Jay Slater's mother reveals how family will use remaining donations

Jay Slater’s family are to remain in Tenerife to continue the search for the missing teenager.

It comes after police on the Spanish island called off the land hunt on 30 June following 12 days of looking for the 19-year-old Briton.

He was last heard from on 17 June after setting off to walk back to his accommodation – a journey of about 11 hours.

In a statement on a crowdfunding page set up to help find Mr Slater – which has neared £50,000 of donations – his mother shared an update on how the funds would be used.

Debbie Duncan wrote that although the police land search, which “involved every resource they had available”, had ended, the officers will “continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation”.

The hunt in the northern village of Masca, near his last-known location, took in a steep rocky area, including ravines, trails and paths.

Helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find the apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, but without success.

Ms Duncan thanked Spanish authorities and supporters on the GoFundMe page, adding that part of the funds will be used to support volunteers hunting for Mr Slater in the mountains close to where his last phone call was traced.

She wrote: “We are currently looking after Paul Arnett, putting together a package of any equipment and essentials he needs and going up to do a drop for him. We are also supporting Callum Fahim and his group with accommodation and other essentials.”

The remaining money will be used to support rescue teams, Ms Duncan said, as well as her family’s “own expenses as we remain in Tenerife looking for our boy”.

Mr Slater had gone to Tenerife with friends on 13 June to attend a music festival at Papagayo nightclub in the southern resort of Playa de las Americas on 16 June.

After he left the event, he got in a car early the next morning, travelling to a small Airbnb in Masca with two men, who police said were “not relevant” to the case.

At 8.30am on 17 June, he called his friend Lucy Law, telling her he missed his bus and had tried to walk back to his accommodation.

He said he had “cut his leg” on a cactus, had “no idea where he was”, was “lost in the mountains” and his phone battery was on “1%”. Shortly afterwards, his battery ran out and he was reported missing at 9.04am.

His last known location was in the Rural de Teno Park, near Masca.

A local cafe owner told Sky News Mr Slater tried to catch a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.

Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke to the teenager at 8am on 17 June, telling him a bus was due at 10am – but he set off walking and she said she later drove past him “walking fast”.

The Civil Guard last Friday called for volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area on Saturday.

A handful of volunteers turned up to help rescue teams, forming a total group of 30 to 40 people scouring a huge area of rugged and hilly terrain.

Since his disappearance, rumours and conspiracy theories have emerged amid online speculation on social media.

Some social media sleuths have even travelled to Tenerife to try and find him.

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