Debbie Duncan, the mother of missing British teenager Jay Slater, has spoken out about the harrowing experience of searching for her son in Tenerife. Jay's remains were found in a ravine on July 15, nearly a month after he disappeared on June 17. Ms Duncan, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, has revealed shocking details about the ordeal, including vile trolling and unanswered questions.
Ms Duncan said she cannot understand why Jay left a rave festival in Playa de las Americas on June 16 and travelled to a remote Airbnb with two men near Masca. She also questioned why he left the apartment the following morning without charging his phone. Jay had told a friend his phone had only one percent battery left. The final ping from his device led rescuers to his body.
“So why did he not want to be there? Why did he not want to hang about to charge his phone? One of these guys had said that he'd given him a charger, but why did he not charge his phone?” Ms Duncan said. She expressed a desire to speak with the two men who rented the Airbnb to clarify her son's final moments.
Ms Duncan also said she was haunted by a TikTok video showing Jay at the rave festival the night before he disappeared. The footage showed him staggering through the crowd. “The videos I’ve seen absolutely haunt me, because I’ve never, ever seen him like that before,” she said. She acknowledged that drugs are common at such events but said she does not know if Jay took any.
During her search, Ms Duncan was subjected to horrific trolling, including a faked photo of her son being tortured and a ransom message on Snapchat. The message read: “I’ll give you one warning, your son won’t be coming back. He owes us enough f*****g money. Kiss goodbye to him.” Ms Duncan described the trolls as “sick individuals” and said she has been terrorised by them.
Despite the tragedy, Ms Duncan recalled a happy memory: Jay took her to see the Bob Marley film One Love shortly before he left for Tenerife. She said they had a close relationship.
