Jay Slater’s mother reveals ‘agony’ in new statement after police end search for missing teenager

Jay Slater pictured with his mother Debbie Duncan (Supplied)

Jay Slater’s mother has spoken of her “pain and agony” in a new statement after Spanish police ended their land search for the missing teenager.

Debbie Duncan thanked the Guardia Civil who had “worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced” and was now probing why Mr Slater had travelled so far away from his Tenerife accommodation.

She said despite their efforts over the past 12 days, the family have no more information on his whereabouts.

In a statement issued through British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, she said: “My son, Jay Dean Slater, came to the holiday island of Tenerife on 13 June with his friend to attend a music festival. On 17 June after not returning to his apartment he was reported as a missing person.

“Jay is a normal guy who is in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends.

“We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance. Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.

“We do not have any information on his whereabouts. The Guardia Civil have worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced. They conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available. Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation.

“We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of enquiries.”

She added: “We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.

“We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe. It has not gone unnoticed, especially his home town in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.

“As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this present time.”