As the hunt for missing teen Jay Slater enters its second week, his loved ones are grappling with heartless online trolls amidst their already distressing search for the well-liked apprentice.
Jay, a 19-year-old from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, was last in contact on Monday June 17, when he called his mate to say he was lost, thirsty and had only one per cent battery remaining after a night out in Tenerife. Before his phone died, his last known whereabouts were near Rural de Teno Park, which has been the focus of much of the extensive search efforts to locate him.
Despite seven days of rigorous searching involving police officers, mountain rescue teams, drones, fire service personnel and sniffer dogs all mobilised to help bring Jay safely home, he remains missing.
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With Jay's prolonged absence, his distraught family and friends have been holding out hope for good news - but this hasn't deterred malicious trolls from speculating about his fate online or even posting fake updates to further distress and compound the pain of his anxious family.
One such bogus post circulating on TikTok, posing as the admin of the official Facebook group set up to find Jay, 'Rachel Lousie Harg', falsely claimed that Jay's body had been discovered and blamed 'Moroccans' for the crime - a claim the real Rachel was compelled to refute on social media, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Rachel shared a screenshot of the post and expressed her distress, writing: "This isn't me!!!! This is NOT true."
She also added a series of broken heart emojis to convey her emotions.
The incident isn't isolated; Rachel has been vocal about "sick" individuals spreading false information, which she says is undermining the search efforts. She described the ordeal as "absolutely soul destroying" particularly for Jay's mother Debbie, who is "absolutely broken" by these unfounded claims.
Despite the misleading posts, the search for Jay is still very much active. Spanish police are tirelessly working to trace the missing apprentice bricklayer, with the hope of bringing him back to his family safe and sound.