‘Donations will be turned off with this final message’
Jay Slater’s family have closed down the GoFundMe set up following his disappearance, issuing a heartbreaking final message on the fundraiser.
Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, had gone missing on the island June 17, when he disappeared after attending the NRG music festival at Playa da las Americas.
His disappearance sparked a huge month-long search effort, and his body was found on the morning of July 15 in the area where he had gone missing.
A post-mortem examination found he died of traumatic head injuries, consistent with a fall from height. It concluded that his death would have been instantaneous.
Shortly after Slater’s appearance made headlines, a GoFundMe was set to help raise money for the search efforts and to help his family stay in Tenerife during the search.
After his body was found, it was announced the money raised would go towards his funeral.
Now, Slater’s family have decided to close down the fundraiser, and have posted one final update on the page.
In a message on November 21, his mum Debbie Duncan wrote: “We would like to thank all you beautiful people who supported us throughout this heartbreaking time. Jay really did touch the hearts of the nation and it truly showed us how much love you all shared with us.
“With your support we were able to stay in Tenerife until we got our beautiful boy back to the UK.”
Duncan explained that the money raised had helped the family fund the Signi search team from the Netherlands who supported the family throughout the days when Jay was found.” She then said the money had meant they were able to give her son the ‘send off he truly deserved.’
She continued: “We have been overwhelmed with messages of support from all over the globe and will be eternally grateful to all of you. Our journey of trauma and grief will continue for ever and we will never recover. We lost our beautiful boy in extremely tragic circumstances whilst the world watched. We do not and will never understand how Jay’s story reached every corner of the globe.
“Our journey is far from over but the burdens eased with your support. We would also like to thank the person who looked after Jay’s fundraiser page whom we have been in constant contact with, especially whilst in Tenerife, the support and advice you gave will not be forgotten. Donations will be turned off with this final message. Jay’s family and friends are trying to come to terms and process this tragic loss and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
At the time of the page’s closure, it had raised £72,821 from almost 6,000 donations.
