[ad_1]
Outbuildings near where missing teenager Jay Slater’s phone last picked up a signal are the current focus of a police search in Tenerife.
As the hunt for the 19-year-old continues into its seventh day in the Canary Islands, his mother has thanked those who have collectively donated more than £30,000 on a GoFundMe page, surpassing their target.
Slater, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing on Monday morning after attending an NRG rave on the island. He told a friend that his phone battery was about to die and that he planned to walk back to his accommodation after missing a bus, a journey that would take about 11 hours on foot.
The phone signal data showed his last location as the rocky Parque Rural de Teno, an area popular with tourists. On Sunday, Spanish police were searching around two structures at the bottom of a ravine in the park. They were seen examining the inside of blue barrels outside one of the small buildings.
Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, traveled to the island on Tuesday and his father is already there too. Asked how the family is dealing with the situation, Duncan told PA: “We’re not. I’m not doing very well at all. I haven’t slept, I’m exhausted. It was terrible. I can’t give it up, I just can’t.”
Conspiracy theories about Slater’s disappearance have proliferated online. In an Guardian interview over the weekend, Duncan said police were concerned there was “too much hype” surrounding the case.
“They actually said there’s too much noise, it’s reflected,” she said. “They have all the plans, their locations. They have this map that they were showing us colored in different colors.
Questions were asked by donors about the “Take Jay Slater Home” GoFundMe page set up by the last friend to speak to Slater, Lucy Lowe. It is not yet clear what the money will be used for. But in an apparent response to comments, Duncan posted on the site thanking donors and confirming it was an official fundraiser.
“Hi everyone, this is Debbie, Jay’s mom,” she wrote. “Thank you all for your generosity and kindness at this difficult time. I wanted to confirm that this is the only GoFundMe fundraiser approved by our family.
“We haven’t withdrawn any funds yet and are currently covering expenses ourselves, such as travel to Tenerife and accommodation. Funds will remain on hold with GoFundMe until we post a new update on this page.
“We are extremely worried and doing everything we can to find Jay. Please keep sharing our fundraiser everywhere. Your support means everything to us and we are grateful for any help you can provide.”
Lancashire Police said they had made an “offer to support the Guardia Civil to see if they needed additional resources”, but this was rejected by Spanish authorities. NRG Festival also released a statement saying it had been able to “give some practical support” to Slater’s family.
When asked if Spain should have accepted help from the UK, Duncan told the PA: “They say they have enough resources to continue the investigation… I don’t know, I don’t know.”
[ad_2]
