Jay Slater’s family have said they are using money raised by a GoFundMe to hire a specialist search team for the missing teen.
More than £50,000 has been raised by well-wishers to assist in the search for the missing 19-year-old, who disappeared on June 16 while on holiday in Tenerife with friends Lucy Mae Law and Brad Hargreaves.
The apprentice bricklayer was last seen leaving an Airbnb in Masca, in the north of the island, reportedly to embark on an 11-hour trek back to the accommodation he had booked with his friends.
In an update on the fundraiser, heartbroken mum Debbie Duncan said relatives remained in Tenerife to search for him after Spanish police called off a land search.
She said: “We are still here in Tenerife searching daily with the help of volunteers and local hiking groups.
“As you all know the Guardia Civil gave up the land search after 12 days.
“We have been actively working with search and rescue teams and we can now confirm that we have a team of experts flying in over the weekend from the Netherlands, who will carry on the search with their specialist dogs.
“We are only able to fund this with the generosity of all those who donated. The team are the Signi Zoekhondon and this has taken lots of planning to get them over so thank you so much for your kindness.”
She added: “Jay is just a normal hardworking young lad from Lancashire who is very loved by all who know him … Although we don't have any answers to his disappearance we obviously have to remain positive.”
It comes after Spanish police said there were "several lines of inquiry" still active in the search for Jay.
A source in Tenerife told The Sun that the case remains "very much open" with "all scenarios being kept in mind".
One of the reported potential leads being explored suggests that Mr Slater could be in a different area of Tenerife, away from the initial search zones.
The source said: “Even though the ground search for Jay is over, the investigation into where he might be still remains very much open.”
