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5 months ago
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JAY Slater’s desperate family have called in the help of a TikTok sleuth as they search for the missing teen.
In the wake of a social media storm sparked by Jay’s disappearance on June 17, several so-called TikTok sleuths have jetted out to Tenerife to join the search.
Jay (right) with his mum Debbie and brother Zak – both out searching for him in Tenerife
Reuters
Reuters
Now Jay’s loved ones have turned to Paul Arnott, a self-described TikTok “explorer”, as the search enters its eleventh day, The Telegraph reports.
Paul, 29, runs an account on the video-based social media app called Down the Rapids, and has been out in Tenerife since Saturday.
Social media creators who have flown out to the island are not thought to be involved in the official police search for the teen.
Today Paul met Jay’s worried loved ones, who have been out there since early last week looking for the missing 19-year-old.
It comes as cops narrow their search to a new spot further along in the Rural de Teno park, honing in on a series of caves near Los Carrizales.
The new location is about an hour and a half on foot from the AirBnB Jay stayed in with two men, The Independent reports.
Paul told The Telegraph: “I’m meeting the family today.
“They said they wanted to meet me. They said they’re really proud of what I’m doing.
“I’ve been speaking with Brad’s mum, Rachel. They wanted to bring me food but I said no.”
Debbie, Jay’s distraught mum, told the outlet: “[I] can’t thank Paul Arnott enough, also Callum Rahim [another TikTok creator] and his friends for working alongside with the search and rescue teams.”
Paul paid £400 for a flight from Fort William in Scotland to Tenerife.
He has posted 66 videos since flying out to the island, with hundreds of thousands of views.
Some users on social media have posted vile conspiracy theories, jokes and bogus claims online since Jay disappeared.
Today pathetic internet trolls targeted the firm where Jay works as an apprentice bricklayer.
PH Build Group, based in Lancashire, slammed the conspiracy theorists spewing baseless claims and defended their 19-year-old employee.
It comes as…
- Jay’s mum Debbie withdrawing GoFundMe cash to fly supporters out to Tenerife
- Ex-top cop who tracked down Raoul Moat reveals search theory
- Jay was attacked by gang when he was just 12
- New pics of Jay emerge at a pool party two days before he vanished
- Cops quiz locals who ‘saw Jay watching Euros’
- Investigator reveals descriptions of two men who partied with teen
- Crews scour exact spot where mystery ‘grainy figure’ was seen
- Tenerife cops plan TV appeal as they hunt for clues
- Pals blast conspiracy theorists and TikTok sleuths
- Jay’s mum says she’s ‘barely slept’
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan has described the last 10 days as a ‘living nightmare’
Tenerife cops drive through the mountains during their search todayJay’s mum withdrew cash today for the first time from the GoFundMe set up to support the family as they remain in Tenerife.
Debbie Duncan said cash from the GoFundMe page will be used to fly out the “loved ones” of the “wonderful people” who are with her in Tenerife.
As she thanked Paul Arnott for his help in the search for Jay, she described how the family were stuck in a “living nightmare”.
Debbie said: “I have every faith in them [the police] down on the ground and the amazing searches they are carrying out along with more amazing guys up there.
“Myself, well you know the state of my mental health and my paranoia, you saw it first hand. As a family, we are in a living nightmare.
“We have no further updates other than Jay is still missing and we are just ignoring the social media side of things. Just pray for Jay please.”
After going to a rave that finished in the early hours of June 17, Jay headed to Masca with two British men he had met that night.
He shared a final Snapchat from their Airbnb of a hand holding a cigarette at 7.30am.
Jay then tried to make his way back to his holiday accommodation – an 11 hour walk away.
But at around 8.50am he made a final frantic call to friend Lucy, telling her he was lost in the “middle of nowhere” with no water and had just one per cent battery on his phone.
It sparked a mammoth search operation involving helicopters, drones and sniffer dogs that has so far drawn blanks.
Authorities have said there are no plans to put a stop to the search yet, despite no signs of the 19-year-old.
A well-placed source to the police search today warned that it is “very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains”.
Specially trained sniffer dogs used to search for people over large expanses of land were flown in from Madrid and incorporated into the operation on Tuesday.
The force also released footage showing officers moving on foot through some of the rough and remote terrain.
Other cops could be seen carrying out aerial inspections from the Civil Guard helicopter.
Ian Whittaker
English (US)