Jay Slater’s devastated best pal who joined teen on first holiday is ‘not coping’ as disappearance stretches into day 12
JAY Slater’s best friend who jetted out to Tenerife with him for their first holiday together is “not coping” with his disappearance.
The 19-year-old has been missing for 12 days – and his loved ones say they are “living the worst nightmare”.
Close friends Jay, Lucy Mae and Brad flew out to Tenerife earlier this month to enjoy the three-day NRG festival.
But on the morning of June 17, Jay vanished and has not been seen or heard from since.
His pals Lucy and Brad have stayed on the island as they join the desperate bid to find any trace of their friend.
Brad’s mum, Rachel Hargreaves, said her son is “not really coping” with Jay’s disappearance.
She and Brad have vowed to stay in Tenerife for “as long as it takes” to support Jay’s distraught family.
Ms Hargreaves, from Accrington, Lancashire, has also slammed online trolls peddling vile conspiracy theories and posting malicious comments.
The mum, 34, has been targeted relentlessly by key-board bashers after agreeing to run an online Facebook group for Jay’s family, which now has almost 600,000 members.
She told BBC: “We’re living the worst nightmare you can live and this does not help.
“You can’t put into words how you feel. I’m just here trying to support and be strong for her [Jay’s mum Debbie].
“The things she can’t do I am trying to do for her, mother-to-mother.
“We have become a lot more closer friends since this.
“We’d always chatted about Jay and Brad, we were just caring mothers who wanted to make sure they were safe.”
After going to a rave that finished in the early hours of June 17, apprentice bricklayer 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.
It comes as…
- Deluge of tip-offs flooding in for Jay appeal
- Search for Jay hones in on series of caves
- GoFundMe page for his family hits £40,000
- Crews fear he won’t be found alive if he vanished in mountains
- Tenerife worst place to go missing, expert warned before Jay went missing
- 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
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 drones, sniffer dogs, helicopters, and dozens of on the ground emergency crews.
Rescue crews had been scouring a 2,000ft ravine in the mountainous terrain.
They have now shifted their focus to caves near Los Carrizales – around an hour and a half on foot from the Airbnb Jay went to with two men.
Los Carrizales is a small hamlet not far from Masca in the Teno mountains.
But police sources have warned that it is “very unlikely Jay has survived if he got lost in the mountains”.
Yet authorities have said there are no plans to put a stop to the search yet, despite no signs of the 19-year-old.
It comes as the GoFundMe page set up for Jay’s family today hit £40,000.
The teen’s mum Debbie Duncan yesterday revealed she would be withdrawing some of the donations to fly supporters out to Tenerife
Distraught Debbie, 55, said cash would also be used to help search teams scouring the island’s north for her son, who has been missing for 12 days.
The family will use some of the money to cover their accommodation and food while in Tenerife as well.
Some 3,600 well-wishers have donated to the page, so far raising £40,065 – more than £10,000 over its target.
Timeline of Jay Slater’s disappearance
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’
TUESDAY 25
Brit hiker found by Jay search teams says he ‘didn’t need to be saved’
Madeleine McCann cop lands in Tenerife to join search
Tenerife cops call in reinforcements from Madrid – including specialist sniffer dogs
WEDNESDAY 26
Locals claim they have spotted Jay watching Euros
Investigator reveals descriptions of two men Jay partied with
Cops scour exact spot where ‘mystery grainy figure’ was seen
THURSDAY 27
Detectives ‘fear it’s unlikely Jay will be found alive if in mountains’
Search hones in on series of caves in desolate park
Family ‘turn to help of TikTok sleuth’
GoFundMe goes £10,000 over target as it hits £40,000