Debbie Duncan, the mother of missing teenager Jay Slater, opened up about the heartbreak her family is going through due to his disappearance. She described Jay as a beautiful boy with a bright future ahead of him, emphasizing the pain and agony they are experiencing.
Jay, a 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing on June 17 after attending a weekend rave in Tenerife with his friends. He was last heard from when he told his friend, Lucy Law, that he planned to walk back to his holiday accommodation after missing a bus, despite having 1% battery left on his phone and not knowing his exact location.
Despite extensive search efforts involving emergency services, mountain rescue teams, sniffer dogs, drones, and helicopters, Jay has yet to be found. The massive search operation conducted on Saturday was unsuccessful, and the Guardia Civil in Tenerife announced that the search had concluded while keeping the case open for further investigation.
In a statement released through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, Debbie Duncan expressed the family’s devastation over Jay’s disappearance. She described Jay as a normal guy in his third year of an apprenticeship and thanked the Spanish authorities for their continued efforts in the search.
The family and friends of Jay have been dealing with a significant amount of online speculation, conspiracy theories, and hurtful accusations surrounding his disappearance. Duncan addressed this, calling the negative comments vile and distressing to the family, while also acknowledging the outpouring of love and support they have received from around the world.
Jay and his friends had attended the NRG Tenerife Weekender festival before his disappearance. He left the resort with two British men in a car and headed to an Airbnb property in Masca, a remote hilltop hamlet in Tenerife. The authorities confirmed that the two men were not relevant to the case after speaking with them.
As the search for Jay continues, his family remains hopeful for his safe return and urges the press to respect their privacy and allow the Spanish police to conduct their investigations without interference. The community in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, has shown immense support for Jay and his family during this difficult time.