Friends of missing Jay Slater have lashed out at online trolls who have accused them of being "drug mules" amid rampant speculation following his disappearance.
After leaving a Tenerife rave by car with two British individuals and spending a night at an Airbnb in a secluded village, the 19-year-old mysteriously vanished during what was his inaugural trip abroad.
His last contact was on Monday, June 17, when he tried returning to Los Christianos from a stay with friends Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves. Despite an extensive fortnight search effort, Jay remains unaccounted for.
Confronting unfounded rumours that suggest criminal activity, Jay's close mate Brad Hargreaves, who was also part of the holiday, fiercely took to Instagram to shut them down.
Brad's impassioned post said: "Thinkin' I'm involved in it all is beyond me. We've been mates for years, came on our first holiday together and unfortunately, this has happened. We ain't drug mules or whatever... people need to know the facts before talking s**t on the internet", reports the Mirror.
Jay's friend, Lucy Mae Law, was the last person to have contact with him before his disappearance. She recounted to authorities that Jay had phoned her on the morning he went missing, expressing confusion, a desperate need for water, and mentioning his phone battery was at one percent.
This week, the 18 year old shared a poignant new photo of herself with Jay, accompanied by a caption featuring a crying emoji.
In the meantime, Jay's devastated mother Debbie Duncan has expressed in a recent update that the family is "extremely overwhelmed" by the support from local hikers who have continued to search for the young man even after Spanish police abruptly halted their efforts following two weeks. A post on an official Facebook group dedicated to finding Jay conveyed the family's gratitude: "Debbie and family would like to thank the local hiking group who have worked tirelessly planning routes and searching for Jay they are extremely overwhelmed with the kindness of them all. Thank you."
The investigation has recently shifted focus towards an alleged 'stolen Rolex', as British detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who travelled to Tenerife to assist in the search, disclosed that Jay had uploaded a Snapchat video flaunting the theft of a £12,000 Rolex shortly before his disappearance.
He explained: "On route, Jay posted a Snapchat saying that they had taken a £12,000 Rolex from a person. We have been unable to validate this in terms of a reported theft. However, friends of Jay said he would not make this up and the watch was the subject of a later conversation between them."
A GoFundMe page set up to help find the missing teenager has now surpassed £50,000 in donations from over 4,000 members of the public.
