An amateur detective is considering launching his own crowdfunding page to help with the search for missing teen Jay Slater.
TikTok sleuth Paul Arnott flew out to Tenerife last month in what has been described as a ‘vanity project’. The 29-year-old has received heavy criticism for his clickbait video updates of the case – while others have applauded his efforts to assist the panicked family.
On Sunday (June 30) Spanish police confirmed their official manhunt for the 19-year-old bricklayer apprentice from Lancashire had ended, after a full-scale search with drones and sniffer dog proved unsuccessful. Officials say the investigation remains open, and that they’re in contact with family members who have travelled over to the Spanish island.
READ MORE: Sleuth who promised ‘Jay Slater answers in 3 days’ gives up in 5 and says ‘hire experts’
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However, Arnott says he isn’t ‘happy’ with the claim police have ‘searched everywhere’ and is taking things into his own hands.
(Image: Daily Mirror)
The TikToker, who is ‘convinced’ Slater is on a mountain in the remote area of Masca, says he is in close contact with the family. “They are so amazing and lovely. They just want to find Jay and I want to help them,” he told Mail Online. “They keep offering to pay for my food and accommodation, but I keep telling them no.
“I don’t want anything and I don’t want anything from the Go Fund Me site. What I would be interested in doing is setting up my own fund to pay for a team from Scotland Mountain Rescue to come out here.”
Slater was last seen on June 17 after attending the NRG Tenerife Weekender festival. It is believed the teen, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, headed towards an Airbnb in Masca and had contacted a friend to say he was lost, was in need of water, and that his phone battery was on 1%.
His disappearance has sparked an online fundraiser which is nearing £50,000. However, the page has been infiltrated by trolls branding the case a ‘scam’.
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