A body has been found in the hunt for missing British teenager Jay Slater Pixel8000 Jay (R) with his older brother Zak (L) and mum Debbie Duncan (C) Tim Stewart The remote area in Masca where Jay Slater’s phone last pinged Ian Whittaker
Apprentice bricklayer Jay vanished on the morning of June 17 after going to a rave the night before with friends – sparking a huge effort to find the Lancashire teen .
Spanish cops axed the official search less than two weeks in – but a body believed to be Jay’s was found today in the area he was last known to be, Masca.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said today: “After 29 constant days of searching the lifeless body of the young man has been found in the Masca area.
“The discovery has been possible thanks to the tireless and discreet search carried out by the Civil Guard over these 29 days.
“Everything is pointing to the body being that of the young British man who disappeared on June 17, pending full identification.
“Initial inquiries are pointing to him having suffered an accident/fall in the area where he was found.”
Jay’s distraught family have been updated and a formal investigation by police is set to follow.
British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global said: “LBT Global is saddened to announce that a body found in Tenerife does look to be that of Jay Slater .
“It is understood the body was found close to the site of his mobile phone’s last location.
“Although formal identification is yet to be carried out, the body was found with Mr Slater’s possessions and clothes.
“LBT Global are supporting the family at this distressing time and ask for everyone to afford them space and privacy to come to terms with the news .”
Spanish police said the body was located in a “very inaccessible area”.
They added: “The results of the autopsy are awaiting confirmation that it is an accident.”
The mountain rescue group continued looking for the missing man when they were on duty and have now found the remains of a person they believe is him
Civil Guard
A Civil Guard spokesman said the body was found at around 10am – some two hours before going public with the information.
He said: “The large-scale operation involving multiple units had been suspended but as we always said, we never stopped looking for Jay.
“The mountain rescue group continued looking for the missing man when they were on duty and have now found the remains of a person they believe is him.”
Asked whether the force could say exactly where the human remains had been found, he said: “In the area near Masca is all I can say at the moment.”
He added: “We’ve always said the terrain is a very difficult terrain and the search was complicated.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said they have been notified by the Civil Guard that a body has been found – and that “the indications are that this is Jay Slater”.
Statement from charity LBT Global
“It is understood the body was found close to the site of his mobile phone’s last location.
“Although formal identification is yet to be carried out, the body was found with Mr Slater’s possessions and clothes.
“A post mortem and forensic enquiries will follow.
“LBT Global are supporting the family at this distressing time and ask for everyone to afford them space and privacy to come to terms with the news.”
They added: “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.”
Jay travelled to the unforgiving mountainous area in the early hours of June 17 with two men after a night of partying.
He then left in the morning, but after learning he’d missed the bus started trying to do the 11-hour trek back to his own accommodation.
Qassim, who rented out the holiday let, says Jay wanted to go home so he could “get a scran”, and was planning on catching a bus.
Mark says that Qassim told him “no bus is coming”, and offered to drive him after taking a nap, but the teen left anyway.
It has since been claimed by Mark that Jay left in a panic and was “scared” to return to the Airbnb.
Tenerife is known as a dangerous place after dark with the holiday hotspot being stuck in a bitter turf war between British drug gangs and the feared Italian mafia.
Despite this, there is no suggestion that Jay was linked to drugs with cops finding no link to criminality in the case.
Jay went missing after going on holiday to the NRG rave in Tenerife Ian Whittaker Zak and Jay’s father Warren Slater spent the four weeks scouring Tenerife for any trace of the teen Ian Whittaker Convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim was with Jay the morning he vanished The Airbnb where Jay stayed the night before he vanished without a trace PA Rescue workers say they struggled with the search due to the altitude, heat and the sheer size of the area they feared Jay could’ve been PA Sun reporter Katie Davis at the scene in Masca – near where the body was found Ian Whittaker
THE MAMMOTH SEARCH
Lucy reported Jay missing to Spanish cops a few hours after their final phone call – sparking a huge search across the island that would last for almost two weeks.
Jay’s upset mum Debbie Duncan quickly rushed over to Tenerife to help cops with their investigation.
She was later followed by Jay’s older brother Zak, 24, and his dad Warren Slater, 58, as well as a number of volunteers.
The case quickly gained global attention as the family called for help to scour the mountains where Jay’s phone last pinged on June 17.
Jay’s final location showed he was near Rural de Teno Park – a massive barren landscape filled with bushes and rocks.
Dozens of rescue workers and the Spanish Guardia Civil all took to the mountain range using sniffer dogs, drones, a helicopter and volunteers.
A new team led by local hiker Juan Garcia, and including Jay’s uncle Glen Duncan, dad Warren and brother Zak, focused on an area of a gorge close before exploring caves, ravines and slopes.
Seasoned mountain experts who were flown out by Jay’s family said the search was hampered by the altitude, heat and the size of the area.
Warren voiced similar concerns over the huge area they needed to look through.
Close friend Brad Hargreaves claims he heard Jay walking on a rocky path in their final phone call hours before he vanished Eroteme Jay’s dad Warren has been left heartbroken after spending weeks in Tenerife Ian Whittaker Jay’s final Snapchat post showed him smoking a cigarette with a blanket given to him by Qassim at the Airbnb Mark William-Thomas claimed his efforts ‘opened up an established criminal network with links to drugs , violent crime and thefts’ in Tenerife Ian Whittaker
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