Jay Slater’s pals slam fake death posts as ‘sick trolls’ prey on case while desperate Tenerife search enters day 9
JAY Slater’s distraught friends have blasted vile trolls sharing fake death posts on social media.
The 19-year-old, from Lancashire, remains missing as search crews in Tenerife fail to find any trace of him nine days into the hunt.
A mammoth search operation was launched nine days ago after Jay made a desperate final call to friend Lucy Law, who he had travelled to the island with.
He said he was lost in the middle of nowhere with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
The last ping from his phone at 8.50am last Monday revealed he was near the desolate Rural de Teno National Park.
Jay has not been seen or heard from since, with drones, sniffer dogs, helicopters and emergency crews frantically working to find the Lancashire teen.
But heartless trolls have been tormenting his loved ones by posting bogus claims on social media that a body has been found.
One cruel sleuth tried to impersonate a family friend.
The spineless troll posted: “Jay’s body has been found. Our hearts our with his family in these evil times, we’ve heard from locals that it was the job of Morrocans(sic).”
Jay’s friend was forced to share a screenshot of the sham post and deny it was her.
She wrote over the top: “This isn’t me. This is NOT true.”
The pal also hit out at “sick” trolls spreading false information, warning they could jeopardise the ongoing search.
Jay’s family have had to endure an onslaught of vile messages and bogus theories from trolls online after the teen disappeared.
His heartbroken mum said she felt “very let down” after sleuths started questioning what more than £30,000 raised on a GoFundMe page would be used for.
Debbie Duncan said: “I am really am saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page.
It comes as…
- Cops hunting for Jay rescue lost Brit hiker in area teen vanished
- Jay’s mum slams trolls questioning what £33k GoFundMe will be used for
- Teen’s family share CCTV image they believe could be Jay
- Footage obtained by The Sun shows Jay appearing to stagger back to his feet at a club
- Owner of Airbnb where Jay stayed saw him “walking fast” up a dangerous ravine
- Brit cops offered to fly out and help but Spanish officials said no
- Jay’s mum slammed the Tenerife police investigation
- A possible new sighting of Jay placed him 3.5 miles away from where he vanished with two men
- The missing teen’s dad and brother visited the search site
- Cops turn their search to several brick outbuildings near Jay’s last known location
“I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag.
“I really cannot believe the British public are not supporting me in trying to find Jay.
“This may happen to any of you one day. Very let down by you all.”
Worried Debbie, who flew out to Tenerife last week, also had to contend with vicious trolls comparing her to Karen Matthews – a woman dubbed “Britain’s worst mum”.
Debbie, 55, said: “People are calling me out on social media saying why aren’t you up there, you’re the new Karen Matthews.
“I just can’t face it.”
Matthews made headlines in 2008 when she cooked up a sickening plot with relative Michael Donovan to make money off her daughter’s fake kidnapping.
The cruel claims come as the search for Jay enters day nine – with rescue crews still drawing blanks as his family pray for answers.
Much of the hunt has been focussed on the unforgiving 2,000ft “badlands” Masca ravine.
It is where his phone last pinged a nearby cell tower at 8.50am on June 17.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay headed to Masca with two British men at the end of a three-day rave he flew to Tenerife to attend.
Yesterday, police expanded their search to an “immense” barren landscape north of where he was last seen.
Civil Guard officers confirmed forest trails and tracks north of the gorge in Teno Rural Park were also now being looked at as the ongoing search expanded to other areas.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter
SUNDAY JUNE 16 – MONDAY 17
Jay goes to a rave at the 2024 NRG music festival in Tenerife, around Arona on the south of the island
8.35pm – Jay posts a smiling Snapchat video of him laughing with friends
He leaves the rave with two men he met that day and is driven back to their accommodation across the island
MONDAY 17
7.30am – Jay posts a Snapchat of a hand holding a cigarette in the area where the accommodation was – near the rural de Teno Park on the north of the island
8.30am – Jay calls his friend Lucy Law and tells her he missed a bus, had one per cent of battery left on his phone and was stuck in the “middle of nowhere”
9am – A missing persons report is filed and the search for Jay begins
TUESDAY 18
2am – Police knock on the door of Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan’s home and tell her to catch the first flight out to Tenerife
7am – She flies out from Manchester Airport alongside her son Zak to help with the search
Debbie is sent a Snapchat message saying “Kiss goodbye to your boy, you’re never going to see him again, he owes me a lot of money.”
WEDNESDAY 19
12.30pm – Police move the search to the south of the island briefly after a false sighting
Cops search his hotel room for clues as his mum says there was “nothing untoward there”
Debbie gives a heart-wrenching interview where she shares fears he has been “taken” and says “I just want my baby back”
THURSDAY 20
Cops begin day four of the massive search for Jay
FRIDAY 21
Lancashire cops offer to help with the search but Tenerife authorities say they are “satisfied that they have the resources they need”
Search turns to 22,000ft ravine in Masca – part of an area dubbed “the badlands” by locals
SATURDAY 22
The sixth day of the search begins with sniffer dogs, cops, mountain rescue and firefighters again taking to the hills in northern Tenerife
Possible new sighting of Jay places him near a church with two men at 6pm on Monday – although unconfirmed by police
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak visit the search site in Tenerife
SUNDAY 23
Cops focus their search around small outbuildings in de Teno park near where Jay’s phone last pinged
Jay’s mum Debbie says trolls are comparing her to Karen Matthews
The GoFundMe set up by Jay’s friend Lucy surpasses £30,000 after just three days
Exclusive Sun footage shows Jay appearing to fall and stumble back up at a rave before he vanished
MONDAY 24
Search for Jay enters eighth day
Police expand search area north to parts of Buenavista del Norte
Jay’s dad says his family are in ‘a living hell’