£16k raised for Jay Slater's family as friends launch official GoFundMe for missing Tenerife teenager
More than £16,000 has been raised in just six hours for the family of missing Tenerife teenager Jay Slater.
The GoFundMe is the first to be endorsed by Jay’s mum Debbie and was organised by his friend Lucy Law - the last person to hear from the 19-year-old before he vanished on Monday morning.
The campaign went live around 5am and has already raised over £16,000 with more than 1,500 people donating to the crowdfunder.
Appealing for donations to help with the ongoing search, Lucy said: “Hi everyone my name is Lucy. I have come on holiday to Tenerife to attend the NRG festival with my friend Jay & another friend.
“On the last day of the festival, I left alone, earlier than everyone else, because I was tired from the weekend. I woke up to a phone call off Jay at 8:30 AM saying “he was lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink & his phone was on 1%.
“He had met 2 people on Sunday night and left with them to go to their apartment. Their apartment was miles away from civilisation and in a very secluded location.
“He left at 8am, and walked half an hour before frantically ringing me when his phone reached 1%. This was 3 days ago now, and no one has seen or heard from him since.
“His last location was on an off road track, which was a 10 hour walk from his hotel. The weather conditions up there are terrible for someone in shorts & a t-shirt, both in the day & at night.
“He has no water for when it’s warm through out the day, and he has no coat/suitable clothing for when it’s cold at night. It was 1 degree and extremely windy when I was out looking in the middle of the night.
“We are all so worried and we just want him home. Please help if you can and share far and wide. Thank you for reading ❤️”
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”