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16th July 2024
07:36am BST
Police in Tenerife have issued an update after they discovered a body in the search for 19-year-old Jay Slater.
Slater has been missing since June 17, when he disappeared after attending a music festival on the island.
He had attended the NRG music festival at Playa da las Americas before traveling 30km to the north of the island.
He was last heard from on June 17 when he phoned his friend Lucy Law, telling her he had missed a bus and had tried to walk the 10-hour journey but was lost in Rural de Teno Park.
After more than a month of search efforts, Spanish police announced on Monday that they had found a body. Although a formal identification has not taken place, they have said "evidence strongly suggests” the remains are those of the 19-year-old.
In an update issues to the Manchester Evening News on Monday evening, a Civil Guard spokesman said Slater's autopsy will "probably" take place on Tuesday (July 16) morning.
Police said in a statement: “The mountain rescue and intervention group of the Civil Guard has located the lifeless body of a young man in the Masca area after 29 days of constant search.
“Given the complexity of the case, the discovery has been possible thanks to the incessant and discreet search carried out by the Civil Guard during these 29 days, in which the natural space was preserved so that it would not be filled with curious onlookers.
“All indications indicate that it could be the young British man who has been missing since June 17 in the absence of full identification.
“The first investigations reveal that he could have suffered an accident/fall in the inaccessible area where he was found.”
Missing persons organisation LBT Global said that possessions of the 19-year-old were discovered next to the body, which was found was close to Slater’s last known location.
Police believe he returned to a rented accommodation in the village of Masca with two British tourists he had befriended at the NRG music festival, which was taking place that weekend in the popular holiday destination of Costa Adeje.
He was last heard from at around 08:00 BST the following day (June 17) when he phoned his friend Lucy Law, telling her he had missed a bus and had tried to walk the 10-hour journey but was lost.
He said he needed water and only had one per cent battery left on his phone.
His phone then cut off, and his last known location was shown as the Rural de Teno Park.
Rescue efforts centred on the national park, situated on the other side of Tenerife to where Slater and his friends were staying.
For two weeks, the Guardia Civil conducted an extensive search of the remote, mountainous area north-west of the island where Slater’s was last seen.
Local police ended up calling off their search effort on June 30, but their investigation remained open.
On Sunday, his mum Debbie Duncan said her family “cannot put into words” the heartache they have experienced since her son’s disappearance.
