Jay Slater: Body found in Tenerife is British teenager, court says

Fingerprints examined in a post-mortem confirm the body is that of the British teenager, a court spokesperson in Tenerife says.

Tuesday 16 July 2024 17:50, UK

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The body found by rescue workers in Tenerife is that of British teenager Jay Slater, an official has said.

A court spokesperson on the Spanish island said fingerprints examined in a post-mortem had confirmed the body's identity.

The multiple injuries suffered suggested a fall from a cliff in a rocky area, the spokesperson added.

Paying tribute to Mr Slater, his mother Debbie Duncan - who flew to Tenerife to search for him - said: "I just can't believe this could happen to my beautiful boy. Our hearts are broken."

Ms Duncan said she was with staff at the British embassy waiting for an update when she learnt her son's body had been identified.

"I just can't believe it... now it's come - the worst news," she added.

Spanish police said in a statement on Monday that the Civil Guard's mountain rescue group had located the "lifeless body of a young man in the Masca area after 29 days of constant search".

LBT Global - a charity which supports the families of missing persons and has been working with the Slater family - said the body was found with the 19-year-old's possessions and clothes and is understood to have been close to the last known location of his mobile phone.

On Tuesday, rescue teams continued to search the remote area where the possessions were found.

They said they are continuing their work to ensure that nothing is missed in the thick undergrowth that covers the area near the village of Masca.

One local questioned how Mr Slater would have reached such a place, telling Sky News: "The spot where they found him shows he had gone a long way into the ravine."

While another said the location is "extremely difficult" to navigate on foot.

Mr Slater was last heard from on the morning of 17 June after setting off to walk from a northern area of the island back to his holiday accommodation in the south - a journey of about 11 hours.

At 8.30am that day, the teenager called his friend Lucy Law, telling her he had missed a bus, his phone battery was on 1%, and he had cut his leg on a cactus.

He had flown out to the Spanish island with friends four days before to attend a music festival at Papagayo nightclub in the southern resort of Playa de las Americas.

The day before his body was discovered, Ms Duncan described her son as a "loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend to so many".

She also took aim at what she referred to as "very distressing" online comments and conspiracy theories that have spiralled out of control since the teenager's disappearance.

Jay Slater: Body found in Tenerife is British teenager, court says

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