A TikToker has returned to London after saying that he feared for his safety during a two-week search for Jay Slater.
Callum Fahim, who had flown to Tenerife to aid in the hunt for the 19-year-old Lancashire apprentice bricklayer, said he left because he “no longer felt safe”.
The avid hiker said he received a chilling message on social media which warned him that his flight to the island had been tracked from his livestreams.
Part of the message read: “Be careful people are going to find you at the airport take extra care. He said he would love to get hold of you.”
"The situation became horrific," Fahim told The Independent. "I didn't feel safe but felt a duty to stay. I didn't want to fail until we found him.
"Hearing the heartbreak from his mum, I wish them nothing but success."
He shared that threats and online harassment, combined with the presence of organised criminal gangs and dwindling funds, ultimately drove him to leave.
"I returned home for safety reasons but I didn’t want to give up because I felt her pain.
“I want it to be known I’m not a bad person, I have a heart. I genuinely do care but I’m receiving horrific messages from people threatening to kill me. People said they are going to find me and break my back.
“I’ve reported this to the police, but it is all fake Facebook accounts. It’s making me ill and I’m losing my voice.”
Fahim's efforts in Tenerife involved organising searches in uncharted areas of the mountainous region around Masca, where Slater vanished three weeks ago.
Despite the official ending of the land search by Spanish police, Fahim and his team continued to explore difficult terrain including outhouses, abandoned shelters, and ravines, living off minimal supplies such as Doritos and Appletisers.
On ending the search, he said: “I’m not disappointed to come home. I feel like I went out there with good intentions and even though I didn’t bring Jay home to his mum, I hope that what I did was enough.
“I feel like I’ve given my all, I didn’t succeed but I feel like I supported the process of getting Jay home," he continued.
"I never claimed to be search and rescue - I can do mapping and resources and organise people, that is my strength...
“I think my kindness has been mistaken for weakness by the public. People are getting a thrill about abusing me - it is disturbing...
"My life has been put in danger. My priority needs to be my safety. I’ve advised my team on what I think, and if they choose to follow, that is down to them.”
Video footage seen by The Independent shows a man at the London airport, filming himself and asking arriving passengers if they know Fahim, expressing frustration as he awaited his arrival.
Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, has also had to fend off trolls. She's been questioned over the use of over £50,000 raised on GoFundMe for the search efforts.
She wrote on Facebook: “My beautiful son Jay is still missing and believe me this is no holiday. We are a normal working family from Lancashire going through hell. I do have proof of transactions and transfers to other persons but I should not have to justify this."
