GoFundMe page for missing Jay Slater exceeds £30,000 target just three days after creation

A fundraising page set up to raise money for the family of missing teenager Jay Slater has reached its goal just three days after it was set up.

The GoFundMe page was set up by Lucy Mae, a friend of Jay's who was the last person he was in contact with before he disappeared in Tenerife last Monday.

The apprentice bricklayer disappeared on Monday after heading to an energetic three-day music festival in Tenerife, sparking a week-long investigation by Spanish police.

Since its inception, more than 2,900 people have donated to the fundraiser and sent well wishes to his family, with the page reaching its £30,000 target as of 3pm today.

In a statement posted to the site, Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, thanked everyone who had donated for their “generosity and kindness during this difficult time.”

She added: “I just wanted to confirm that this is the only GoFundMe fundraiser approved by our family.

“We have not yet withdrawn any funds and are currently covering expenses ourselves, such as travel to Tenerife and accommodation.

“Funds will remain on hold at GoFundMe until we post a new update on this page.

“We are extremely concerned and are doing everything we can to find Jay.

Click here to resize this module

“Please continue to share our fundraiser everywhere. Your support matters to us and we are grateful for any help you can give us.

'Thanks again.'

Debbie and other members of Jay's family, including his father and brother, traveled to the Spanish island to help find him.

The last person he was in contact with was Lucy, after calling her 18-year-old friend around 8am on Monday from a remote pass in Masca.

The Lancashire teenager told him he was “lost in the mountains, with no water” and with one percent battery on his mobile phone, with the phone's last signal being near the Masca Gorge beauty spot.

The walk from Jay's last known location to his accommodation would have taken approximately 11 hours on foot.

Lucy, who attended the NRG music festival with Jay, said he was unaware of his surroundings and desperately needed a drink but had no water.

Police are currently searching for Jay in the Teno nature reserve, nicknamed “malpais” by locals – a word that translates into English as “badland”.

Lucy said she didn't think the Spanish police, also known as the Guardia Civil, were doing a good job.

Click here to resize this module

In a statement released on Friday evening, Lancashire Police said it had “made an offer of support to the Guardia Civil”, but this was refused after local cops said they were “satisfied to have the resources they need.

Lucy lashed out: “We have to do this ourselves because the Spanish police are not doing a good enough job.

“They don’t even speak English. The process has been very slow here, so we need the British police to come and help.

She said she wanted to “bring him home to his family”, adding: “That's all we want, all we need.”

Asked how she felt about the British cops' offer of help being turned down, Jay's mum Debbie Duncan told MailOnline: 'I had a day of screaming and screaming during my meeting with the police.

“I know the Spanish police have good intentions, but the problem we have is the language barrier, they just don't seem to tell us. I'm sure they are doing their best.

“They told me they had used dogs and drones and then they said Lancashire Police had offered their resources but they declined, but I think it would have really helped.”

Click here to resize this module

“I would feel happier if our people helped us too much. It's so difficult not knowing where he is, the area and terrain is rugged, but the police were saying that now there are too many people up there and it might interfere with their investigation.

Meanwhile, Jay's distraught father Warren, 58, fought back tears saying he just wanted “my boy back” as he and Jay's brother Zak, 24, toured the venue where his phone had rung for the last time and hugged each other in emotional scenes.

Choking back tears, Warren, wearing a bucket hat, sunglasses and a black T-shirt, said: “That’s my son. I just want him back.

The visit came as explosive new video emerged of missing Jay dancing shirtless in a Tenerife nightclub just hours before his disappearance.

Warren and Zak were joined by other family and friends at the location which has been the center of police attention all week.

The couple traveled to a remote gorge above the village of Masca, 30 km from the resort town of Playa de les Americas, at an altitude of 3,000 feet, where Jay's cell phone rang for the last time Monday morning.

They watched as mountain rescue teams and civil protection units, equipped with powerful binoculars, scanned the cactus-studded ravine for clues.

Jay's friends from Britain were also in the group and they spent several hours at the scene while search teams explained what they were doing.

Click here to resize this module

Warren and Zak also visited the Air BnB where Jay had gone after the festival with two Brits and from where he had sent two Snapchat messages to his friend Lucy.

In Jay's new music video that has emerged, he is seen dancing shirtless at Papagayo nightclub which is located at the end of the famous Veronica's Strip area of ​​Playa de las Americas.

The after-party is known to have ended at 5am and an hour later Jay was with two mysterious British men in their £40-a-night AirBnB, 30km away in Masca.

It was here that a woman made the last confirmed sighting of Jay around 8:15 a.m., saying he was walking at a walking pace up the hill and away from Playa de las Americas.

Jay's mother Debbie, 55, who flew to Tenerife from her home in Oswaldtwistle, told MailOnline there was a sighting of someone looking like her son at around 6pm on the day he disappeared near the church of Santiago de Teide which is back towards Playa de las Americas.

She said the man told police he was “with two men sitting on a bench near the church, looking a little worse for wear”, but so far he has not been confirmed it was Jay.