Jay Slater's mum's heartbreaking admission as family misses press conference

Concerns continue to grow for missing Jay Slater who vanished while on holiday in Tenerife. The 19-year-old has been missing for more than a week while away with friends.

His mum Debbie Duncan today (Thursday, June 27) said her son's disappearance had been 'difficult to wrap our heads around'. But in an update on a GoFundMe page - which has since topped £36,000 - she said she was not 'losing hope'.

The 55-year-old mum headed to the Spanish island with other relatives when she discovered her son had been reported missing. Spanish police have been focussing search efforts on an area where Jay's phone last 'pinged'.

READ MORE: The simple hack when your car struggles to start - and it's cheap too

Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here.

He had travelled to the north of the island and stayed there at an Airbnb with two men he met at a music festival. During a press conference held yesterday (Wednesday, June 27), detective Mark Williams-Thomas urged the two men to 'come forward with crucial information'.

Mr Williams-Thomas is a private investigator who assisted in the Nicola Bulley case, Mirror reports. Jay's family did not take part in the conference.

Mr Williams-Thomas said: "The family are very grateful for you to be here. They appreciate the press are a really important aspect of the story but they are reluctant to speak because they really want to work with Spanish police and Spanish authorities and they have not sanctioned this.

"We have to respect that. Since I have been here and worked with the family, I have spent yesterday with them and the night before and they are a very, very united family and they are very supportive and their one mission of course is to find out what happened to Jay.

"They still live with the hope that Jay will return and he is, not safe, but still alive." Here we look at Debbie's heartbreaking admissions as she waits answers over her son's disappearance.

In an interview with the Mail Online, school finance advisor Debbie told how she had reached her 'wit's end'. Debbie, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, said: "It's been a week now and it's been awful.

"I've barely slept and I'm at my wits' end. The Spanish police are doing a good job and we are getting updated from the consulate so we just put our faith in them."

She continued: "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." Sources told MailOnline that the distraught mum has been so tormented by recent events that she is 'on the verge of a breakdown'.

She issued a warning to those who criticised the fundraiser set up to 'Get Jay Slater Home'. She told internet trolls: "This may happen to you".

Taking to Facebook, Debbie admitted she felt 'let down' by some of the reactions she'd seen online, writing: "I really am saddened by all your comments. You seem to be so bothered about this GoFundMe page.

"I really hope I am not taking my son home in a body bag."

Debbie has had to contend with a number of wild rumours during the search for her son.