The mother of Jay Slater has shared a new update about the ongoing searches on the GoFundMe page she set up to "bring him home".
Earlier this week, Jay's family said they're still "holding on to hope" that he will be found, and launched a fresh search for the missing 19-year-old. Jay's dad and brother teamed up with 10 volunteers so they could scour the treacherous mountains of Tenerife, where Jay is thought to have vanished.
Working through the roasting 25C heat, the group searched the Valley of Barranco de Juan Lopez, near the village of Masca where the teen was last spotted," The Mirror reports.
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And last night Jay's mum Debbie shared an update on the fundraiser that was set up soon after his disappearance. On it, she thanked people for all their help and support. She also said there was a major setback that could hinder the search effort.
Debbie wrote: "We have been overwhelmed by the kindness and support we have received and would like to thank the local hiking group for all of their help planning the routes to find our Jay. We have been contacted by a wonderful group of locals who have volunteered to continue the search. While they don’t wish to accept financial help for their search, we will be supporting them with supplies and are so grateful for their willingness to help."
Debbie explained that she is being contacted by experienced search and rescue agencies offering their support. But unfortunately, these experts could be turned away because the permission has to be granted by Spanish authorities. Debbie didn't say how the Spanish officials were responding to these requests.
She continued: "We also continue to be contacted by experienced groups offering to support our search. We are busy talking to them about what they can do to assist. But in order for us to employ their help, they need to have permission from the Spanish authorities.
"We will be sure to keep you all updated on our progress and are so grateful for your continued support to bring our boy home. Please keep sharing and supporting our fundraiser however you can."
On Friday, Glen Duncan, 41, brother of Jay's mum Debbie, joined the search for the teenager, who has been missing for almost three weeks. He said it was "just torture" every day as the family desperately waited for news. He said: "We've just been out with some Spanish volunteers. They’ve been through it by foot and the dogs, there’s obviously been areas searched by helicopter and drones. For me, he's not up here. That's what I get the impression of."
He said they had heard little from the local police: "Who knows what the police are doing out here, who knows? They're not really in touch, it's all a bit sketchy. They don't give anything away. I was close to Jay. He was just a typical, great young lad with a massive circle of friends who loved the good time. He was looking forward to coming here. First lads holiday, we've all been there, haven’t we?
"We're still holding onto hope - we have to because we don't know. He’s not been found so you’ve got to cling on. I’m sure Madeleine McCann’s parents still cling to that hope, that she’s somewhere on the other side of the world 20 years later. She’s never been found and there's no proof of whatever has happened to her. It’s so treacherous down there. Look at the state of me. I'm not a climber, I’m not a hiker.
"It’s so easy to get lost down there. There was a group of us and you can’t see anybody. It got to a point where I wasn't even looking for my nephew, I was just trying to find my own way out to safety. If he has wandered off I just can't see how he would wander all the way down there. When you’re lost you stick to a path. I don't know if he was afraid of someone or something."
