Jay Slater's loved ones set record straight over 'damaging' online detective accusations

The relentless search for Jay Slater continues, with the teenager having been missing since June 17 after last being seen in the rugged terrain of north west Tenerife.

Despite the extensive efforts by the Civil Guard, fire services, and mountain rescue teams scouring the challenging Rural de Teno Park, and his loved ones flying out to aid the search, the situation has been exacerbated by a barrage of hurtful online messages.

Jay, 19, had checked into an Airbnb before he mysteriously 'walked off alone' into the remote area, prompting a large-scale operation to locate him. His mother, Debbie Duncan, is fraught with anxiety, stating she has "barely slept" as the ordeal wears on.

READ MORE: Jay Slater latest with 6 key questions that are confusing family and investigators

Amidst the distress, Jay's family and friends have also had to contend with a series of malicious rumours circulating on social media. Accusations have ranged from insensitive suggestions that they were 'partying on boats' to the devastating and unfounded claim that Jay's body had been discovered.

In response to the latest round of online abuse, Rachel Harg, the mother of Jay's best friend and administrator of the Find Jay Slater Facebook group, expressed her devastation. She took to the platform to denounce a particularly cruel hoax, sharing that it left her "absolutely heartbroken."

Rachel furiously refuted false claims circulating online after a video wrongly suggested she was partying rather than searching for her missing son. In her response, she clarified: "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.", reports the Manchester Evening News.

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"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 ! ! ! ! ! ! " Her message concluded with a clear expression of her ordeal, "Absolutely heartbroken. It was a previous holiday," alongside a broken heart emoji.

Jay's mother shared with the Daily Mail that they are placing their trust in the efforts of the Spanish police and the updates they receive from the consulate, while support has also come from people in the UK and Jay's friends who have flown out to join the search and raise awareness with posters. 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 partaking in the search effort, described Jay as her ex-boyfriend and expressed her exasperation with the unfounded speculation and slander being spread by "online detectives". Addressing the baseless chatter, she made a heartfelt plea to those behind their keyboards, urging them to halt their damaging antics.

Despite rumours and online trolling suggesting otherwise, the quest to find Jay Slater is still very much active. Specialist scent-detection dogs have been drafted in to aid the thorough search in retracing Jay's last steps, with hopes of locating the teenager who vanished.

Tenerife police announced on Tuesday that a team of sniffer dogs from Madrid will bolster the ongoing search and rescue efforts currently in their second week.

In a statement, the force confirmed: "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."