Jay Slater: Search team finds body, Tenerife police say
The search teams who were trying to find the missing British teenager, Jay Slater, in Tenerife have discovered a body, according to the police.
The Guardia Civil reported that their officers, along with a mountain rescue team, discovered the deceased body of a young man in the Masca region.
Mr Slater, who is 19 years old, was last spotted on June 17th. He had visited an Airbnb that was rented by two individuals who were also at the music festival on the island.
A statement from the police mentioned that the evidence currently available indicates that the individual discovered may have experienced an accident or fallen in a difficult-to-reach area.
Without specifically mentioning the apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Mr. Slater, the statement implied that the remains discovered likely belonged to the British man who went missing nearly a month ago.
The complete identification of the body has not been done yet, it was mentioned.
The police have not disclosed the time and location of when the body was found.
However, the organization LBT Global, which supports families of individuals who have gone missing abroad, stated that the body was discovered along with Mr. Slater's clothing and belongings, near where his mobile phone was last tracked.
The group announced that they were standing behind Mr. Slater's family.
The efforts to find Mr. Slater since he went missing have included his relatives, close companions, law enforcement, expert mountain rescue crews, and willing helpers from various nations.
However, on June 30, the Guardia Civil announced that they were ending their search.
His relatives kept searching for him, most recently with the assistance of a team of Dutch mountain rescuers.
The Guardia Civil stated that it was their Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group who found the deceased body of a young man.
For the entire month that Mr. Slater has been missing, his family has remained determined to stay optimistic.
Over the weekend, an update on a verified donation page announced that more than £50,000 has been collected to support search operations. The post described him as a "typical, dedicated young man from Lancashire who is deeply cherished by everyone who knows him".
"Even though we don't know where he is, we must stay hopeful," said his friend Lucy Mae Law on behalf of his family.
Search teams have faced challenging terrain while looking for Mr. Slater.
Tenerife is a volcanic island located in the Atlantic Ocean's Canary Islands archipelago. The region where Mr Slater was last spotted is characterized by rugged cliffs and deep valleys.
The ground is dry and filled with prickly cactus plants.
During his final conversation with his friend, Ms. Law, just before his phone died, Mr. Slater reportedly mentioned that he was bleeding and urgently needed water.
Another acquaintance of Mr. Slater, Brad Hargreaves, revealed in a television interview that Mr. Slater had video called him right before contacting Ms. Law. He mentioned that he had accidentally veered off the road while walking.
On Sunday, June 16th, Jay Slater, who is 19 years old, went with his friends to the last day of the NRG music festival at Papagayo night club in the popular tourist area of Playa de las Americas.
On Monday, June 17th, Jay hopped in a car with two guys he met at a festival between 3:00 and 6:00 AM. They left town at 7:30 AM. Jay posted a picture on his Snapchat account of himself at the entrance of a place called Parque Rural de Teno. Around 8:30 to 9:00 AM, he called his friends and told them he had missed his bus and was trying to walk the 10-hour trip back down south.
Tuesday, June 18 - Even though his friends are looking everywhere, there is no sight of Jay and he does not come back to where he is staying. The police and mountain rescue teams in the area start looking for him, and his mother and brother take a flight to Tenerife.
Wednesday 19 June - The Spanish Civil Guard is still looking for the missing person using drones, dogs, and a helicopter. They briefly shifted their search to the Los Cristianos region in the south of the island after a possible sighting, but that tip turned out to be false.
On Thursday, June 20th, the Civil Guard, mountain rescue teams, firefighters, and volunteers went back to search the national park near the village of Masca.
Saturday June 22nd - Debbie Duncan, the mother of Jay, is asking him to return home.
Sunday, June 23rd - Authorities are conducting searches in the vicinity of Masca to locate small structures.
Tuesday, June 25th - On this day, expertly trained canines, transported all the way from mainland Spain, are added to the search efforts.
Friday, June 28th - Law enforcement is seeking volunteers with expertise in mountain terrain to assist in a large-scale search operation scheduled for the next day.
On Saturday, June 29th, a fresh exploration mission is launched in a region close to Masca, which has previously been surveyed. At the starting point, BBC journalists observe only a few volunteers participating in the search.
On Sunday, June 30th, the Civil Guard ends the search but states that "the investigation is still ongoing and there are multiple leads being pursued."
On Monday, July 15th, authorities in Spain discovered human remains close to the area where Jay went missing.
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