Debbie Duncan has explained in multiple updates to Jay Slater’s GoFundMe fundraiser that she plans to direct donations from the general public to multiple beneficiaries
A GoFundMe campaign set up for missing Jay Slater‘s family has attracted nearly £50,000 worth of donations over the last two weeks, and the teen’s mum has publicly disclosed how she plans to use the generous sum.
Jay, 19, vanished in the Tenerife countryside in mid-June, with the following fortnight of searching by officials and volunteers had so far yielded no results. The missing person’s case has attracted massive attention, with Britons both aiding the search in person and from afar, with a GoFundMe set up by the apprentice bricklayer’s friend Lucy Mae having now raised £48,775.
The dizzying sum blasts past the £30,000 the fundraiser initially hoped to raise, and Jay’s grateful mother, Debbie Duncan, has outlined exactly how she plans to spend the donations. Ms Duncan and the rest of Jay’s family initially funded their stay on Tenerife themselves, having arrived soon after he was reported missing, and they have since used some of the money raised for food and accommodation.
On June 27, she said the family was working with GoFundMe to withdraw “part of the funds”, which would be used to “used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay”. She added that the extended stay in Tenerife has meant the family needs to use the money to “cover accommodation and food expenses”.
Some of the funds, she added, would be used to fly family and friends to the Spanish island so they can “support each other during these dark times”. In a following update issued earlier today, the mum thanked donors and said she would also be using the money to fund people’s independent search efforts on the island.
She said: “We will continue to use part of the funds to support the volunteers working hard in the mountains to find Jay. We are currently looking after Paul Arnett, putting together a package of any equipment and essentials he needs and going up to do a drop for him. We are also supporting Callum Fahim and his group with accommodation and other essentials.
The remainder, she added, would be used to “continue to be used to support the rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay”, and for the family’s incurred expenses. The official Jay Slater search effort concluded last weekend following a larger-scale operation in the Tenerife hills, and the family has vowed to keep looking as Spanish authorities keep the case open.
