Jay Slater's family give emotional final update as GoFundMe campaign for her 'beautiful boy' totals £71,000

27 November 2024, 20:36

The family of Jay Slater have posted an heart-wrenching fundraising update after raising over £71,000 on GoFundMe.

Last week, the fundraising page that was set up following the teen's disappearance was closed, with Jay's mum, Debbie Duncan, 56, posting a heartfelt final message to donors.

"We would like to thank all you beautiful people who supported us throughout this heartbreaking time," she wrote in a post.

"Jay really did touch the hearts of the nation and it truly showed us how much love you all shared with us."

Debbie had previously stated that money raised through the GoFundMe campaign would fund the Signi search team from the Netherlands, who helped in the hunt for the teenager following his disappearance.

The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, vanished on June 17, 2024 on a three-day holiday after attending a music festival with friends on the island of Tenerife.

His body was discovered by a search party following a month-long search on July 15, mere metres from his last known location.

"With your support we were able to stay in Tenerife until we got our beautiful boy back to the UK," Debbie continued.

"Jay truly deserved the send off we were able to give him and we thank you all for that.

"We have been overwhelmed with messages of support from all over the globe and will be eternally grateful to all of you. Our journey of trauma and grief will continue for ever and we will never recover.

"We lost our beautiful boy in extremely tragic circumstances whilst the world watched. We do not and will never understand how Jay's story reached every corner of the globe."

Read more: TV detective claims he knows the real reason why Jay Slater left Airbnb for ill-feted final journey

Read more: Jay Slater's dad explains what happened in hunt for him in new TikTok videos

A number of fundraising pages were set up following the teenager's disappearance - including by Trolls and con-artists.

The widespread speculation saw negative posts flood social media, with some even offering access to a livestream of Jay's funeral for a fee.

It follows Jay Slater's mum hitting out at a TV detective after he claimed to know the real reason her son left an Airbnb just hours before his death.

Former police office turned TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas has since claimed an answer on how Jay came to be lost in the mountainous Tenerife area could be revealed soon.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, he said: "Maybe, when the time is right, I will reveal those.

Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, responded to the video, claiming Mr Williams-Thomas was seeking publicity over her son's death.