Mum of missing teen Jay Slater reveals she's received sickening prank calls over disappearance
Efforts to find missing British teenager Jay Slater are ongoing after he disappeared on Tenerife earlier this week.
He'd travelled there with friends to attend the New Rave Generation festival, but became separated from them after he stayed out on Sunday (16 June) evening with some new people he'd met.
It appears as though he went back to an apartment with them that night before attempting to head back to his own accommodation the following morning. However, it was a 10 hour walk, which Jay's family believe he may not have known about when he started.
Jay's friend Lucy said she received a call from the 19-year-old saying he was lost in the mountains and didn't know where he was, as well as needing a drink of water and his phone being on one percent battery.
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That's the last that was heard of Jay, and he has been missing ever since.
A Civil Guard spokesperson said: “A specialist Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group called the Greim have been mobilised.
“A police helicopter is also out and focusing on the area around the village of Masca.
“Other emergency services including firefighters have also been mobilised.
“Everything possible is being done to try to find the missing man.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”
His mum Debbie and older brother Zak have flown out to Tenerife to help in the search for Jay, but sadly the family's woes have been compounded.
Some people have used this difficult situation as an opportunity to be distinctly unpleasant, as Debbie said she'd been receiving phone calls from people who told her they'd kidnapped her son.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Debbie explained that she'd had calls from Brits with 'northern accents' who'd rung her up to torment her at what must be one of the most difficult times of her life.
She said: "Some of the phone calls I've been getting have been horrible. I just don't know why people would want to do things like this.
"I've been getting lots of prank calls. It's sickening. People ringing me and saying they've got Jay because he owes them money.
"But it's not putting me off and I want to keep this in the news because it's going to increase the chances of Jay being found safe and well which is obviously what we're praying for."
They're not the only ones who've decided to pounce on the misery of Jay's family at this time, as some people tried to set up a fake GoFundMe, which isn't affiliated with his family or efforts to find him.
According to a Facebook group set up by people hoping the 19-year-old is found, which at time of writing has over 100,000 members, his family don't want a GoFundMe.
The attempted fundraiser has since been shut down and can no longer be donated to on the site.
Topics: Travel, UK News, World News, Jay Slater
Joe Harker