Jay Slater's mum reveals where GoFundMe money was spent as donations hit £72k

Jay Slater’s mum has issued a final update on the family’s GoFundMe page as she said their journey was “far from over." Jay, a 19 year old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing on June 17 while on holiday in Tenerife for a music festival.

His remains were found nearly a month later on July 15 near the village of Masca, close to his last known location, after a massive search for the teenager. A post-mortem found he most likely died on the day he went missing, with Jay suffering from traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height.

During the search for Jay, a fundraiser was set-up by his friend Lucy on June 20 to support the efforts to find him. After his remains were discovered his mum Debbie Duncan encouraged members of the public to continue donating to help with the costs of repatriating Jay’s body and organising his funeral.

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Last week, as total donations rose to £72,821, Debbie sent her thanks as she announced the fundraiser would be closing and revealed where the money has gone. In the update, she said: “We would like to thank all you beautiful people who supported us throughout this heartbreaking time. Jay really did touch the hearts of the nation and it truly showed us how much love you all shared with us.

“With your support we were able to stay in Tenerife until we got our beautiful boy back to the UK. We were able to fund the Signi search team from the Netherlands who supported us throughout the days when Jay was found. Jay truly deserved the send off we were able to give him and we thank you all for that.

“We have been overwhelmed with messages of support from all over the globe and will be eternally grateful to all of you. Our journey of trauma and grief will continue forever and we will never recover. We lost our beautiful boy in extremely tragic circumstances whilst the world watched. We do not and will never understand how Jay's story reached every corner of the globe.

“Our journey is far from over but the burdens eased with your support. We would also like to thank the person who looked after Jay's fundraiser page whom we have been in constant contact with, especially whilst in Tenerife, the support and advice you gave will not be forgotten.

“Donations will be turned off with this final message. Jay's family and friends are trying to come to terms and process this tragic loss and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. This comment from a beautiful donor sticks in our minds so I will share....

“WE OUTNUMBER THE TROLLS SIGNIFICANTLY. WHEN LOVE VERSUS HATRED, LOVE TRIUMPHS… ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE GOD BLESS YOU ALL. Jay's loving family and friends xxx.”