Jay Slater’s angry family slam ‘horrible’ conspiracy theorists for ‘getting in way’ of hunt & say: ‘The trolls have won’

JAY Slater’s furious family have blasted cruel conspiracy theorists for hampering the hunt for the missing teen.

Cops in Tenerife called off their search for the missing Brit after 14 days – and his family feel the “trolls have won”.

The search for Jay Slater has been called off leaving his family heartbroken

Jay with his mum Debbie and brother Zak

Jay, Zak and father Warren celebrating Zak’s 21st birthday

Jay’s parents Debbie and Warren have vowed to stay in Tenerife until they find answers

The Spanish Civil Guard announced the end of the search today

Speaking exclusively to The Sun today, a family source said Jay’s heartbroken family have no plans to give up on him until they find out what happened to the Lancashire teen when he vanished on June 17.

But attempts to find Jay have often been overshadowed by vile internet trolls and insensitive conspiracy theorists.

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It comes as…

• Search for Jay ends
• Jay’s family will keep searching for the teen
• Search for teen hits ‘make or break’ stage
• Jay Slater’s pal sparked more confusion claiming teen met mystery men
• Brother Zak and dad Warren join the search – with Jay’s father hitting back at trolls criticising family
• Brit climber scours Tenerife ravine for clues after pal ‘heard him slip’
• Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
• Cops investigate new lead after ‘theft of Rolex’ hours before teen vanished
• Expert says Jay may have fallen into a gorge
• Ghoulish Brits treat his disappearance as a tourist attraction
• The GoFundMe page for his family hits £40,000
• Jay vanishes after a night out

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The family source from the UK said: “Jay’s family can’t help thinking the trolls have won and that they have got the way.

“So many people have been putting horrible messages out there which has only added to the family’s torment.”

Parents Debbie, Warren and older brother Zak were said to have been “blindsided” by the speed at which the decision to end the search was made.

The trio all plan to stay on the island until they get some clarity on the situation.

The source said: “They will not stop looking for Jay or giving up. They will be staying in Tenerife and trying to do all they can to keep momentum going and to find Jay.

“They’ve been trying to get in touch with groups in Tenerife and beyond who specialise in missing persons.”

It comes after Spanish cops dramatically halted the search for Jay after a two-week search found no trace of the teen.

The mammoth hunt saw sniffer dogs, drones, a helicopter, dozens of volunteers and mountain rescue experts all deployed across the island.

The decision to call it off came from the Civil Guard who declared: “The search operation has now finished although the case remains open.”

The source said: “Jay’s family knew the search would eventually wind down. They get that. But it was a nightmare scenario they didn’t want to think about.

“And it wasn’t something they thought wouldn’t happen immediately.

“So for the decision to be made after just two weeks has left them bewildered and bereft.

“Is two weeks really long enough to say you’ve looked everywhere?”

The “heartbroken and devastated” family are now looking to get answers themselves.

Their first move is to to appeal to British cops to try and help.

Debbie has previously called on the Spanish police to do more in the operations after they didn’t allow cops from the UK to fly out and join in the search.

The Lancashire Constabulary offered to help Spain’s Guardia Civil in their efforts to find the teenager in the first week of the teen’s disappearance.

Police officers had been searching the Masca village ravine

A distraught Warren has been seen posting missing person posters across Tenerife

Drones, dogs and emergency teams were all involved in the search

But local police rejected the bid and insisted they have the “resources” required to find him.

“They may also try to appeal, again, to the British Police to help. They don’t understand why the police in Tenerife wouldn’t welcome the extra support and help which was being offered,” he source added.

“What did they have to lose? If every stone had been left unturned Jay’s family would be able to accept this. But it doesn’t feel like that’s the case.”

The Slater family have vowed to stay in Tenerife for “however long it takes” to locate Jay saying they have “no intention of going home”.

It comes as Debbie announced she would be withdrawing some of the £40,000 raised through a GoFundMe for Jay.

Debbie said the cash would be used to help search teams scour the island and cover the families accommodation and food while there.

A family source told The Sun: “Dipping into the funds isn’t something the family have done lightly – but they’ve been left with no choice.

“They are determined to remain in Tenerife for however long it takes to get to the bottom of what has happened to Jay.

“The family are bereft right now – but for his mother and father especially, being in Tenerife means they are on the ground as soon as any news comes in.

“They are also desperate to keep momentum going around the search. Every second counts in finding Jay.”

Volunteers who have helped in the desperate hunt for Jay gave the family some hope after vowing to stay on the island today.

TikTok explorer Paul Arnott posted online that he plans on moving the volunteers to a new search location in hopes of finding a fresh lead.

‘Trolls have won’

The Civil Guard made comments in the past fortnight saying how the rescue operations could be hindered by online chatter.

They warned that conspiracy theories and made-up leads would only make the search harder.

Warren Slater ripped into online sleuths at the search site yesterday telling them to imagine the heartache he was feeling.

Alongside his son Zak, he told keyboard warriors to come to Tenerife and “see for themselves” how difficult the search is.

Investigator Mark Williams-Thomas has been working alongside the family to try and piece together the case.

The former detective spoke on the idiotic online trolls labelled them as “vile”.

“Jay has his past but the family need some sort of respect. To those on social media, think before you post,” Mark said.

“If you wouldn’t say it to your family don’t say it to Jay’s. These claims have been given to police.”

Jay’s friends were also forced to condemn idiotic TikTok sleuths who jetted off to Tenerife in a twisted bid to join the hunt.

Many of his pals have even been forced to respond to “horrible lies” being spread online causing the mystery to deepen.

A number of horrific death hoaxes have also been shared on social media in the past two weeks.

A spineless troll pretending to be a family friend posted: “Jay’s body has been found. Our hearts are with his family in these evil times, we’ve heard from locals that it was the job of Morrocans(sic).”

Jay’s heartbroken mum has also 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 said: “I am really am saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page.

“I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag.”

The young Brit vanished after a night out at the NRG festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 17.

He was last seen travelling with the two mystery men in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno park.

The morning after he made a final frantic phone call to pal Lucy to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere”.

Panicked Jay, facing an 11-hour walk back to their hotel, told her he needed water and only had one per cent of battery left on his phone.

His other friend Brad Hargreaves revealed a second call in which Jay told him he had veered off the main path – leading to speculation he may have slid down rocks.

Brad said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call.

The disappearance sparked a desperate round-the-clock search with his heartbroken mum and family jetting out to the island to join the hunt.

Rescue crews focused their efforts around the 2,000ft Masca ravine close to Jay’s last known location – the desolate Teno Nature Reserve.

On Thursday, they shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with the two men.

Apprentice bricklayer Jay had flown out to Tenerife with friends Lucy and Brad for the New Rave Generation (NRG) festival, which ended on Sunday.

His final Snapchat picture was an out-of-focus image of a hand holding cigarettes in Buenavista del Norte, which sits within Rural de Teno park, at around 7.30am on Monday.

It was taken at the location he went to with the two men he met at the club – with haunting pictures showing the inside of the Airbnb.

It is claimed he was spotted “walking alone” by locals before his disappearance.