Jay Slater missing: Mother’s statement on Tenerife search fund page as goal met

It has been one week since Jay Slater went missing in Tenerife.

The 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus

He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.

At around 8.30am last Monday, he made a last call to his friend Lucy Law saying he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on one per cent”.

His last live location showed as the Rural de Teno park – a mountainous area popular with hikers.

A fireman who is assisting the search for Jay Slater in Tenerife said his disappearance is becoming “increasingly strange” as the search continues.

Fireman Riccardo, a member of the Brigada Forestal, told Manchester Evening News: “It’s very difficult to find people here, because of the ravines and the mountains.

“I’ve seen the case and about the missing boy on the internet… but the days are now passing by and it’s increasingly strange that he hasn’t appeared yet. The information we have is that Jay [and his friends] were going to a music festival, and afterwards, the last sign of him was around here in the Teno Rural Park.

“I don’t know if he was walking, hiking.. I just don’t know. That’s where I lose the thread.” He added: “It’s so strange.”

The fundraiser page on GoFundMe set up by Jay Slater’s friend- which has now raised £32,401 – was approved by the family, a post which claims to be from his mother Debbie Duncan said.

The post said: “We have not yet withdrawn any funds and are currently covering the expenses, such as the trip to Tenerife and accommodation, ourselves. The funds will remain on hold with GoFundMe until we post a further update on this page.”

A detective who worked on the Nicola Bulley case has claimed he can deliver answers to Jay Slater’s family “in three days” if he’s allowed to join the search.

Mark Williams-Thomas said he has “reached out” to Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan as the search for the 19-year-old continued into its seventh day in Tenerife.

He has now told Manchester Evening News: “I would quickly be able to do establish whether or not there are suspicious circumstances – but I’d need total access to everything and to speak to all the witnesses involved.”

He added: “Having feet on the ground and looking at the scenario and circumstances, I know I will get to the bottom of this in three days.”

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, seemingly vanished as he tried to walk through the Masca Valley after a night out back to his accommodation.

Andrew Knight, known on YouTube as the Knightrider, told The Independent of the climate in Tenerife: “It’s rugged mountainsides, loose rocks that fall away underfoot, cactuses everywhere. It’s a disorienting landscape and also has extreme weather changes.

My colleague Barney Davis reports:

Search teams in Tenerife have narrowed their efforts on small buildings close to where Jay Slater’s phone last pinged.

Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary Islands could be seen circling two structures at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park on Sunday.

Efforts appeared to be solely focused on the one area after days of searches in the village of Masca and the surrounding landscape.

Those conducting the searches on the seventh day of the hunt for Mr Slater could be seen looking into blue barrels outside one of the small buildings.

The efforts come after the teenager’s mother issued a direct plea to her missing son, saying: “We just need you home.”

Debbie Duncan told the PA news agency she has “not slept” since the 19-year-old disappeared.

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”.

Asked how the family was coping with the situation, Ms Duncan said: “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.”

As the donations pour in for the official Jay Slater GoFundMe, questions have been raised about what the money being donated will be used for.

On Friday evening, the administrator of an official Facebook page set up to help find Jay responded to claims his close family was being impersonated on social media.

Rach Harg, who is a friend of Jay’s family, added that money raised would be sent to Jay’s mother and would be used to fund his family staying in Tenerife for the duration of the search.

As the fundraiser reached its £30,000 goal, a post said: “We have not yet withdrawn any funds and are currently covering the expenses, such as the trip to Tenerife and accommodation, ourselves. The funds will remain on hold with GoFundMe until we post a further update on this page.”

The fundraiser page on GoFundMe set up by Jay Slater’s friend three days ago was “approved by our family”, said a post below, which claims to be from his mother Debbie Duncan.

The post said: “We have not yet withdrawn any funds and are currently covering the expenses, such as the trip to Tenerife and accommodation, ourselves. The funds will remain on hold with GoFundMe until we post a further update on this page.”

Ms Duncan, who flew to Tenerife on Tuesday, said searching for her son was “an absolute living nightmare”.

Ms Duncan told ITV News: “He’s the life and soul, he’s a beautiful boy.”

A fundraiser set up by the last person to speak to Jay Slater, the British teenager who went missing during a holiday in Tenerife, has hit its target of £30,000.

The GoFundMe created by Lucy Law to “get Jay Slater home” had received £32,366 in donations by early morning today.

Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared following an attempt to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus.

He had attended the NRG music festival on the island with two friends before his disappearance.

Ms Law, who went to the festival with Mr Slater, said he called her at about 8.30am on Monday and told her he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on one per cent”.

A fundraiser set up by the last person to speak to Jay Slater, the Britishteenager who went missing during a holiday in Tenerife, has hit its target of £30,000.

The GoFundMe created by Lucy Law to “get Jay Slater home” had received £31,721 in donations by Sunday evening.

The page was set up by Mr Slater’s friend three days ago and a post below, which claims to be from Mr Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan, confirmed it was “approved by our family”.

Meanwhile, search teams have narrowed their efforts on small buildings close to where his phone last pinged in Tenerife.

Officers from the Guardia Civil in the Canary Islands could be seen circling two structures at the bottom of a ravine in Rural de Teno Park on Sunday.

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