"The mother of Jay Slater's best friend
told the BBC
a deluge of online trolling has added to their
'living nightmare'.
Rachel Hargreaves, 34,
is in Tenerife supporting Mr Slater's mother Debbie Duncan
and has spent days in the mountains desperately searching for the 19-year-old.
Her son Brad travelled to the Canary Islands with Mr Slater, who has been missing since 17 June after failing to return to their accommodation.
Ms Hargreaves,
a chef from Accrington in Lancashire,
said a troll had even impersonated her late mother, who died eight months ago.
She and Brad,
who she described as
'not really coping',
have vowed to stay in Tenerife 'as long as it takes'
to support Mr Slater's mother.
Ms Hargreaves became a target after agreeing to help run an online Facebook group set up by the family,
which now has more than 590,000 members.
She told the BBC the thousands of comments and messages included many from people who were genuinely trying to help,
but had been missed due to the deluge of negativity or speculation.
She said one of the most upsetting examples was when she received a friend request on Facebook from a fake account
using her mother's name and picture,
while her son also received a message saying
'I miss you'.
'The picture of my mum is an old one
but it was on my Facebook and somehow they have got their hands on it',
she said.
'We’re living the worst nightmare you can live
and this does not help.
I’m a strong person and that affected me.
Things don’t normally get to me'.
She said:
'You can’t put into words how you feel.
I’m just here trying to support and be strong for her.
The things she can’t do I am trying to do for her,
mother-to-mother.
'We have become a lot more closer friends since this'."
The mother of Jay Slater's best friend has condemned "trolls" who have been targeting her online.
www-bbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org
