Jay Slater’s family hit back at TikTokker who quit search saying he ‘never had any money’ from £49,000 GoFundMe
TikTokker Callum Fahim revealed that he would be returning to the UK from Tenerife where he'd been hoping to assist in the search for missing teenager Jay Slater, amid a row over donation money.
The content creator flew to Tenerife after contacting 19-year-old Jay's mum, Debbie Duncan, online, but plans to leave after his two-week stint, claiming he'd received "death threats" over his involvement.
The family of the missing apprentice bricklayer, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to assist with the search, which has raised £49,697 so far, well above the original £30,000 target.
Speaking to Sky News, TikTokker and keen hiker Callum said he'd paid for his own flight to the Canary Island and hadn't received a penny from the large pot or "had a bit of essentials paid for".
However, Jay's family told Sky News that Debbie had given Callum around £740 from her own pocket for accommodation, and relations between them and the Tik Tokker turned "bitter" after the declined to give him any more.
"We appreciate every single person who's come out," they said. "He's a hiker. We don't need hikers, we need experts."
This contradicts what Callum told the news service earlier, which was that he paid for his own flights.
"I've never had any money from them whatsoever or even offers to go and pick anything up. If they had offered it, personally I would've said maybe a bit of a treat at the end of the week, but don't worry about it." He said that after a "long chat" with Jay's mum, had decided to step back from the search.
He also told a newspaper he'd been living off "BBQ Doritos" and was only getting a couple of hours of sleep every night. "The most sleep I’ve had is about two hours because I have to plan all the routes overnight,” he told The Independent. “I haven’t been able to eat properly; I’ve been living off BBQ Doritos and Appletisers."
Jay was last heard from on 17 June after making a video call to his best friend Brad Hargreaves, who was also on the island. Spanish police ended their land search of the island after 23 days, but Jay's mum Debbie said the family were still planning to use part of the GoFundMe cash "to support the volunteers working hard in the mountains to find Jay."
Writing on the official GoFundMe account page, she said: "In the meantime, we will continue to use part of the funds to support the volunteers working hard in the mountains to find Jay. We are currently looking after Paul Arnett, putting together a package of any equipment and essentials he needs and going up to do a drop for him."
Earlier this week the devastated mum announced she was leaving the official Find Jay Slater Facebook page after being targeted by trolls.
In her leaving statement, she said: "I feel the need to post this to your group and then I shall remove myself. I joined this group to share the positivity and love of the British public. It seems through no fault of my own you have all decided to make up your own minds. It is really sad I have felt the need to do this. My beautiful son Jay is still missing and believe me this is no holiday."
