Almost fifty grand has been raised for the missing teenager.
The mother of missing British teenager Jay Slater has outlined how her family will use the remainder of fundraiser donations.
Debbie Duncan, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, posted a statement on the ‘Get Jay Slater home‘ GoFundMe page this afternoon.
The update reads: “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.
“As I said in my official statement, the Spanish police conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available,” she wrote.
“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.”
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. We are also supporting Callum Fahim and his group with accommodation and other essentials.
“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.”
So far, £48,445 has been raised from 4,000 donations.
Several people who have donated to the page in recent hours have shared messages of support to Jay’s family.
One person wrote: “Thinking of you all. I can’t imagine what you’re all going through right now. Praying Jay comes home safe & well! Don’t lose hope. Take care of yourselves. Ignore the vile comments. That’s the human race for you!”
Another commented: “As a mum of a boy the same age I can only imagine what pain you’re going through. I just want to send love to Jay’s mum. I hope you find your beautiful boy soon.”
This afternoon’s GoFundMe update is the second statement issued by Debbie Duncan today.
Earlier this morning, the concerned mother posted a statement via the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global.
It reads: “We would like to say to the press/news/reporters, that although we do not want to lose the momentum of Jay’s disappearance, we really would like to maintain our privacy and crucially let the Spanish police get on with their investigations without hindrance from press.
“We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.
“We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe. It has not gone unnoticed, especially his home town in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
“As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this present time.”
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For two weeks, the Guardia Civil conducted an extensive search of the remote, mountainous area north-west of the island where Jay was last seen.
Police believe he returned to a rented accommodation in the village of Masca with two British tourists he had befriended at the NRG music festival, which was taking place that weekend in the popular holiday destination of Costa Adeje.
