Folks speculate that Karen Matthews and Debbie Duncan are related based on their child-missing cases. However, they aren’t related even though they are both from England.
Karen is the mother of Shannon Louise Matthews, and Debbie is the mother of Jay Slater.
Highlights
- Debbie Duncan and Karen Matthews hail from England but don’t share any family lineage.
- Some online trolls speculate Debbie has planned a sick plot to have her son missing for ransom, like Karen Matthews.
- A GoFundMe donation program for Jay Slarer has garnered over £40k.
26 Years old Shannon Louise Matthews was reported missing in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on February 19, 2008.
Later, she was found alive on March 14 at a Batley Carr house belonging to Michael Donovan.
Karen and Michael planned the kidnapping of Shannon to generate money from the publicity.
Michael was charged with kidnapping and false imprisonment, whereas Karen was charged with child neglect and perverting the course of justice on April 8, 2008.
On the other hand, 20 years old Jay Slater got lost in the mountains of rugged nature reserve Rural de Teno on June 17, 2024.
He was from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, and his search continues.
The former police officer, Peter Kirkham, conceded he might have either plunged into a ravine, deliberately disappeared, or been kidnapped.
Karen Matthews And Debbie Duncan Are Not Directly Related
Some online trolls have compared Debbie Duncan to Karen Matthews based on speculation surrounding their respective cases, with no realistic basis.
Debbie has faced unfair comparisons and online abuse from trolls, as Karen Matthews’s sister, but there is no connection between them.
Jay Slater's mother, Debbie Duncan, reveals she's being trolled and compared to Karen Matthews over her decision not to visit the current search site in Masca. She explains she can't face the possibility of seeing something distressing. #JaySlater #Tenerife pic.twitter.com/Ne0aznOVlw
— Pakistani Index (@PakistaniIndex) June 23, 2024
Jay’s close friend, Lucy Mae Law, started a GoFundMe donation program for him, which has garnered over £40k. Over 3,500 members have donated to the fundraiser, exceeding the target of £30,000.
Thus, netizens compared Debbie with Karen, thinking that she also planned a sick plot to have her son missing for ransom.
On social media, her family has received offensive abuse, including jokes that relate to them.
However, she revealed that the funds will go to search and rescue teams, who continue to furbish rugged areas near the village of Masca. She expressed,
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.
Source: Mirror
Moreover, the Mayor of Tenerife, Emilio Navarro, added Jay Slater isn’t here, and the case of a missing teenager does not make sense. He told the Independent,
The Guardia Civil sent us an email asking for our security cameras. We could not give it to them as they are organised through a separate company, so the police are speaking to them. But that CCTV picture is not from us and I do not recognise that place – I do not think it is in Santiago del Tiede and he is not here.
Nonetheless, the speculation surrounding their respective cases heated up more when Debbie Duncan refused to visit the search for her son in Masca.
She is staying on the Island with Jay’s father, Warren Slater, and his elder brother, Zak Slater.
Meanwhile, she explains she can’t face the possibility of seeing something distressing.
Police, firefighters, and mountain rescue teams are searching for Jay Slater and have no trace of him.
Additional Information
- Michael Donovan, the uncle of Karen Matthews’s boyfriend, Craig Meehan, passed away due to cancer at 54 on April 16, 2024.
- Channel 5 aired the documentary The Man Who Took Shannon Matthews, focusing on Michael Donovan, on December 8, 2022.
- Jay has been missing for 12 days and was last heard on Monday morning when he told a friend he was lost in the mountains and desperately thirsty.
