Jay Slater's family hit by sick trolls leaving them 'absolutely heartbroken'

The ongoing search for 19-year-old Jay Slater, who went missing on June 17 after last being seen in the mountainous region of north west Tenerife, has been marred by a series of cruel online attacks directed at his family. The Lancashire teenager had stayed at an Airbnb the night before he disappeared, setting out alone into the remote and challenging terrain of Rural de Teno Park.

A comprehensive search operation involving the Civil Guard, firefighters, and mountain rescue teams is underway, with Jay's relatives and friends also travelling to Tenerife to participate. Amidst this distressing time, Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, has shared her anguish, stating she has "barely slept" and is consumed by worry, reports the Mirror.

Compounding their ordeal, the family has been subjected to a torrent of online abuse and unfounded accusations, including baseless claims of them 'partying on boats' and false reports about Jay's condition. Rachel Harg, whose son is Jay's best friend and who manages the Find Jay Slater Facebook group, has spoken out against the trolls, condemning a particularly malicious post that left her "absolutely heartbroken."

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Rachel was left outraged after a video wrongly implying she was enjoying herself on a boat while a teen was missing went viral. She clarified the situation in a post, stating, "This is another horrible lie about myself firstly this isn't me ! ! I took the video on my last holiday on a boat trip the lady in this video I don't know it was just me videoing the trip I was on with my family."

"Secondly this was when I went to Turkey in April this clip someone stole it and saying am in Tenerife partying.I am here looking for my sons best friend not partying if anyone did see this ! ! ! ! ! ! " She concluded her message with "Absolutely heartbroken. It was a previous holiday," adding a broken heart emoji.

Jay's mum told the Daily Mail that she has confidence in the authorities. She said: "The Spanish police are doing a good job and we are getting updated from the consulate so we just put our faith in them. I know people in the UK have come forward as well who were at the festival and they are giving details of what they know but I'm not being told about that.

"Jay's very good friends from home have also been over and have put up posters. They are good kids and like me just want him home."

Jessica, a 19-year-old engineer and one of Jay's friends involved in the search, expressed her exasperation to the publication. Identifying herself as Jay's former girlfriend, she criticised the spread of harmful rumours by "online detectives" and called for the anonymous critics behind their screens to stop their detrimental actions.

The quest to find Jay Slater continues unabated despite online cynicism and conflicting stories, with specialist sniffer dogs now part of the extensive search efforts. These trained dogs are being utilised to follow Jay's last known trail in hopes of finding the missing youth.

On Tuesday, Tenerife police announced that a squad of dogs from Madrid has been brought in to support the ongoing search and rescue efforts, which have entered their second week.

The authorities commented: "The Civil Guard continues with the search device for the young British man who disappeared in the Masca neighbourhood, belonging to the municipality of Buenavista del Norte (Tenerife), in which different units of the Civil Guard participate. In addition, today several Canine Guides of the Civil Guard dispatched from Madrid with their canine agents specialised in the search for people on large areas of land, belonging to the Cynological Service of the Civil Guard."