The desperate mother of missing teenager Jay Slater has issued an emotional plea through the MailOnline, urging anyone who may be holding her son to release him. Debbie Duncan, overcome with worry, has not heard from Jay since he left a music festival in Tenerife on Sunday night and accompanied two British men to their remote Airbnb apartment almost an hour away.
An intensive search operation, which includes a helicopter, mountain rescue dogs, and drones, has so far yielded no results. Jay has been missing for three days, and there are growing concerns that he may have been abducted. However, the police in Tenerife are treating him as a missing person and have not officially labelled the case as a kidnapping.
Jay, an apprentice bricklayer, last communicated at 8:50am on Monday when he messaged his friend Lucy Mae Law to say he was 30km away at an apartment in Masca, west Tenerife, and trying to make his way back.
Debbie, who works as a school finance officer, pleaded through MailOnline: "If anyone does have him, just let him go, he's not a bad person, maybe he's got in with some strangers who've befriended him. I'm not stupid, I've been to Tenerife before, I've worked abroad myself and I gave him warnings. I just think if anyone has got him, let him go, he's not a bad person."
Through her tears, Debbie continued, "If he's got himself mixed up with any trouble, just let him go. It's been three days, he's in the same clothes. If he's been dumped in the mountains, it's hot in the day and cold at night. Jay is a brilliant person, everybody loves being in his company. He's bubbly and fun, he's such a lovely, beautiful boy. I just want my little baby home with me.”
“He was supposed to fly home from Tenerife today. I had the taxi booked and everything, and now who knows where he is. I just don't know what to think, I'm all over the place, and I'm trying to keep positive. Has somebody taken him? Is he panicked and lost in the mountains? I just don't know, that's why if anyone has any information, please just tell us."
Debbie flew out to Tenerife but has remained in her apartment in Los Cristianos, in the south of the island, relying on family and friends who have joined the search to support her. "I can't bear to go up there, I don't have the strength to do it. He could just be lying somewhere up there, and I don't want to be the one to find him."
She has received numerous messages, some claiming to know Jay's whereabouts and others demanding money. She has handed these over to the police but has not received any ransom demands. "I've had loads of weird messages from people saying they know where he is. I've not had ransom demands, but I've had messages saying 'Your lad owes me money,' and I've given them to the police."
As the search for Jay continues, Debbie must now return to clear out the apartment he was staying in, as he was scheduled to check out and fly home. "The police have been in, but there's nothing to see. I've got his passport, and I just want him with me now."
It has now been more than 72 hours since Jay was last heard from. He had travelled to Tenerife with friends to attend the NRG music festival. The family and authorities urge anyone with information to come forward.
