Jay Slater's family hit back after TikTok star says he 'never had any money' from GoFundMe

The family of missing Jay Slater have hit back at a TikToker who quit the search for the 19-year-old in Tenerife. Callum Fahim flew to the Spanish island after contacting Jay's mum Debbie Duncan online.

But he has since withdrawn from the hunt after two weeks of looking for the apprentice bricklayer. He said he has received death threats. Callum said he and his group have not received any cash from a GoFundMe which has since raised almost £50,000.

He now plans to return to the UK. Debbie, 55, previously said the funds would be used, in part, to support volunteers looking for Jay after Guardia Civil called off its own search.

READ MORE: Tenerife travel warning as UK tourists 'banned from swimming in sea'

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Jay's family claim Debbie gave Callum £740 of her own cash for his accommodation. They said they wanted to use the funds to pay for specialist search and rescue teams which could cost thousands of pounds - but need to wait for permission from the authorities.

The family said: "We appreciate every single person who's come out. He's a hiker. We don't need hikers, we need experts."

Mr Fahim told Sky News : "I haven't had anything from the GoFundMe. We have not had a bit of essentials paid for.

"I've never had any money from them whatsoever or even offers to go and pick anything up. If they had offered it, personally I would've said maybe a bit of a treat at the end of the week, but don't worry about it."

Debbie initially said cash from the fundraiser would be used to support rescue teams searching for Jay. Money would cover accommodation and food for Jay's family and friends who have flown to Tenerife.

The mum said the family also needed the funds to fly others to the island to support loved ones during 'these dark times'. In a second update, she said some of the funding would support volunteers who remain in Tenerife and are looking for Jay.

This included British TikToker Paul Arnett who flew to the Spanish island to help with search efforts and Callum. Callum's name now appears to have since been edited and no longer appears in the statement.

Callum - who has been in contact with Debbie online - said he and a search party retraced all of the likely routes Jay may have taken.

He said he paid to fly to Tenerife himself. Callum added: "It's getting very out of control. The situation here is very dangerous at the moment. I have had death threats.

One of the group, Milly, who lives on the island and knows the area well, said: "My group and I live here, we don't need accommodation.

"We haven't received a bottle of water. We haven't had anything and we wouldn't take it. We haven't even had a thank you."

Jay has not been heard from since June 17 when he is said to have been walking from the north of the island back to his accommodation in the south - a journey likely to take about 11 hours on foot. Spanish police called off their land hunt on June 30 but have insisted his case remains open.

Debbie said her family will remain on the Spanish island to continue the search. Jay's family added: "This is about Jay and he's still missing and we've got people crying about money. It's nothing to do with money.

"We're not sat here doing nothing. We're doing everything we possibly can to find Jay. We can't go off down hills climbing on our own.

"We wouldn't like to be responsible for anyone hurting themselves."