- Family rebuffs TikTok star’s search quit
- Callum Fahim claims no GoFundMe funds
- Family insists on expert search teams
A GoFundMe campaign to help fund the hunt for Jay Slater has garnered nearly £50,000, but a TikTok user who flew to Tenerife to assist with the search claims he “never” received a penny.
Jay Slater’s family has responded to a TikTok user who stopped the search for the missing boy, saying, “We don’t need hikers, we need experts.”
Callum Fahim, who flew to Tenerife after contacting the 19-year-old’s mother online, stated that he had withdrawn after two weeks of looking and receiving death threats.
He stated that he and his group have not received any of the funds contributed to assist in the search for Mr Slater and that he plans to return to the UK on Thursday.
Mr Slater’s family said his mother, Debbie Duncan, paid Mr Fahim £740 of her own money for housing, but he became “bitter” when they refused to give him additional money.
They stated that they intended to save the funds to pay for expert search and rescue teams, which would cost thousands of pounds, but they needed authorization from the authorities.
They stated that we appreciate everyone who has come out.
“He is a hiker. We don’t need hikers; we need specialists.
Mr Slater was last heard from on June 17 after an 11-hour walk back to his hotel.
Police called off the land hunt after 12 days on June 30, but Ms Duncan and her family plan to stay on the Spanish island to continue the quest.
Ms Duncan praised Spanish officials and supporters in a statement on a GoFundMe website to assist pay her son’s search, which has garnered nearly £50,000.
She stated that some of the funds will be used to assist volunteers looking for Mr Slater in the mountain, but Mr Fahim claims he has yet to receive any of the payments.
Referring to Mr Fahim and another TikTok member who flew to Tenerife to assist, Ms Duncan wrote: “We are now looking after Paul Arnett (sic), putting up a box of any equipment and essentials he requires, and going up to conduct a drop for him.
We also provide Callum Fahim and his crew shelter and other necessities.
Ms Duncan stated that the remaining funds would be used to support rescue teams and her family’s “own expenses while we remain in Tenerife looking for our boy.
In his twenties, Mr Fahim insisted: “I have not received anything from the GoFundMe.
We have yet to have any essentials paid for.
I’ve never received any money from them, nor have they even offered to pick something up.
If they had offered it, I would have replied with a small treat at the end of the week, but don’t worry about it.
However, Mr Slater’s family questioned his narrative, claiming that he had initially agreed to have his name included in the statement, which appears to have been changed and no longer references Mr Fahim.
They claimed Mr Fahim “came over of his own volition” and “wanted help with accommodation,” accusing him of seeking a “free holiday.”
“This is about Jay, who is still missing, and we have people crying over money. “It has nothing to do with money,” Mr Slater’s family explained.
We’re not sitting here doing nothing. We are trying everything possible to find Jay. They told us we couldn’t go downhill climbing alone.
We don’t want to be held liable for anyone’s self-harm.
Mr Fahim, who has been in communication with Ms Duncan via online messages, stated that he and a search party, including a local hiking group, had retraced all of the possible routes Mr Slater could have taken.
One of the group members, Milly, who lives on the island and is familiar with the location, stated, “My group and I live here; we don’t need to stay anywhere.
“We have not received a bottle of water. We haven’t had anything, and we won’t take it. “We haven’t even received a thank you.”
Like Mr Arnott, Mr Fahim is one of several TikTok users who have joined the search. He claims he paid to fly to Tenerife himself.
It’s getting out of control. He described the current scenario as extremely dangerous. “I have received death threats.
I had a long chat with her [Ms Duncan] and decided to withdraw.
In a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon, Ms Duncan responded to speculation about the GoFundMe.
The note, sent by her pal, read: “For those of you who are more concerned about the GoFundMe website, I can assure you that it has yet to be used, and our stay has been funded entirely by us.
“I have proof of transactions and transfers to others, but I shouldn’t have to justify them.
“So you can make up your own mind. If any of you in this group have donated, I am grateful.”
The hunt in the northern village of Masca, near Mr Slater’s last known location, included a steep rocky region, ravines, and pathways.
Helicopters, drones, and search dogs were unsuccessful in locating the apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
Ms Duncan stated that while the police land search, which “involved every resource they had available,” concluded, officers would continue to investigate why Jay had travelled to the area so far from his accommodation.
Jay Slater’s last known whereabouts.
Mr Slater flew to Tenerife with pals on June 13 to attend a music event at Papagayo nightclub in the southern resort of Playa de las Americas on June 16.
He left the gathering, got in a car early the next morning, and drove to a small Airbnb in Masca with two males who police claimed were “not relevant” to the case.
On June 17, at 8.30 a.m., he called his friend Lucy Law, informing her that he had missed his bus and attempted to return to his lodgings.
According to Miss Law, he claimed to have “cut his leg” on a cactus, had “no idea where he was,” was “lost in the mountains,” and his phone battery was “1%.” Shortly later, his battery died, and he was reported missing at 9:04 a.m.
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His last known location was Rural de Teno Park, near Masca.
A nearby cafe owner stated that Mr Slater attempted to board a bus back to Los Cristianos, where he was staying.
Ofelia Medina Hernandez said she spoke with the adolescent around 8 a.m. on the day of his disappearance, telling him a bus was coming at 10 a.m., but he went walking.
She claimed she drove past him “walking fast” later.
Last Friday, the Civil Guard asked volunteers to join a new search in the Masca area on Saturday.
A few volunteers showed up to assist rescue crews, forming a group of 30 to 40 people who scoured a vast area of difficult and rocky terrain.
Mr. Slater’s family has said that they will organize volunteer groups with terrain experience and knowledge of the area and provide food and water.
