A GOFUNDME page set up to raise money for missing Jay Slater’s family has hit £40,000.
It comes after the teen’s mum Debbie Duncan revealed she would be withdrawing some of the donations to fly supporters out to Tenerife.
Jay Slater vanished 11 days ago in Tenerife
Ian WhittakerCrews have been using sniffer dogs to search for Jay[/caption]
ReutersMuch of the search has focussed on the Masca ravine[/caption]
Distraught Debbie, 55, said cash would also be used to help search teams scouring the island’s north for her son, who has been missing for 12 days.
The family will use some of the money to cover their accommodation and food while in Tenerife as well.
Some 3,600 well-wishers have donated to the page, so far raising £40,065 – more than £10,000 over its target.
Debbie wrote on the page yesterday: “We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held.
“I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.
“Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses.
“I’m surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we’ll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times.”
The page was set up by Jay’s friend Lucy Mae – the last person he spoke to on the phone before he vanished.
It surpassed its of £30,000 within days.
Debbie was previously forced to defend the fundraiser after online trolls questioned what the donations would be used for.
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.
“This may happen to any of you one day. Very let down by you all.”
It comes as…
Search for Jay hones in on series of caves
Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
Tenerife worst place to go missing, expert warned before Jay went missing
Ex-top cop who tracked down Raoul Moat reveals search theory
Jay was attacked by gang when he was just 12
New pics of Jay emerge at a pool party two days before he vanished
Cops quiz locals who ‘saw Jay watching Euros’
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men who partied with teen
Crews scour exact spot where mystery ‘grainy figure’ was seen
It comes as the search for Jay has honed in a series of barren caves further along the desolate Rural de Teno park.
Rescue crews had been scouring a 2,000ft ravine in the mountainous terrain.
They have now shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with two men.
Los Carrizales is a small hamlet not far from Masca in the Teno mountains.
But police sources have warned that it is “very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains”.
Yet authorities have said there are no plans to put a stop to the search yet, despite no signs of the 19-year-old.
Jay, from Lancashire, has been missing since last Monday, and Debbie said her family are in a “living nightmare” as search teams fail to find any trace of him.
After going to a rave that finished in the early hours of June 17, Jay headed to Masca with two British men he had met that night.
He shared a final Snapchat from their Airbnb of a hand holding a cigarette at 7.30am.
Jay then tried to make his way back to his holiday accommodation – an 11 hour walk away.
But at around 8.50am he made a final frantic call to friend Lucy, telling her he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
Jay’s family are now claimed to have turned to a TikTok sleuth for help.
Ian WhittakerJay pictured with mum Debbie Duncan[/caption]
TikTok/ @downtherapidsPaul Arnott filming himself hunting for Jay for TikTok[/caption]
TikTok/ @downtherapidsHe showed his followers the mountainous terrain he is going over[/caption]
Paul Arnott, a self-described TikTok “explorer”, is among influencers who have jetted out to the island to join the search.
The 29-year-old runs an account on the video-based social media app called Down the Rapids.
Paul told The Telegraph: “I’m meeting the family today.
“They said they wanted to meet me. They said they’re really proud of what I’m doing.
I’ve been speaking with Brad’s mum, Rachel. They wanted to bring me food but I said no.”
Debbie told the outlet: “[I] can’t thank Paul Arnott enough, also Callum Rahim [another TikTok creator] and his friends for working alongside with the search and rescue teams.”
Paul paid £400 for a flight from Fort William in Scotland to Tenerife.
He has posted 66 videos since flying out to the island, with hundreds of thousands of views.
But former cop Charlie Hedges told The Sun about the risks of online sleuths and amateur detectives trying to crack the case.
He urged the public not to take it upon themselves to help the search as he noted despite their best intentions they may end up causing more trouble.
Ian WhittakerMissing person posters have been put up in Tenerife[/caption]
Jay seen with pal Lucy at a rave the night before he vanished
Cops warned over search failures
by Katie Davis
TENERIFE cops were warned over a soaring number of disappearances before Jay Slater vanished.
The Sun can reveal authorities were told two years ago their resources were insufficient and were urged to improve them after repeated failures.
Jay, 19, is one of 11 people who have gone missing in Tenerife in just six months.
The coordinator of SOS Disappeared in Tenerife, Santiago Carlos Martín, told how “families feel abandoned” during hunts for their loved ones.
Mr Martín, who leads a group of around 40 volunteers, said: “There are many who have disappeared in the Canary Islands and the number has increased since the pandemic.”
He and his team have called for more multidisciplinary teams to be on standby to help with searches.
These would include not only the police, but emergency workers, health experts, psychologists and other professionals who could form a more accurate picture of why someone might have gone missing.
Between 2020 and 2023, official data from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reveals at least 460 adults went missing in that period on the Canary Islands from a population of just 2.2million.
It has the second-highest number of missing people in the whole of Spain.
And that was only behind Span’s biggest region of Andalucia which had 755 missing people in the same period from a population four times larger of 8.5million.
Speaking in 2022 Mr Martin said: “There are many disappeared in the Canary Islands and the number has increased after the pandemic.
“We are at the head of the country, and we are not clear why.
“Perhaps the orography or the social structure have an influence, but we don’t know.”
The most pressing issue, according to Mr Martin, is geolocation.
He said: “One of the big problems is that the police often take time to geolocate the telephone numbers of the disappeared person due to bureaucratic procedures that act as a barrier.
“The time in a disappearance is important and the process is too complex, which wastes many days.
“And they are vulnerable people: elderly, minors, with cognitive problems, mental health or with a history of suicide.”
