Police refuse to say if they've recovered £12k Rolex Jay Slater 'stole' before death
Jay Slater's body was found on Monday and Spanish police are yet to say whether they have recovered the Rolex watch he allegedly stole before his death
Spanish authorities remain tight-lipped over the recovery of a £12,000 Rolex watch that Jay Slater is accused of stealing prior to his tragic death.
The Civil Guard in Tenerife has confirmed the body discovered in a ravine close to Masca village was indeed Jay's, suggesting an accidental fall led to his death. This came despite earlier claims that full identification would be delayed until "next week" due to the body's advanced state of decomposition.
However, whether the 19 -year-old apprentice bricklayer's alleged stolen watch from an incident at Papagayo Beach Club has been found remains a mystery, as does the precise location of where his body was retrieved by mountain rescue teams at approximately 10am Monday.
When probed about the whereabouts of the watch and for more specific details on the location of Jay's body, the Civil Guard in Tenerife responded this afternoon with a firm stance: "All the information we're prepared to release at this stage has been put in the public domain. Any updates should we decide to publish any more information will be made available through the normal channels.", reports the Mirror.
TV sleuth Mark Williams-Thomas has revealed that Jay boasted about snatching a Rolex in a Snapchat video just before he disappeared on June 17 while returning to a rented Airbnb in Masca with two men, including a convicted drug dealer he had befriended during a night out.
Spanish authorities have not verified if they are probing the watch's theft. Following the announcement of a body found in the mountains near Masca yesterdaybelieved to be Jay'sthe police have now confirmed through fingerprint analysis that it is indeed the teenager and indicated his death was likely caused by a significant fall.
A Civil Guard spokeswoman stated earlier: "The body of the man located yesterday has been identified as that of Jay Slater's through fingerprint comparison and identification. The result of the preliminary autopsy points to the cause of death being a fall or plunge from height due to the broken bones he suffered."
This statement came after court officials in Tenerife initially suggested it could take up to a week for a positive ID, yet they were the first to confirm that the body found was Jay's.
The High Court of Justice in the Canary Islands confirmed today just before 2pm local time: "Court of Instruction Number One in Icod de los Vinos can confirm that through fingerprints the body has been identified as that of Jay Slater. The autopsy has determined that his death was the result of multiple injuries compatible with a fall in a rocky area."
Authorities also revealed that the deceased was carrying identification documents belonging to the teenager, strongly suggesting an accidental fall led to his tragic demise. The extensive 29-day search for the young bricklayer apprentice concluded Monday at around 10am, with a helicopter being deployed to retrieve his remains.
