Jay Slater’s heartbroken mum is ‘overwhelmed’ by support as GoFundMe fundraiser nears £60k after body found in Tenerife
JAY Slater’s heartbroken mum is “overwhelmed” by the support she has received since police recovered her son’s body in Tenerife.
Almost £60,000 has now been donated on a GoFundMe page for Jay’s family as well-wishers share their condolences.
Grief-stricken Debbie Duncan, Jay’s mum, wept as authorities this week confirmed they had found the teenager’s body in a mountainous region.
She and Jay’s dad Warren Slater and brother Zak are preparing to fly back to the UK after a month of heartache on the island.
The Sun understands family members have jetted to Tenerife to be by Debbie’s side as she waits for Jay’s body to be repatriated.
School finance officer Debbie has received thousands of messages of support from family, friends and strangers alike.
Debbie, 55, said she has been left “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support.
Matt Searle, of charity LBT Global which is helping the family, told The Independent: “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.”
Since Jay’s body was located in an “inaccessible” area of a ravine in northwest Tenerife on Monday, dozens of people have sent donations to a GoFundMe page for the family.
Almost £60,000 has now been donated, with more than 150 messages of support left for Jay’s distraught loved ones.
Debbie, Warren and Zak on Tuesday evening left emotional floral tributes in the area Jay, 19, is feared to have fallen to his death.
A teddy bear with England flags and a bracelet with the letter J were also placed on a rocky track where Jay was last known to be.
Debbie described Jay as her “beautiful boy” in a touching handwritten note.
She wrote: “I’m so sorry we never found you.
“I miss you so much. You will be forever young and forever missed. Love you so much.”
Timeline of Jay Slater's disappearance
The grim discovery of a body came after weeks of agony for Jay’s friends and family. Here is how events unfolded:
June 16: Jay and his friends party on the last day of the NRG music festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17th:
- 3-6am: Jay leaves with Ayub Qassim and another man for a £40-a-night Airbnb 23 miles away in the village of Masca.
- 7.30am: Jay shares a photo on Snapchat standing at the doorway of the Airbnb.
- 8.50am: He calls pal Lucy Mae Law and says he is “lost in the middle of nowhere” with no water, a cut to his leg and one per cent on his phone.
June 18: Pals search the area but no sign of Jay. Local cops and mountain rescue teams start the official search. Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan flies to Tenerife.
June 19 – 20: Spanish police deploy drones, dogs and a helicopter, but find no trace. Search moves to Los Cristianos amid possible sighting, but it is ruled out and they return to Rural de Teno, near Masca.
June 21: Lancashire Police offer support but it is declined.
June 22: Mum Debbie issues an appeal to Jay saying: “We just need you home.”
June 24: Claims of Jay sighting in Santiago del Teide — near where he disappeared — and family believe a grainy CCTV image could be of him.
June 25: Debbie issues a plea for Jay to come home as more friends fly out and TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas joins the search.
June 29: Cops rule Mr Qassim, and another man at Airbnb, out of investigation.
June 30: Spanish cops officially suspend hunt but say probe “remains open”. His family continue to search.
July 15: A body is found by a helicopter search team close to where his phone last pinged. His possessions are discovered next to human remains. Spanish cops say it points to an “accidental fall”.
July 17: Tenerife authorities confirm the body found in the mountainous area of the island is Jay’s.
Jay’s dad Warren, 58, and 24-year-old brother Zak spent weeks searching the unforgiving terrain for a breakthrough after the teenager vanished on June 17.
They retraced the apprentice bricklayer’s steps in the blistering heat for days after Spanish cops suspended their search.
But his body was finally discovered by a helicopter crew on Monday at the bottom of a ravine close to where his mobile phone last pinged.
Warren left a message that simply read: “To my boy. Love dad.”
Zak promised to take care of their parents, writing: “Love you little bro. Never in a million years did I think I’d be doing this.
“I’ll look after Mum and Dad. Hope you’re partying up there with Grandad.
I’m so sorry we never found you
Debbie Duncan
“Hope to see you again someday. Rest easy bro. I love you.”
Jay’s body revealed that he had suffered multiple injuries consistent with an accidental fall from a considerable height.
Spanish officials in the Canary Islands used fingerprints to confirm his identity.
His body has now been released to the family to make repatriation arrangements.
A spokesman for the family said: “There are a number of complex issues that need to be addressed before he can finally be flown home to the UK.
“But the plan is for his family to be on the same flight. They want to bring him home.” His body is expected to be repatriated by the start of next week, the spokesman added.
Love you little bro. Never in a million years did I think I’d be doing this
Zak Slater
A UK coroner may then request a second post-mortem before he can be released for a funeral.
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, vanished while on holiday with two pals.
After attending a music festival, he travelled more than 20 miles in the early hours with two men to an Airbnb in the remote village of
Masca but vanished later that morning after leaving on foot.
Shortly before 9am, he called friend Lucy Mae Law to say he was lost, thirsty and that his phone battery was on one per cent.
Jay’s phone last pinged near a hiking trail in the Rural de Teno National Park — an 11-hour trek from his apartment.
