Jay Slater’s heartbroken mum Debbie insists search is ‘no holiday’ as Lucy Mae Law’s GoFundMe hits more than £50,000
DEBBIE DUNCAN, Jay Slater’s mum, has insisted the search for her missing son is “no holiday” for his heartbroken loved ones.
It comes as a GoFundMe, set up for the family by Jay’s pal Lucy Law, surpassed £50,000 on Friday night.
Jay’s heartbroken mum Debbie jumped on a flight to Tenerife hours after he was reported missing and has been there for almost 20 days.
The missing teen’s dad and brother, Warren and Zak, have been seen trawling through the mountains to find him themselves after cops called off their active search last Sunday.
On Thursday, Debbie slammed cruel online trolls for their twisted jibes, conspiracy theories and jokes since Jay vanished on June 17.
She posted via a friend on the enormous Jay Slater Missing Facebook group: “My beautiful son Jay is still missing and believe me this is no holiday.”
Debbie told the some 600,000 people in the group that the family are “truly devastated” and said the “mystery surrounding his disappearance may never surface”.
The emotional post read: “I feel the need to post this to your group and then I shall remove myself.
“I joined this group to share the positivity and love from the British public.
“It seems through no fault of my own you have all decided to make up your own minds. It is really sad I have felt the need to do this.”
Debbie also rubbished theories that the funds raised on a GoFundMe for Jay is being used for anything other than necessary costs on the island.
She said: “For those of you who are more concerned around the Gofundme page I can assure you that up to now it has not been used and our stay up to now has been financed by ourselves.
“I did not ask for publicity from the start and was not aware that the first missing poster had my telephone number on it.
“It should have had the SOS Guardia Civil but like I say this was out of my control. We are a normal working family from Lancashire going through hell.”
The worried mum previously revealed she would use cash donated by well-wishers to help sleuths helping search for Jay.
The 19-year-old’s family were left “blindslided” when cops axed their active hunt for Jay last Sunday.
His loved ones vowed to remain on the island as they work tirelessly to find out what happened to the apprentice bricklayer.
The family have also been urged to use some of the money to fund a private search after they said they felt “left in the dark” by cops.
It comes after they hit back at a TikTok star who quit his search for the missing teen after he said he’s ‘never had any money’ from their GoFundMe.
Callum Fahim, who voluntarily travelled to Tenerife to help cops, claimed he’s left after being slammed with death threats and seeing no cash.
He flew over after contacting the 19-year-old’s mum, Debbie Duncan, online, as reported by Sky News.
But now the social media personality plans to return to the UK on Thursday.
However, the Slater family said Debbie gave Callum £740 of her own money for his accommodation.
The devastated parent claimed the TikToker turned “bitter” after they refused to give him more money.
They said: “We appreciate every single person who’s come out.
“He’s a hiker. We don’t need hikers, we need experts.
“We wouldn’t like to be responsible for anyone hurting themselves.”
Distraught Debbie was previously forced to defend the fundraiser after online trolls questioned what the donations would be used for.
The page, set up by Jay’s pal Lucy Law, surpassed its £30,000 goal within days.
Debbie lambasted cruel conspiracy theorists asking why money was needed – saying she has been left feeling “very let down”.
The mum said: “I am really am saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page.
“I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag.
“I really cannot believe the British public are not supporting me in trying to find Jay.”
The teenager, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, disappeared on the Spanish island the morning after attending a music festival with two friends on 17 June.