A body found in Tenerife’s Rural de Teno park has been confirmed as that of missing Brit Jay Slater, 19, who disappeared on the island while on holiday with friends
The body found in the search for Jay Slater is that of the missing teen, a post-mortem has confirmed.
The tragic discovery was made near the village of Masca on Monday morning by the mountain rescue division of the Civil Guard. The Spanish police force said that all evidence pointed towards it being Jay, and that he’d died accidentally after suffering a fall.
A court spokesperson in Tenerife confirmed on Tuesday that fingerprints confirmed the body was missing Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. The injuries suggested he had fallen from a cliff, they added.
It also emerged the body was found close to where his phone last pinged on Monday, June 17, alongside his clothes and personal belongings. Jay, 19, vanished while on his first holiday with friends for a three-day music festival, the NRG Tenerife Weekender.
He had been at a rave with friends at Papagayo, a nightclub on the Veronicas strip in Playa de las Americas, on the Sunday night before heading back to an AirBnb in the remote village with two British men he’d met on the trip. Leaving the remote rental, Jay was seen trying to get a bus before attempting the 11-hour journey back on foot, telling a friend his phone was on 1% battery.
The Civil Guard led a two-week intense search of the rugged terrain around where his phone data was last located. Family and friends, including dad Warren Slater and brother Zak, continued their hunt for Jay, an apprentice bricklayer, after officers halted their on-the-ground search.
The tragic conclusion confirmed this week comes as British detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who has been helping the family, told The Mirror how much of his time was spent by conspiracy theorists and sick pranksters who sent messages claiming to be holding Jay.
“We have had two videos posted of separate people, meant to be Jay, having been beaten up, one having the words, ’We have your son’, created for publication by someone wanting to give the impression they had Jay held hostage,” Mr Williams-Thomas said.
He added: "What has taken up the most time has been investigating the many theories and the false information that gathered traction on social media and then subsequently in the media. You will understand that the family lived in hope of every new piece of information that Jay was alive, so they all needed to be investigated.
"We had to investigate the theory that Jay had walked all the way to the coastline to get on a boat, this was thoroughly investigated and ruled out with evidence that proved it could not be true." A Civil Guard spokesperson said on Monday, July 15 they had found the "lifeless body of a young man" believed to be Jay, with a post-mortem planned for Tuesday.
Map shows where Jay was last located ( Image: Press Association Images)
Meanwhile tributes have been rolling in for the teenager, including from the two friends he had been on his first holiday with. Lucy Law and Brad Hargreaves both shared emotional posts online following Monday’s tragic news.
Lancashire Police has also said it was supporting the family following the heartbreaking update. A spokesperson said: “We have today (Monday, July 15) been notified by the Guardia Civil that they have found the body of a man and that the indications are that this is Jay Slater. While at this stage no formal identification has been carried out our thoughts are very much with Jay’s family at this time, and we continue to offer them our support.”
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