide, close to where his mobile phone was last traced.
“It is a living hell,” Mr Slater told reporters earlier this week. The family have been backed by a GoFundMe fundraiser hitting the £30k target, and are receiving the help of TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas.
Looking back on his own ordeal, searching for Ben, Mr Garland, a bus driver from Wiltshire, told The Independent: “They will be feeling very tried, they will be feeling hungry and, of course, very anxious.
“They are going to sort of fearing the worst. It is not a nice feeling. They will be just wanting answers. I would not wish the situation on anybody.”
Mr Garland said he was desperate for Mr Slater to be found. “I know what they are going through, I wish I could help them,” he added.
On arriving in Ibiza in 2020, Mr Garland and his family landed in January, during the winter season when the nightclubs were closed and many hotels empty.
“The one thing we didn’t have to deal with, which Jay’s parents did was everyone around them on holiday, having fun, and them wishing they could be also, with their son,” Mr Gardland said.
Mr Garland and his family spent the first part of their stay in a hotel, before moving into apartments while spending time with local police co-ordinating the huge search involving helicopters, boats and drones.
He said: “I wasn’t too panicked when we got there at first, I sort of believed he’d got drunk and hurt his ankle and would be found. But when I saw the helicoptors and police looking over huge maps on cars, then it really hit me.
“The police were impressive and kept us up to date the whole time.”
After two weeks of searching and the discovery of Ben’s jacket, the local police and consolate advised the family to return home.
“They said it was time to go home as the operation was being scaled back, but they stayed in touch since, calling us up whenever a body was found,” Mr Garland said.
In total, more than 20 bodies were found, many believed to be migrants attempting the sea crossing, off the coast of Ibiza and the surrounding islands - but none of them were identified as Ben.
Ben had flown to Ibiza after returning home to take his driving test, which he passed. He had recently got a new job on a yacht on the island.
In memory of his son, Mr Garland organises an annual motorbike event called “Ride To The Tide: The Ben Garland Memorial Run”, which raises money for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
The family also visits Ibiza once a year to remember Ben at the spot he was last seen, while meeting up with his old friends on the island.
“We hope and pray that Jay is found,” said Mr Garland.
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