Jay Slater’s heartbroken family may face a week-long wait to bring the teen’s body home from Tenerife – as they plan to fly home with him on the same flight ‘together’.
The 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire was found at the base of a ravine near the village of Masca on Monday at 10am almost a month after he disappeared.
He has been formally identified following the discovery of his body in the Baranco Juan Lopez valley, where is believed to have lain for four weeks as he tried to walk home after a night out.
Assistance abroad charity LBT Global is assisting the family – mother Debbie Duncan, father Warren Slater and brother Zak – in arranging Jay’s return to Britain – but there may be a wait of up to a week for the youngster to come home.
Matthew Searle, chief executive of the non-profit, believes the Spanish authorities have completed their post-mortem and have no further examinations to carry out.
It comes as:
Mr Searle told BBC News: ‘There is so much to do, and obviously when you’re in a foreign country, and you don’t speak the language, and you’ve got no-one around you to help really, and you’re in the position that Jay’s parents are in… it’s just not the kind of thing that you cope with, it’s just overwhelming.’
He added that the goal was for Jay’s family to travel with him when he is eventually repatriated – the cost of which will either be met by insurance or by using the proceeds of the GoFundMe fundraiser set up to aid the search.
‘It’s always nice for them to say we have literally brought him home together,’ he added.
Click here to resize this module
Jay’s family had travelled to Tenerife in the hope of finding him alive, with Warren and Zak pictured aiding searches in the valley.
Instead of bringing him home alive, the grief-stricken clan have had to leave tributes to the young man close to the spot where he died, with messages describing him as a ‘beautiful boy’ and ‘forever young’.
Bunches of white chrysanthemums and roses were left beside a large rock on a path overlooking the ravine in Tenerife where the body of the 19-year-old was found on Monday morning.
A handwritten message from his mother Debbie Turner attached with a blue peg to one of the bouquets said: ‘To my beautiful boy. I’m so sorry we never found you. I miss you so much. You will be forever young and forever missed. Love you so much, Mum’.
Another moving message pegged to a post by Jay’s father Walter Slater read: ‘To my Boy, Love Dad, Always, XXXX’.
A third handwritten message from Jay’s brother Zak written in faltering handwriting was attached to a single white rose.
It read: ‘Love you little bro. Never in a million years did I think I’d be doing this. I’ll look after mum and dad. Hope you’re partying up there with granddad. Hope to see you again some day. Rest easy bro, I love you, Zak XX’.
Jay had disappeared in the early hours of June 17 following a night out at the NRG music festival in the resort of Playa de las Americas.
He had left his friends and went off with two men, one of whom is a convicted drug dealer, who drove him back to their Airbnb accommodation on the outskirts of the village of Masca, around 20 miles away.
The men he went back with were deemed ‘not relevant’ to the investigation by Spanish police.
Click here to resize this module
While in the car, he allegedly sent a Snapchat message to his friends boasting that he had just stolen a £12,000 Rolex watch from a reveller and was going to sell it for £10,000.
He later shared a photo on his Snapchat account, which showed him standing at the doorway of a house shortly after 7am.
Around an hour later he called his friend Lucy Law, telling her that he was ‘lost in the mountains with one per cent battery and no water’ and had missed a bus back south to his accommodation in Los Cristianos.
He claimed he had set off on foot to try and get back to his hotel, despite it being around 11 hours away.
MailOnline later found a witness who revealed that he had walked north out of the village, instead of taking the winding road south towards Los Cristianos.
Local residents have speculated that he may have decided that it might have been quicker for him to find the coast and walk back along it, rather than trek along the winding road back through the mountains.
They have claimed that he may have left the road and headed down a track into the Juan Lopez valley after catching a glimpse of the sea in the distance.
But he would have found the path coming to an abrupt end after half a mile, leading to him scrambling down a slope before reaching rocky outcrops at the end of the valley nearest the coastline.
It is believed that he tried to climb up a ridge to carry on trying to reach the sea before stumbling and falling into the ravine.
A local man who climbs in the area and asked not to be named said: ‘It is extremely dangerous terrain.
‘I have been in the area, but only with proper ropes and equipment. There is a ravine with tall cliffs and sheer rock faces either side.
‘You can walk along ridges and there are places that you have to climb, but an inexperienced person could easily fall.’
Click here to resize this module
His disappearance captured the attention of social media sleuths and TikTok armchair detectives – prompting pleas from his loved ones to stop sharing cruel conspiracy theories.
A large-scale search for Jay was called off on June 30 – but the Spanish Civil Guard, together with mountain rescue experts, continued searching for Jay away from prying eyes.
Search teams took nearly four weeks to find him as the area of the ravine is so inaccessible.
It led to Monday’s tragic discovery – but, at long last, some answers for Jay’s anguished loved family.
Police released a video showing the challenges associated with recovering Jay’s body – with searches seen scrambling down rough terrain and a helicopter that was used to recover his body flying overhead.
Spanish authorities confirmed Jay’s identity with fingerprinting – but his possessions, including identification documents, were found with him.
A preliminary post-mortem concluded that he had sustained injuries consistent with a fall from a large height, including broken bones.
The Canary Islands High Court of Justice confirmed that his body was found near the village of Masca.
At a court hearing on Tuesday, a spokesman said: ‘Fingerprinting confirms that the body belongs to Jay Slater and the death was due to multiple traumas compatible with a fall in the mountainous area.’
Spanish authorities have refused to say whether Jay was found with the Rolex he is alleged to have stolen from a fellow reveller.
Yesterday, tearful mourners gathered in Oswaldtwistle to honour the 19-year-old, setting off balloons before a service at the West End Methodist Church held with the family’s blessing.
In remarks reported by ITV, minister Matt Smith said: ‘We come together to support each other. Weeks ago I shared a passage with you: “A light shines in the darkness and the darkness does not overcome it”.
‘Today it might feel that the darkness has overcome us but today we also stand together and say that we will remember Jay. His light will never go out. We will remember him.’
Jay’s friend Lucy Law, who was the last known person to speak to him during a phone call on June 17, issued a tribute on her Instagram page.
She said: ‘Honestly lost for words. Always the happiest and most smiley person in the room, you was (sic) one of a kind Jay and you’ll be missed more than you know.
‘I’m sure you’ll “have your dancing shoes polished and ready” waiting for us all. We all love you buddy. Fly high.’
