Slater, 19, went missing on 17 June after travelling to Tenerife to attend a festival with friends and then journeyed to a house on the other side of the island.
He had called a friend that morning to say his phone was about to run out of battery and he didn’t know where he was, and after an extensive search human remains were discovered on 15 July with them later being confirmed to belong to Jay.
A court spokesperson said the British teen’s injuries were consistent with a fall from a cliff.
The GoFundMe set up to support Jay’s family in their search continued to receive donations after the announcement of his death, but it has since been brought to an end after raising £72,821.
Jay Slater’s mum Debbie Duncan gave one last update (Family Handout)
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan posted an update on 21 November where she thanked everyone who had supported them.
She wrote: “We would like to thank all you beautiful people who supported us throughout this heartbreaking time. Jay really did touch the hearts of the nation and it truly showed us how much love you all shared with us.
“With your support we were able to stay in Tenerife until we got our beautiful boy back to the UK. We were able to fund the the Signi search team from the Netherlands who supported us throughout the days when Jay was found.
“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.
Jay Slater’s body was found in July and people kept donating to support his family (Family Handout)
“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.
“Our journey is far from over but the burden’s eased with your support. We would also like to thank the person who looked after Jay’s fundraiser page whom we have been in constant contact with, especially whilst in Tenerife, the support and advice you gave will not be forgotten.
“Donations will be turned off with this final message. Jay’s family and friends are trying to come to terms and process this tragic loss and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
After Jay’s body was discovered the fundraiser had amassed around £54,000 in donations, with a GoFundMe spokesperson saying they would ‘work together’ with his family on the ‘next steps’ on the donated money.
Featured Image Credit: Family Handout
Topics: Jay Slater, UK News, World News, GoFundMe
Joe Harker
Jay Slater’s mum issues emotional GoFundMe update as she appeals for more donations for teenager’s funeral
Debbie Duncan has posted an update to her late son’s GoFundMe page
Jay Slater’s mother has given people a heartfelt update on GoFundMe as she appeals for more donations following the news his body has been found.
Debbie Duncan, who was in Tenerife with the rest of Jay’s family to look for him, was left heartbroken when they discovered her son’s remains in a ravine on the island.
Spanish authorities found the body on 15 July, 29 days after the 19-year-old went missing after a night of partying at the New Rave Generation Festival in Playa de las America.
Originally from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, Jay was reported missing on 17 June after he travelled to a remote Airbnb in the north of Tenerife the night before, where he posted a Snapchat video at the property called Casa Abuela Tina, near the village of Masca.
Jay’s mum posted an emotional update on GoFundMe. (Family Handout)
The Brit made his last phone call the next morning to friend Lucy Law, saying he had cut his leg and only had one percent battery on his phone, as he decided to walk back after missing the last bus, a journey of 11 hours.
Injuries found on the body were compatible with a fall, according to a Spanish court spokesperson, who also confirmed through fingerprinting that the body was Jay’s.
Three days on, Debbie has posted an update on GoFundMe explaining the next steps for the heartbroken family.
She wrote: “Hello everyone, thank you for all of your kindness, support and condolences in light of the tragic news that Jay’s body has been found. We are overwhelmed with grief and are so grateful for your support.
“The wonderful team from The Netherlands, Signi Zoekhondon, have remained in Spain all week and have continued to support us since Jay was found. They are due to fly home in the coming days and we are so appreciative of their dedication and support.
“We would like to thank LBT Global for their support during this impossible time. We are working with agencies to arrange Jay’s repatriation to the UK and the remaining funds, along with any future donations will be used to help with this if needed and to pay for Jay’s funeral costs back home.
“We want to give our boy the send-off he deserves so please do continue to share and support our fundraiser however you can,” she concluded.
Just yesterday, Jay’s family left heartfelt tributes on a dirt track near the ravine where the teen is thought to have fell to his death.
Jay’s mum hopes to raise funds for a funeral for her late son. (Family Handout)
Bouquets of flowers both white and blue were left on the path, including some emotional messages from Debbie and Jay’s dad Warren Slater, as well as his older brother Zak.
Debbie left some flowers and a note that read: “To my beautiful boy, I am so sorry we never found you.
“I miss you so much. You will be forever young and forever missed. Mum xxx”.
Jay’s older brother wrote: “Love you little bro, never in a million years did I think I would be saying this. I will look after mum and dad, hope you are partying up there with grandad.
“Hope to see you again some day, rest easy bro I love you Zak.”
His father left a note that had the short but sweet message: “To my boy, love dad.”
An England teddy bear and a large bottle of water were placed on the dirt track, after the teen last told friend Lucy Law that he ‘needed a drink’.
Matthew Searle, CEO at Charity LBT Global, shared with The Independent that the charity is continuing to support Jay’s family, and that his mother was ‘overwhelmed’ with the support.
