Jay Slater mum breaks silence over 'conspiracy theory' in tragic update

The mother of missing Jay Slater has hit out at "conspiracy theories" and "speculation" two days on from the Spanish police calling off the search for the 19-year-old. The apprentice bricklayer vanished in Tenerife in mid-July and cops called off the search this weekend.

Debbie Duncan, Jay's mum, said in a new statement on Tuesday (July 2) evening: "We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites, and can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family".

Debbie said: “My son, Jay Dean Slater, came to the holiday island of Tenerife on the 13th of June with his friend to attend a music festival. On the 17th of June after not returning to his apartment he was reported as a missing person. Jay is a normal guy who is in his 3rd year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends.

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"We are a very close family and are absolutely devastated about his disappearance. Words cannot describe the pain and agony we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.

"We do not have any information on his whereabouts. The Guardia Civil have worked tirelessly up in the mountains where Jay's last phone call was traced. They conducted a land search for 12 days which involved every resource they had available.

"Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation." Debbie went on: "We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of enquiries.

"We would like to say to the press/news/reporters, that although we do not want to lose the momentum of Jay's disappearance, we really would like to maintain our privacy and crucially let the Spanish police get on with their investigations without hindrance from press."