Jay Slater's mum issues 'agonising' statement after 'crunch meeting' with police

The mum of missing teen Jay Slater has shared a tragic new statement saying "words cannot describe the pain". Debbie said 'words cannot describe the pain and agony' after the search for her son was called off in Tenerife in the Canary Islands.

The Spanish Civil Guard announced the end of the search on June 30 after he vanished in mid-June. Her emotional message was issued through the British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, she said: "Jay is a normal guy who is in his third year of an apprenticeship, and he is a very popular young man with a large circle of friends.

"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.

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

The mum - who has been out in Tenerife with Jay's dad Warren - went on and said: "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 continued, saying: "We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of inquiries." It comes after Debbie, Warren and Jay's family held a crunch talk with cops in Tenerife after they chose to end the search for the 19-year-old.

Cops were seen combing an Airbnb yesterday where Jay had spent time before vanishing into dangerous and mountainous terrain in the Canary Islands holiday hotspot. Debbie said: "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.

"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. We also embrace the love and support we have received from across the globe.

"It has not gone unnoticed, especially his home town in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this present time."