JAYA Slater’s family have hit back at the TikTok star who gave up searching for the missing teenager after he said he ‘never had any money’ from GoFundMe.
Callum Fahim, who voluntarily traveled to Tenerife to help the officers, claims he left after being bombarded with death threats and not seeing any cash.
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Search for missing Jay Slater called off after two weeksCredit: PA
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His family will remain in Tenerife to use the funds to continue the search Credit: Ian Whittaker
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Missing posters have been placed around Jay’s last known locationCredit: Ian Whittaker
He flew in after contacting the 19-year-old’s mother, Debbie Duncan, online, Sky News reported.
But now the social media personality is planning to return to the UK on Thursday.
However, the Slater family have now said that Debbie gave Callum £740 of her own money towards his accommodation.
A devastated parent claims the TikToker became “bitter” after they refused to give him more money.
They said: “We appreciate every single person who came out.
“He’s a mountaineer. We don’t need mountaineers, we need experts.”
A GoFundMe donation page set up by Jay’s friend Lucy has so far raised more than £48,000 to continue the search for Jay’s family.
The family accused Callum of coming “on his own accord” for a “free holiday” and wanting paid accommodation.
“It’s about Jay and he’s still missing and people are crying about money. It has nothing to do with money,” they said.
“We’re not sitting here doing nothing. We’re doing everything we can to find Jay. We can’t go down and up the hills alone,” they said.
British tourist Jay Slater stayed with on Airbnb says he ‘walked away alive’
“We wouldn’t want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt.”
In a statement on the GoFundMe page, Debbie previously shared an update on how the funds will be used.
She said: “Your generosity has been overwhelming and we are so grateful for all your support and kindness at this unimaginable time for our family.
“We will continue to use some of the funding to support the volunteers who are working hard in the mountains to find Jay.
“Right now we’re taking care of Paul Arnett, putting together a package of whatever equipment and essentials he needs and going to him.
“We are also supporting Callum Fahim and his group with accommodation and other essentials.
“We will continue to use the remaining funds to support the rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay as well as our own expenses while we remain in Tenerife searching for our boy.”
But TikToker Callum told Sky News he had not received any of the money.
He said, “I didn’t get anything from the GoFundMe.
“We have not been paid even the most necessary things.
“I never received any money from them, nor did they offer me to go and collect anything.
“If they offered it, I’d personally say maybe treat ourselves a little at the end of the week, but don’t worry about it.”
Meanwhile, in a message posted on Facebook, the search volunteer wrote: “I can confirm that none of my “essentials” and none of my group’s “essentials” have been paid for.
“However, she contributed to the hotel and flight.”
Callum is one of the many TikTokers who flew out to help in the search.
“It’s getting very out of control. The situation here is very dangerous right now,” he added.
“I received death threats.
“I had a long conversation with her [Ms Duncan] and decided to retire.”
Five questions still unanswered about Jay Slater’s disappearance
Written by James Halpin
Rolex missing after ‘fight’
Police launched a new investigation Saturday morning into the theft of a Rolex watch just hours before Jay went missing.
It’s unclear how Jay’s disappearance might be connected, but one of Jay’s friends told detectives that the alleged theft may have led to Jay wandering off on his own to try to find the watch.
The Rolex went missing when a fight broke out at the club where Jay was partying, and investigators questioned taxi drivers and bar staff who were on the strip.
Police clear duo
Two mystery Brits who were partying with Jay Slater on the night he disappeared have been branded “irrelevant” by investigators.
Detective Mark Williams-Thomas said the men had stayed with Jay at an Airbnb in Tenerife before he disappeared.
Both are said to be in their late 30s or early 40s and from Luton, Bedfordshire, with one nicknamed “Johnny Vegas”.
The men were only asked to speak to officers briefly before being allowed to fly home to the UK.
Only six volunteers for the ‘massive’ search
Yesterday, Tenerife police launched what they called a “massive” new search with the help of specialist volunteers to find the 19-year-old Briton.
However, only six volunteers reportedly showed up, according to Tiktoker Paul Arnott (29), who flew in to help in the search.
Jay’s father Warren and older brother Zak were seen at the scene of the search.
The area being searched is a 2,000-foot gorge that has a steep footpath that descends to the sea.
Mysterious last phone calls
Jay’s last phone call to his friend Lucy Law was shrouded in mystery and opened up several questions.
The 18-year-old told reporters Jay called her in a panic at around 8.30am on Monday 17 June.
She recalled him saying he couldn’t catch the bus and would walk back to his apartment.
Jay told her that his phone was almost out of power, that he had cut his leg on a prickly cactus, and that he really needed a drink.
Ping phone
Search teams narrowed their efforts to a small group of buildings near where Jay’s phone last pinged, but found nothing last week.
Jay went on a 45-minute car journey with two men to an Airbnb near Masco in Rural de Teno, a national park in the north of the island.
He posted a Snapchat picture of the £40-a-night dig around 7.30am, in which he appeared to be holding a cigarette and walking down stone steps.
After deciding to leave the cabin, Jay called Lucy before his cell phone went dead at 8:50 a.m. near the park’s hiking trail.
Another volunteer search member, Milly, said: “My group and I live here, we don’t need accommodation.
“We didn’t get a bottle of water. We didn’t have anything and we wouldn’t take it. We didn’t even have a thank you card.”
It comes after Debbie previously hit back over GoFundMe rumors.
In the message, posted by her friend, she wrote: “For those of you who are more concerned about the Gofundme page, I can assure you that it has not been used so far and that we have self-funded our stay so far.
“I have evidence of transactions and transfers to other persons, but I should not justify it.
“So you can decide for yourself. If any of you in this group have donated, I’m grateful.”
It comes after Jay’s heartbroken family vowed to stay in Tenerife after police called off their search.
The teenager’s devastated mother said “Words cannot describe the pain and agony” after she was blindsided by the news.
In a heartbreaking statement, Debbie said “we just want to find him”.
The search ended after 14 days of searching for the 19-year-old.
The young British woman went missing after a night out at the NRG festival at the Papagayo nightclub in Playa de las Americas on June 17.
Spanish authorities say there is “no current evidence of criminality” in the case, and his family say they will not give up hope of finding him.
Meanwhile, a private investigator discovers that Jay “stole a Rolex” before he disappeared.
And, the first picture of the man who rented the Airbnb he spent his last night in has been revealed.
Jay was last seen traveling with two mysterious men in the north of the island in the Rural de Teno Park.
The morning after, he made one last frantic phone call to his friend Lucy to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere”.
A panicked Jay, faced with an 11-hour walk back to their hotel, told her he needed water and only had one percent of battery left on his phone.
His other friend Brad Hargreaves discovered a second call in which Jay told him he had veered off the main trail – leading to speculation he may have slipped down the rocks.
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Message written by Callum after giving up the quest Credit: TikTok
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Emergency workers searched for Jay near the village of Masca, TenerifeCredit: PA
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Two plainclothes officers searched the Airbnb Jay was last staying at on TuesdayCredit: Doug Seeburg
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education