JAY Slater’s body was found in a treacherous ravine so dangerous even locals refuse to pass through.
Police revealed today that the teenager suffered “broken bones” after a Horror “fall from height” – with Tenerife residents revealing where they think Jay may have gone wrong.
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Searchers discovered Jay’s remains on Monday – four weeks after he disappeared while on vacation with his friends to the NRG music festival.
Masca resident Helena Gomes said the rugged terrain looks beautiful from afar, with the ocean visible in the distance – but up close it is rocky, unstable and dangerous at every step.
She told the Mirror: “You see how bad it is, we don’t even walk there, so if someone gets into trouble it will be difficult for anyone to find the body.
“No one is surprised it took so long, why he was there is a mystery, he should never have gone that way, maybe he saw the ocean and thought it was the best way.
“We feel so bad for his family, but we are so proud of the investigators who found him and never gave up.”
Dramatic footage released by Tenerife’s Guardia Civil on Monday showed rescuers using a helicopter to reach an “inaccessible” ravine where Jay’s body was found.
The images show researchers cutting through bushes and climbing the sides of huge mountains as part of their hunt.
The valley being searched was just a mile from where Jay was last seen.
It is “exceptionally difficult” to safely navigate the valley on foot, another resident said Sky News.
A second added: “It’s sad – where they found him shows he had gone too far into the ravine.
“It’s hard to understand how he got there.”
Come as…
Apprentice bricklayer Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, went missing in the area on June 17 after leaving an Airbnb he frequented with two men.
As he attempted to walk the 11 hours back to his accommodation through the rough and rocky terrain, it is feared he may have accidentally fallen.
Jay’s devastated mother, Debbie Duncan, asked to see her son one last time, despite cops saying his body had deteriorated over time.
A family spokesperson told The Sun: “Formal identification of Jay’s body will be carried out using a DNA sample provided by the family to the Spanish Guardia Civil during the initial phases of the search.
“There should be no need for the family to carry out formal identification.
“Debbie said she wants to see him one last time.
“Obviously it’s a personal voice, but given he’s been there for almost a month in those conditions, I’m not sure that’s a memory she’ll want.”
Jay disappeared without a trace on June 17 while on vacation with friends Brad Hargreaves and Lucy Law.
He had gone early in the morning with two men to his Airbnb in the north of the Canary Islands, after leaving a music festival at a nightclub.
Police called off the search on June 30 after launching one last official attempt to find Jay.
Police searching for Slater were forced to search in secret as amateur detectives risked disrupting the case.
Tenerife police have so far remained tight-lipped about their investigation – sparking a flurry of speculation online.
Social media was filled with armchair detectives peddling vile conspiracy theories and harassing Jay’s devastated family.
Some amateur detectives even decided to fly to the island in an attempt to solve the case themselves.
This has encouraged officers to keep their work even more private by refusing to contribute to the “circus” caused by trolls and aspiring detectives, police sources say.
The source told The Sun: “For many of the officers in Tenerife they had never dealt with a missing person case like this.
“There were so many armchair detectives offering theories and people arriving on the Island who said they could solve the mystery.
“They had no interest in fueling that.”
TRAGEDY TIMELINE
The grim discovery of a body comes after weeks of agony for Jay’s friends and family. Here’s how events unfolded:
Sunday, June 16th: Jay and his friends party on the last day of the NRG music festival, held at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17th, from 3am to 6am: Jay leaves with Ayub Qassim and another man to a £40-a-night Airbnb 23 miles away in the village of Masca.
7:30 am: Jay shares a photo on Snapchat standing in the doorway of the Airbnb.
8:50 am: He calls his friend Lucy Mae Law and says he is “lost in the middle of nowhere,” with no water, a cut on his leg and a percent on the phone.
Tuesday, June 18: Friend search area, but no sign of Jay. Local police and mountain rescue teams begin official searches. Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, flies to Tenerife.
June 19th to 20th: The Spanish police use drones, dogs and a helicopter, but find no traces. The search continues to Los Cristianos amid a possible sighting, but it is ruled out and they return to Rural de Teno, near Masca.
June 21th: Lancashire Police offers support, but it is refused.
June 22: Mom Debbie makes an emotional plea to Jay, saying “We just need you home.”
June 24th: Jay is alleged to have been sighted in Santiago del Teide – close to where he disappeared – and the family believe a grainy CCTV image could be of him.
June 25th: Debbie asks her son to return home while more friends travel and TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas joins the search.
June 29: The police remove Mr. Qassim and another man from the Airbnb from the investigation.
June 30: Spanish police officially suspend the hunt, but say the investigation “remains open”. His family continues the search.
July 15: A body is found by the helicopter search team near where his phone last rang. Their belongings are discovered alongside human remains. Spanish police say this points to an “accidental fall”.
Today: Tenerife authorities confirm that the body found in the mountainous area of the island is that of Jay.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
