Callum Fahim, a TikTok star who flew to Tenerife to assist in the search for missing teenager Jay Slater, has announced his return to the UK. Fahim claims he has not received any funds from the GoFundMe page, which has raised £49,507, well above the initial target of £30,000.
Fahim told Sky News: “I haven’t had anything from the GoFundMe. We have not had a bit of essentials paid for. 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.”
Fahim decided to join the search after contacting Jay Slater’s mother, Debbie Duncan, online. He spent two weeks in Spain participating in the search efforts before deciding to return home.
In response to Fahim’s claims, Jay’s family clarified that his mother, Debbie Duncan, gave Callum £740 of her own money for his accommodation. They told Sky News: “We appreciate every single person who’s come out. He’s a hiker. We don’t need hikers, we need experts.”
Relations with the TikToker, who joined the search on his own accord, turned “bitter” after they refused to give him more money. “This is about Jay and he’s still missing and we’ve got people crying about money. It’s nothing to do with money,” the family added.
They continued: “We’re not sat here doing nothing. We’re doing everything we possibly can to find Jay. We can’t go off down hills climbing on our own. We wouldn’t like to be responsible for anyone hurting themselves.”