“There is a personal message from Debbie to say ‘thank you very much’ for the thousands of messages of love and support she has received,”
“She is overwhelmed at the moment but will try to reply to them all in due course,” he explained.
At the time of writing, Jay’s GoFundMe has raised over £60,500.
Featured Image Credit: Family Handout/GoFundMe
Topics: Jay Slater, GoFundMe, UK News
Joshua Nair
Jay Slater’s mum issues update on what £48k GoFundMe donations will be used for after police search called off
Police called off the search for missing teen Jay Slater after 12 days
The mum of missing Brit Jay Slater has issued an update on what the family plans to do with the money raised on GoFundMe following the news police have called off the land search for the teen.
After extensive searches were carried out since the 19-year-old went missing on June 17, Spanish officials announced they’d called off the search operation on Sunday (30 June), with the investigation into his disappearance remaining open.
The teen, who was last seen in Tenerife after flying out to attend the NRG Festival alongside friend Lucy Mae and others, is believed to have stayed with strangers he’d met whose accommodation was 10 hours away from his apartment.
Missing teen Jay Slater has still not been found. (Family Handout)
Stuck in the mountains with only one percent battery, Jay is said to have called Lucy, telling her that ‘he was lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on one percent’ before sending her his location and never being heard from again.
With the Lucy having set up a GoFundMe page for Jay and his family which is currently at £48k, people have been wondering what the family are going to use the money for.
Now, Jay’s mum Debbie has provided the answers via an update on the page.
The distraught mum wrote: “Hi again everyone. Your generosity has been vast, and we are so grateful for all of your support and kindness during this unimaginable time for our family.
Police have called off the search. (Snapchat/Jay Slater)
“As I said in my official statement, the Spanish police conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available. Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation.
“We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities, who continue to follow lines of inquiries.”
However, she went on to express her future plans which aim to bring Jay back home at any cost.
She continued: “In the meantime, we will continue to use part of the funds to support the volunteers working hard in the mountains to find Jay.
“We are currently looking after Paul Arnett, putting together a package of any equipment and essentials he needs and going up to do a drop for him.
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His mum confirmed what they’ll do with the money. (Family handout)
“We are also supporting Callum Fahim and his group with accommodation and other essentials.”
She continued: “The remaining funds will continue to be used to support the rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay as well as our own expenses as we remain in Tenerife looking for our boy.
“We will continue to keep you all updated on the progress on our GoFundMe page, and we thank you for your continued support. Please keep sharing and supporting our fundraiser to help us bring Jay home.”
Featured Image Credit: ITV/Family Handout
Topics: Jay Slater, UK News, GoFundMe
Britt Jones
Jay Slater’s mum issues new statement on £30k GoFundMe donations after questions over money
People have been concerned about how the money will be used
Jay Slater’s mum has released a statement after the GoFundMe set up for her son reached its £30,000 target.
Since the 19-year-old went missing in Tenerife last week, a wide-ranging search has been launched, with police and other emergency responders desperately looking for him.
A fundraising page was also set up in his name to raised money for his family, who are put on the Spanish island helping with the search.
However, some people online have raised questions over the fund and how the money will be used.
Jay Slater disappeared after attending a music festival in Tenerife. (Family Handout)
So now, after it reached its £30,000 goal, Jay’s mother, Debbie, has shared her thoughts on the concern.
Writing on the page, she said: “I wanted to confirm that this is the only GoFundMe fundraiser approved by our family. “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.
“We are extremely worried and are doing everything we can to find Jay. Please continue to share our fundraiser far and wide. Your support means the world to us, and we are grateful for any help you can provide. Thank you again.”
Jay vanished on 17 June and no trace of him has been found since.
The apprentice bricklayer had travelled to the island with some pals to attend the New Rave Generation (NRG) event, but ended up staying out with a group of people he had recently met and heading back to a remote property.
Jay’s mum, Debbie, has spoken out about the fundraising page set up in his name. (Family Handout)
His friend, Lucy Law, told how she received a frantic phone call from him the following morning, with Jay explaining that he was ‘in the middle of nowhere‘, desperately needed a drink and that he had one percent battery left on his phone.
The teenager’s dad, Warren, spoke to the media while out in the mountain range close to where his son disappeared.
With tears in his eyes, he said that he hoped ‘somebody has helped him off this mountain’ and that he is alive and well somewhere.
He told Sky News: “That’s all I want, that somebody has helped him get off this mountain. I just want him back and that’s it. He’s my son. I just want him back and that’s it.”
Warren said the last week has been ‘a nightmare, just a nightmare’.
Featured Image Credit: Family handout/Snapchat/Jay Slater
Topics: UK News, Jay Slater
Dominic Smithers
Jay Slater search update as ‘significant new info’ given to police ‘explaining actions on the night’
Mark Williams-Thomas has been looking into the disappearance
An investigative journalist and former detective who has been involved with the investigation into the disappearance of Jay Slater has offered an update.
