Missing Jay Slater's parents withdraw money from GoFundMe account – This Morning star reveals why
As the search for missing teen Jay Slater continues, crime journalist and This Morning star Isla Traquair was seen on Thursday, 27 June, reporting live from the spot where the teen went missing on 17 June.
The 44-year-old hopes to join the search in a bid to find out what had happened to Jay.
A GoFundMe account, which has raised around £35,000 had been set up to help, which Jay’s family have withdrawn funds from.
Isla had been speaking to his father Warren and his mother Debbie as she says they are “extremely distressed,” made worse by speculation online over the fundraiser.
“What’s made this worse as we’ve discussed on the show over the last couple of days is the speculation online. However, they do believe there is a possibility he could have been picked up.
“They don’t want to believe that he’s possibly just got lost in this hill," the journalist said. She then revealed the parents had issued a statement after coming under scrutiny about a GoFundMe account, as Debbie has released a statement on where the money is going.
“The money is going to be used to help cover accommodation and food expenses while the family are out in Tenerife," Isla read.
“It’s difficult to wrap our heads around what’s happening right now, we are not losing hope that we will find Jay and return home together.”
In full, Debbie’s statement read: "First, I would like to thank everyone for your support, kind messages, and good wishes. It's difficult to wrap our heads around what is happening right now, but we are not losing hope that we will find Jay and return home together."
She continued: "We are currently working with GoFundMe to withdraw part of the funds, which are being safely held. I wanted to share that these funds will be used to support the mountain rescue teams who are tirelessly searching for Jay.
"Additionally, since our stay in Tenerife needs to be extended, we will also use the funds to cover accommodation and food expenses. I'm surrounded by wonderful people who are by my side, but far from their loved ones, so we'll also be using part of these funds to fly them to Tenerife so we can support each other during these dark times. Thank you again for all your donations and support, this means the world to us."
During the This Morning segment, Isla retracted the teens steps on the morning of the disappearance as he walked up a hill after deciding not to wait for the bus.
She expanded on her theory from Wednesday's show that Jay could have taken a shortcut, and ended up ‘falling’ in the hilly undergrowth.
Earlier this week, the ITV show came ‘under fire’ with viewers as they were left angry that it had been speculating on what might have happened.
