Spanish court confirms body found in Tenerife mountains is Jay Slater

A court spokesperson in Tenerife has confirmed that the body found in a mountainous area of the island, is that of Lancashire teenager Jay Slater.

Spanish Police confirmed yesterday that a body was found near to where the 19 year old from Oswaldtwistle went missing.

Jay's belongings were found near to the body, and fingerprints taken in a post-mortem were found to be his. The injuries suffered were said to be 'compatible with falling from a cliff'. The full post-mortem may not be completed until next week.

The apprentice bricklayer had attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance on June 17th, and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island, which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.

He had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca after a night out, but the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled "not relevant" to the case. It's believed he had attempted to get a bus back to the south of the island, but decided to set off walking. It was at this point that he called a friend to say he was lost, and had little phone battery and no water. That was the last time he was heard from.

LBT Global’s Matthew Searle MBE was talking to Jay’s Mum, Debbie, at the time this news broke and she and Jay’s family were devastated at the news. She said:

“I just can’t believe it – We’re here with the Embassy staff waiting for an update and now it’s come – the worst news”.

Mr Searle added:

“The announcement does seem to confirm that Jay died of injuries consistent with an accidental fall from a considerable height. There will of course be many more hurdles for the family to face in the coming days and we will work with them to make this horrific time as easy as possible. We are working with the family now to sort out the next steps of taking Jay home, recovery of his belongings and laying him to rest back.. We will not be releasing details of travel timings or funeral arrangements at this time and ask again for privacy for the family. I ask now that this is the end of all the hurtful comments on social media and elsewhere”.

Finally faced with the bleak confirmation, Jay’s mum was lost for words, and simply said:

“I just can’t believe this could happen to my beautiful boy. Our hearts are broken.”

In his home town of Oswaldtwistle, the community placed blue ribbons around the town in the hope of positive news. A special prayer service will be held at West End Methodist Church tonight, so people can come together and remember Jay.

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