Missing Jay Slater’s mother Debbie tells of ‘pain and anguish’ over his disappearance in Tenerife and pleads: ‘We just want to find him’

Jay Slaters’ mother has tonight spoken of her ‘pain and anguish’ over her son’s disappearance in Tenerife, pleading for him to ‘just be found’.

Debbie Duncan, 55, made an emotional appeal 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, disappeared.

Today, she and Jay’s father Warren Slater, 58, spoke to officers at the Guardia Civil headquarters in Playa des las Americas for more than two hours, 16 days after he was last seen on a mountain road an hour away in the remote village of Masca.

In a statement released this evening by the British missing persons charity LBT Global, Debbie gave an insight into her son’s character, calling him a “normal boy” who is “very popular and has a large circle of friends”.

“We are a very close family and are deeply saddened by his disappearance,” she said.

“Words cannot describe the pain and anguish we are experiencing. He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him.”

She thanked Spanish police for their “tireless” efforts to find her missing son after scouring the area for 12 days.

She took the opportunity to criticise the ‘despicable’ conspiracy theories circulating on social media and the internet about Jay’s disappearance, describing the impact on the family as ‘disturbing’.

“We have no information about his whereabouts,” she added.

‘The Guardia Civil worked tirelessly in the mountains, where Jay’s last call was traced.

‘They searched the country for 12 days, using all available resources.

Although the search has ended, Spanish police are still investigating why Jay traveled so far from his residence to this location.

‘We express our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow the investigation.

‘We are aware of the conspiracy theories and speculation on social media and some websites and can only describe this as disgusting. The negative comments are extremely painful for our family.

‘We also embrace the love and support we have received from around the world. It has not gone unnoticed, especially in his home town of Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.

“As a family, we want the world to respect our privacy during this time.”

Jay’s parents urged the public to ‘carry on’ after leaving a briefing with Spanish officers today.

It was the first time the couple had been seen together since arriving in Tenerife to join the hunt for their son. Warren and Jay’s brother Zak have visited Masca several times, but Debbie has so far refused.

As she left the building in the midday sun, Debbie, the school’s finance director, said: “It’s a mystery and he’s still missing. We just have to let these boys get on with it.”

‘We know nothing about the investigation, we leave that to the police.’

This happens as two plainclothes officers return to search the Airbnb apartment where Jay was staying just before he disappeared.

He returned to the remote cottage in the village of Masca early on Monday morning with two British men, after a rave in Playa de las Americas on June 17.

Jay left the £40-a-night two-bedroom house, Casa Abuela Tina, at 7.30am and posted two pictures of it on Snapchat.

Police dramatically called off their search for the British holidaymaker on Sunday. But now, in a new development, two plainclothes officers were sent to the property at 11am today.

As one of the officers left the premises today, he told MailOnline: ‘I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything about the investigation or our search inside. If you want details, please contact headquarters, I’m not allowed to talk to you. My colleague and I are from the criminal investigation department and we’re doing our own work.’

A local who saw the two officers arrive said: ‘They arrived here around 9am and stayed inside for almost two hours. They got the key from the owner. I thought it had already been searched but I’m not sure. It’s been taken off the market and is no longer bookable, that’s all I know.’

The fact that the property was searched again more than two weeks after Jay’s arrival raises questions about the way the Spanish are handling the investigation.

Meanwhile, TV detective Mark Williams-Thomas revealed that Jay’s distraught family have been targeted with false ‘ransom demands’.

Mr Williams-Thomas, who flew to Tenerife last week to help with the search, wrote on X: ‘So much fake content has been created in the Jay Slater case – fake chat, messages, photos. It’s a very different world we live in today with social media and online detectives.

‘Overwhelming response from people is very positive, people just want to help, even though most of them have no direct info, only what they have read, seen or thought. Also some people making mean threats and ransom demands (all controlled and without credibility).’

In the early stages of the search, Debbie believed Jay had been “taken against his will,” while the last person he spoke to – Lucy Mae Law – also feared abduction.

Mr Williams-Thomas, who also exposed Jimmy Savile’s crimes and worked on the Madeline McCann case, said he had been “able to speak to key witnesses” and had a “very detailed picture of Jay’s movements” in the run-up to his disappearance.

Jay was last seen on June 17 around 8 a.m. by the owner of an Airbnb where he had gone with two men after a rave.

Jay had asked the owner when the next bus to Los Cristianos would be and when she said 10am he decided to walk back to his accommodation for what would have been an 11 hour walk. The search was focused on a group of small buildings close to where his phone last pinged in the Masca Mountains.

The teenager’s disappearance has left some young British holidaymakers feeling less safe and more cautious in Tenerife.

“I was a bit scared coming here, but we definitely made sure we knew where we were beforehand. We didn’t do that before all this happened,” one person told Sky News.

Another said: ‘I don’t think less safe, but maybe more cautious, more aware. We all have our locations on… when we booked this holiday we probably didn’t even think about the safety measures.’