Missing Jay Slater’s mum shares 12-word message she regrets saying

Kelly-Ann Mills & Monde Mwitumwa

20 June 2024 at 1:05 pm·2-min read

The mum of missing teen Jay Slater has shared her "greatest regret" after her 19-year-old vanished.

Jay Slater has been missing since he left a music festival while on holiday in Tenerife. His friend Lucy Nar raised concerns after he didn’t return to his accommodation.

Lucy revealed that at the time she received a call from Jay saying the battery on his phone was about to die and he didn't know where he was. Jay’s phone then cut off, with his last location showing as the Rural de Teno park – a mountainous area popular with hikers

His mum Debbie Duncan has since flown out to the Canary Island to help find her son. In a new interview, she admitted that she regrets backing his plan to go abroad and wishes he never left the UK. Ms Duncan said she 'just wants her baby back' and admits she should have discouraged him rather than telling him what a great time, the Mirror reports.

She said: "I was loving that he was going, and saying 'you'll love it, you'll come back and you'll want to go again'. Now I just wish I hadn't encouraged him to go. There was a main road, there's bus stops there, there's cafes, it's a hiking route, there's people about - people must have seen him. And if people haven't seen him, someone must have taken him.

"It's over 48 hours now since he last had any contact with anybody. He's out there somewhere or somebody knows where he is. We just need to find my baby." Earlier today, a local reporter in Tenerife explained why today is a key day in the search for the young man.

Clio O'Flynn told Sky News: "Thursday is a key day, the day they [the rescuers] want to have good news and say they've found Jay". She added: "The problem will be 'does he have a phone signal? Will people be able to locate him? Can he hear their cries?'"

She said that authorities at the tourist hotspot, which is popular with Brits, are "very, very keen to find this young man, for his sake and the sake of the island". The reporter speculated about how Jay would be coping alone and added: "There are "no lakes, rivers or streams, so it would be quite hard for him to access fresh water."

Jay's mum Debbie Duncan is devastated — Debbie Duncan -Credit:ITV News

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