Jay Slater’s mother has tonight spoken of her “pain and agony” at the disappearance of her son in Tenerife and pleaded that “we just want to find him”.
Debbie Duncan, 55, issued an emotional plea tonight saying “our beautiful boy” had “his whole life ahead of him”.
The doting mother has been on the Spanish island since June 18, having flown there a day after the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, went missing.
Today, she and Jay’s father, Warren Slater, 58, spent more than two hours speaking to police at Guardia Civil headquarters in Playa de las Americas, 16 days after he was last seen on a mountain road an hour away in the isolated village of Masca.
In a statement released by British charity for missing people abroad LBT Global, Debbie tonight gave an insight into what her son is like as a person, calling him a “normal guy” who is a “very popular man with a large circle of friends”.
“We are a very close family and we are absolutely devastated by her disappearance,” she said.
Jay Slater’s mother Debbie tonight spoke of her “pain and agony” at her son’s disappearance in Tenerife and pleaded: “We just want to find him.”
Debbie pictured with Jay’s father Warren Slater leaving the Guardia Civil in Playa de las Americas
“There are no words to describe the pain and agony we are feeling. He is our beautiful boy, with his whole life ahead of him, and all we want is to find him.”
She went on to thank the Spanish police for their “tireless” efforts to find her missing son after they searched the area for 12 days.
And she took the opportunity to slam “vile” conspiracy theories that have circulated on social media and the internet about Jay’s disappearance, describing their impact on the family as “distressing”.
“We have no information about his whereabouts,” he added.
‘The Civil Guard has worked tirelessly in the mountains where Jay’s last phone call was traced.
‘They carried out a 12-day search for land using all the resources they had available.
Although the search for the area has ended, Spanish police are still investigating to determine why Jay had travelled to a place so far from his accommodation.
‘We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow the lines of investigation.
‘We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites and we can only describe this as vile, the negative comments are extremely distressing to our family.
‘We are also grateful for the love and support we have received from all over the world. It has not gone unnoticed, especially from his home town of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
In a new development, two plainclothes officers were sent to the property at 11am today. One officer (wearing sunglasses, left) is speaking to MailOnline’s Nick Pisa and the other (in green clothing, right) is pictured with a local officer.
Spanish police have again searched the Airbnb (pictured) where Jay Slater stayed just before he disappeared in Tenerife more than two weeks ago
In its Airbnb listing, Casa Abuela Tina describes itself as a country house within the “unique natural landscape” that surrounds it.
Jay Slater posted this Snapchat of himself standing on the steps of his Airbnb villa.
Television detective Mark Williams-Thomas has said fake ransom demands have been made.
‘As a family we would like the world to respect our privacy at this time.’
Jay’s parents urged the public to “move on” after leaving a briefing with Spanish officials today.
It was the first time the couple had been seen together since arriving in Tenerife to join the search for their son – Warren and Jay’s brother Zak have visited Masca several times but Debbie has so far refused.
As they walked out of the building into the afternoon sun, school finance officer Debbie said: “It’s a mystery and he’s still missing – we’ve got to let these lads move on.”
“We don’t know anything about the investigation. We leave it to the police.”
This comes after two plainclothes officers returned to search the Airbnb where Jay stayed just before he disappeared.
She returned to the isolated cabin in the village of Masca with two British men in the early hours of Monday after a rave in Playa de las Americas on June 17.
Jay left the two-bedroom property called Casa Abuela Tina, which cost £40 a night, at 7.30am and posted two photos on Snapchat.
On Sunday, police dramatically called off their search for the British tourist. But now, in a new development, two plainclothes officers were sent to the property at 11am today.
One of the officers, leaving the property, told MailOnline: “I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about the investigation or the search we’ve carried out inside. If you want any more details, speak to the police, I’m not allowed to speak to you. My colleague and I are from the judicial police and we do our own work.”
A neighbour who saw the two officers arrive said: “They arrived at around 9am and spent almost two hours inside. The owner gave them the key. I thought they had already registered it but I’m not sure. They’ve taken it off the market and it can’t be reserved, that’s all I know.”
The fact that the property was searched again more than two weeks after Jay was there will raise questions about how the Spanish are handling the investigation.
Meanwhile, TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas revealed that Jay’s distraught family are being targeted with fake “ransom demands”.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who travelled to Tenerife last week to help with the search, wrote on X: “There has been a lot of fake content created in the Jay Slater case – fake chats, messages and photographs. We live in a very different world today, with social media and online detectives.
“The response from people has been very positive, people who just want to help, although most of them don’t have direct information, only what they have read, seen or thought. There are also many people who make vile threats and ransom demands (all proven and without credibility).”
This was the last official search for Jay Slater on Saturday before Spanish police ended the hunt.
Spanish police have called off the search for a missing 19-year-old bricklayer’s apprentice, 14 days after Jay disappeared
The teenager’s disappearance has caused some young British tourists to feel unsafe and be more cautious in Tenerife. These two Britons said their group had shared their locations with each other
In the early stages of the search, Debbie said she thought Jay had been “abducted against his will”, while the last person she spoke to, Lucy Mae Law, also expressed fears of abduction.
Mr Williams-Thomas, who also exposed Jimmy Savile’s evil crimes and worked on the Madeline McCann case, has said he has “been able to speak to important witnesses” and has a “very detailed picture of Jay’s movements” in the run-up to her disappearance.
Jay was last seen around 8 a.m. on June 17 by the owner of an Airbnb where she had returned with two men after a rave.
Jay had asked the owner when the next bus to Los Cristianos was leaving and when she told him it was 10am, he decided to walk back to his accommodation for what would have been an 11-hour walk. Search efforts have focused on a group of small buildings near the spot where his phone last rang in the Masca mountains.
The teenager’s disappearance has made some young British tourists feel unsafe and more cautious in Tenerife.
“I was a little bit more scared coming here and we definitely made sure we had everyone’s location before we came, which we wouldn’t have done before all this happened,” one told Sky News.
Another said: “I think it’s not less safe, but more cautious, more aware. We all have our destinations booked… when we booked this holiday we probably wouldn’t have even considered safety measures.”