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4 months ago
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JAY SLATER’S heartbroken mum has hit back against online trolls who have touted wild conspiracy theories since her son vanished on June 17.
A devastated Debbie Duncan, posting via a friend on the enormous Jay Slater Missing Facebook group, said his disappearance may never be solved.
Jay pictured with his mum Debbie
Jay, 19, vanished more than two weeks ago
Jay’s mum and dad, Debbie and Warren, are both out in Tenerife searching for himThe emotional post read: “I feel the need to post this to your group and then I shall remove myself.
“I joined this group to share the positivity and love from the British public.
“It seems through no fault of my own you have all decided to make up your own minds. It is really sad I have felt the need to do this.
“My beautiful son Jay is still missing and believe me this is no holiday.”
She revealed that the family are “truly devastated” and said the “mystery surrounding his disappearance may never surface”.
The worried mum, who has been in Tenerife searching for her son since the day after he vanished, hit out at accusations that she has benefited from any publicity.
Debbie said: “I did not ask for publicity from the start and was not aware that the first missing poster had my telephone number on it.
“It should have had the SOS Guardia Civil but like I say this was out of my control.
“We are a normal working family from Lancashire going through hell.”
It comes after a search expert and former detective Charlie Hedges told The Sun Jay could still be alive.
Different theories have suggested Jay could be sheltering in an outbuilding in the wilderness or be trapped in a steep gorge after a nasty fall.
Army reservist and search pro Juan García, believes cops called off the search for missing Jay too soon and warned he could be feeding on plants and rainwater to stay alive.
Ex-detective Hedges said: “It’s certainly possible. I think it’s important to let the investigation keep all lines of inquiry open until they’re proven to be not viable.
“It is quite a long time to survive without food. Depends on how much rain there is, as to whether there’s sufficient water.
“But certainly, one should always consider that possibility.”
Temperatures in Tenerife are around 29 degrees this week with chances of rainfall at less than 5 per cent, according to the Met Office.
Surveying expert Brian Harrison, who lives in Tenerife, believes Jay may have taken the Masca Gorge Trail, a popular but dangerous hiking route.
He thinks the teen might have fallen into a gorge and is alive and waiting there for a rescue after vanishing on June 17.
Meanwhile locals have been urged by former detective Mark Williams-Thomas to scour the outbuildings and land near where he was last seen in Rural de Teno park.
Police have searched high and low with dogs, helicopters and drones, but it would be difficult to pinpoint one person amid the thick brush and cacti.
Jay’s family in Tenerife, including his mum and dad Debbie and Warren, have vowed to keep searching for the teen after police called off the hunt.
Debbie’s impassioned message to the public today comes after weeks of vicious trolling and a barrage of wild conspiracy theories online.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was last heard from on the morning of June 17 when he phoned a pal to tell her he was “lost in the middle of nowhere”.
He had gone back to a remote Airbnb with two British men on the northwest of island in the early hours before leaving later that morning.
After missing the bus, he started walking the 11-hour route back to his accommodation and disappeared in the rural north-west mountains.
On Monday, Jay’s parents pleaded with cops not to give up on the hunt for their son during a crunch meeting.
Detectives promised to probe any new tip-offs or information that comes in but stood firm in axing the active search.
A source close to the family revealed that the decision to cut off the search was the “nightmare scenario” Jay’s family were “dreading”.
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