Body found in search for missing Brit confirmed to be Jay Slater
Human remains discovered in the Masca area of Tenerife yesterday have been formally identified by police as that of missing teenager Jay Slater.
The British youngster, 19, disappeared following a night at the Spanish island's NRG music festival on 16 June, and hasn't been heard from ever since.
Following the start and conclusion of an extensive search for Slater, the Spanish Civil Guard released information on 15 July that revealed human remains had been discovered in the remote area that Slater's mobile phone was last recorded to have been in.
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The teen's possessions and clothes were also found in the area, according to missing persons charity LBT Global.
Now, in a tragic update, a court spokesperson in Tenerife has declared that fingerprints examined in a post-mortem have confirmed the body is that of the British teenager.
The injuries suffered were compatible with a fall from a cliff, the spokesperson added.
"We have a positive identification and more data: fingerprint tests show that the body is [that] of Jay Slater and that the death was caused by trauma consistent with a fall in a rocky area," The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands said in a statement.
Slater was reported missing by his friend Lucy, after he ended up in an apartment in the 'middle of nowhere' on a night out.
She told the Manchester Evening News: "He's gone on a night out, he's gone to a friend's house, someone that he has met on holiday.
"One of the people he has met has hired a car out of here, so he's driven them back to his apartment and Jay has gone there not realising how far away it is.
"He's ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there.
"But then in the morning he's set off walking, using his Maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of mountains with nothing around.
"He rang me at about 8 o'clock [in the] morning saying his phone was on one percent, he said 'I don't know where I am, I need a drink and my phone is about to die.'"
Earlier this month, Spanish police confirmed that the official land search for Slater had come to an end.
The case remained open, with a Civil Guard spokesperson telling Reuters there were ‘several lines of investigation’.
Jay's heartbroken mother, Debbie Duncan, had previously made statements about her missing son, opening up on the 'pain and agony' she was suffering.
"He is our beautiful boy with his whole life ahead of him and we just want to find him. We do not have any information on his whereabouts," she said at the time.
"Although the land search ended, the Spanish police still continue with their investigations into why Jay had travelled to the location so far away from his accommodation.
"We offer our sincere thanks to the Spanish authorities who continue to follow lines of inquiries.
"We would like to say to the press/news/reporters, that although we do not want to lose the momentum of Jay’s disappearance, we really would like to maintain our privacy and crucially let the Spanish police get on with their investigations without hindrance from press."
Topics: Crime, UK News, Jay Slater
Rhianna Benson