Mark Williams-Thomas presented the documentary The Other Side of Jimmy Savile, that exposed the notorious paedophile’s heinous crimes, and has investigated a number of other cases including the disappearance of Madeleine McCann and the PPE scandal during the pandemic.
He’s now been involved with the search for Jay Slater, who went missing in Tenerife the morning after he’d attended a festival on the island.
The last contact anyone has had with him was on 17 June as he was walking back from a home in the northwest part of Tenerife, saying that he didn’t know where he was and that his phone battery was running low.
Police have ended the official search, but said they would continue to respond to information they received.
Jay Slater has been missing for almost four weeks. (Family Handout)
Williams-Thomas had previously said that Slater had been heading back from an Airbnb near Masca, having been told he could get a bus.
Police have said that the person renting out the Airbnb that Slater stayed in was ‘irrelevant’ to the investigation.
The investigator said that Slater had walked for about 30 minutes before going off-road, and that looking into the disappearance had ‘opened up an established criminal network with links to drugs, violent crime and theft’.
Now he’s added that he’s since received a ‘significant new piece of information’ that he’s shared with the authorities.
In a video posted on social media, Williams-Thomas said that by Monday (15 July) it’d be four weeks to the day that Slater had gone missing in Tenerife, adding that all of the messages people had sent in with information since then had been ‘read and noted’.
Williams-Thomas explained that people shouldn’t tell him about theories or discussions they’d seen on social media as investigators were already well across those platforms, saying ‘there is no need to contact us regarding anything you’ve read or seen online’.
He added that they’d received some ‘valuable information’ that they’d managed to ‘turn into useful intelligence and evidence’.
Jay Slater with his mum Debbie Duncan. (Family Handout)
On top of that he asked anyone who saw Jay in the last 48 hours before his disappearance to get in touch once more.
“We’ve now had the opportunity to speak with or obtain information from nearly all the people that we know in the hours and days leading up to his disappearance,” he said.
“However, there are still a few that we’ve not spoken to and I would urge them to get in contact so they can be ruled out of the investigation.
“Of those people we’ve spoken to we are aware that not everything they’ve told us will be the truth.
“There are a number of reasons for this, including their own involvement in criminal activity.”
Williams-Thomas added that a number of Slater’s friends ‘have fully engaged with us’ and noted they’d discussed things ‘that could cause them to be unfairly judged by the public’.
Latest update on the disappearance of Jay Slater in Tenerife : New intelligence passed to the police .
The investigator said that Slater was most likely ‘in or around the mountains’, and that the new information he’d passed along to the police ‘provides some clarity as to why he may have left in a hurry and did not want to return to the rental’.
He added that many of the theories you might have heard about the Oswaldtwistle teen were ‘just made up’, and finished his update by saying ‘our thoughts remain with Jay’s family and friends’.
Jay Slater’s disappearance: timeline of key moments
Sunday 16 June
Jay attends the New Rave Generation music festival with friends at Papagayo nightclub in the tourist resort of Playa de las Americas in the south of the island.
Monday 17 June
In the early hours of Monday, Jay goes to stay in an apartment in the north of the island with people he had met over the course of the night.
7.30am
Jay posts a picture on Snapchat from the doorway of the property he stayed at overnight, tagged as being in Rural de Teno park.
8.30am
He calls his friend, Lucy Law, telling her he had attempted to walk back to his accommodation after missing his bus – a journey that would take more than ten hours.
Jay Slater went missing on 17 June (X/@mwilliamsthomas)
Jay Slater went missing on 17 June (X/@mwilliamsthomas)
He said he had ‘cut his leg’ on a cactus and had ‘no idea where he was’.
He also said his phone was on one percent battery. His last known location is Rural de Teno park.
9.04am
He is reported missing.
Tuesday 18 June
After friends spend the previous day searching to no avail, local police and mountain rescue teams scour Rural de Teno park for Jay.
His family fly out to Tenerife to join the search.
Wednesday 19 June
The search is temporarily moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island due to a potential lead, but this amounts to nothing and the search returns north.
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan says she fears her son had ‘been taken against his will’.
A TV detective has joined the hunt for Jay Slater (X/@mwilliamsthomas)
A TV detective has joined the hunt for Jay Slater (X/@mwilliamsthomas)
Sunday 23 June
TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas offers his team’s expertise in the search for Jay. He writes on X: “If [Jay’s family] give me total access and with feet on the ground I will very quickly be able to say if his disappearance is him alone or if it has third party involvement.”
Sunday 30 June
The Tenerife Civil Guard announce they are ending the search for Jay after 13 days, but the investigation remains open and they will follow up any new leads. Jay’s family vow to continue the search themselves.
