Jay Slater's mum breaks silence as she withdraws fundraiser money, with mystery deepening in search for missing teen
27 June 2024, 09:06
Jay Slater's mother has spoken out as she revealed she was withdrawing some of the tens of thousands of pounds raised in the hunt for her missing teenage son in Tenerife.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Jay, 19, from Lancashire, has been missing on the Canary island since the early hours of last Monday morning (June 17), with a huge police search still underway.
A fundraiser on his behalf has garnered over £36,000 in donations.
His mother Debbie Duncan, who has flown out to the Spanish island, said on Thursday that she was with withdrawing some of the cash.
She said the withdrawn money would go on support for the rescuers, food and accommodation - as well as flying out the "loved ones" of the "wonderful people" who had come out to Tenerife to be with her.
Ms Duncan said: "First, I would like to thank everyone for your support, kind messages, and good wishes.
"It’s difficult to wrap our heads around what is happening right now, but we are not losing hope that we will find Jay and return home together."
She added: "We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held. I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.
"Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses.
"I'm surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we'll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times.
"Thank you again for all your donations and support, this means the world to us."
Jay was last heard from by his friend Lucy on June 17.
Ms Duncan and her son's friends flew out to Tenerife to assist in the search efforts, alongside his ex-girlfriend Jessica Ingham. His father has also flown out.
Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Duncan said: “It's been a week now and it's been awful. I've barely slept and I'm at my wits' end.
“The Spanish police are doing a good job and we are getting updated from the consulate so we just put our faith in them.”
But the mayor of a local town called Santiago del Teide called Emilio Jose Navarro said some locals told him they had seen the missing teen watching some Euros matches.
Jay's family also shared a grainy CCTV still that they believe could be the missing teenager.
Mr Navarro said: "We know the police are investigating (the CCTV images).
"They have asked for the town hall's security cameras and they are also working with the company that handles those cameras."
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Navarro clarified that he had not seen Jay watching football, but that witnesses claimed they had.
"There has been a lot of fake news and misunderstanding of what I said," he told the publication.
"To be clear, I did not say I saw him watching football, locals have told me that they have heard from others that they saw someone looking like the boy in a bar at Los Gigantes further along the coast."
Speaking to the MailOnline, she continued: “I know people in the UK have come forward as well who were at the festival and they are giving details of what they know but I'm not being told about that.
“Jay's very good friends from home have also been over and have put up posters. They are good kids and like me just want him home.”
Friends of Jay also blasted theories circulating online about his disappearance, as they told the outlet: “Imagine if he was your son or brother, think about his poor mum.”
His friend and ex-girlfriend Jessica, 19, said: “What really gets me is all these online detectives who have got nothing better to do than spread malicious rumours and gossip, it's not helping the situation.
“People need to remember he is a missing person, and his mother is absolutely sick with worry and she doesn't need to read all kinds of rubbish that are being written about him.”
Drones, sniffers dogs and helicopters have been searching the Rural de Teno National Park and its surroundings in northern Tenerife since 19-year-old Jay Slater vanished more than a week ago.
Much of the hunt has been focused on the 2,000ft ravine. It is where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower at 8.50am on June 17.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay headed to Masca with two British men at the end of a three-day rave he flew to Tenerife to attend.
Jay told his friend he was lost in the middle of nowhere with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
When she told him to return to where he had walked from, he said he did not know where that was.
He sounded disorientated and explained that he was "in the middle of mountains" with "nothing around".
Jay's friends have hit out at Spanish police for “not doing a good enough job” in the search for him.
But officers have said they are "totally focused" on tracking the 19-year-old down and will continue to prioritise that, despite facing criticism.
Lancashire Police said they had offered to help out but were rejected.
It comes after British man David Larkin, 51, was found by Spanish police as they continued their search for missing Jay Slater in Tenerife on Tuesday.
Officers said they rescued a "tired and disorientated" man who they discovered in mountainous terrain.
But Mr Larkin, who considers himself an "experienced" hiker, has said he did not need help.
"I can tell you now; I wasn’t tired and I wasn’t disoriented, and I didn’t need rescuing," he told the Mail.
"I think there was a lot lost in translation when they saw him and I explained to them I had water, I was wearing layers, I had my rucksack with food and I’m an experienced hiker.
"I think they want to show how good they are, but I certainly didn’t need saving.
"I feel so sorry for the boy’s family and hope he’s found soon."
Mr Larkin, who is originally from Northern Ireland, said he was actually "embarrassed" by the situation.
"I had my poles and I know what I'm doing and I knew that if it could get windy I would take shelter in a cave," he said.
"I know these trails, I've been coming here for years, so I know what I'm doing."
Police initially said in an online post: "Locals observed how said hiker entered very early into an area of difficult access not suitable for travel and after several hours passed without him returning to the starting point, they alerted the agents who were at that time in the search for missing young man, Jay Slater.
"Tired and disoriented, he was located by the agents and the rescue team who helped him get out of the ravine."
Explaining what happened once authorities found him, Mr Larkin said: "The mountain rescue people took my picture and then dropped me off, and I'm very grateful but I didn't need helping and to be honest it extended my day.
"I did go in through a difficult path, and the trail isn't that well marked but I do know the way, I managed it and when they came towards me I did explain I was ok."
He said he was unable to return home until nearly 7pm after being taken to safety "the long way".
He added: "I don't want to appear ungrateful, and I thanked them for their concern but I was fine."
