JAY Slater’s devastated family today deployed a private search team to find the exact location where the teenager’s body was found.
Police on Monday recovered the body of 19-year-old Jay from a treacherous ravine in a remote mountainous region of Tenerife.
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Jay’s body revealed that he had suffered multiple injuries consistent with an accidental fall from a considerable height.
But for the family, some questions still remain unanswered.
Dramatic footage showed the moment a helicopter crew member was hoisted into the abyss with his arms raised in the delicate recovery operation.
Spanish police have not revealed exactly where Jay’s body was found, and today Jay’s family sent a Dutch search team into the ravine to find the location.
The Signi Zoekhondon group of volunteers, who are often deployed after natural disasters, flew to the island on Sunday night, hours before Jay’s body was found the next morning.
But they remained in Tenerife and are expected to return later this week.
They were seen today in a desolate ravine with a sniffer dog, Flex, walking in the scorching heat.
A source revealed that they returned on behalf of the family so they could fully understand the geography of where Jay’s body was found.
Veterinarian Esther van Neerbos, who leads the group, revealed that Flex the dog pointed to a specific spot in the ravine that she described as “difficult and dangerous”.
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The dangerous ravine had extremely steep cliffs on both sides and ranged from 20m to 100m wide in places.
Esther said that Jay would not have been able to get to the sea from there, as was claimed, because he would have tripped over huge cliffs that are almost impossible to climb over.
She added that she asked the family not to lay flowers as the exact location where Jay was found is very dangerous.
Esther said: “Every case is sad, it is particularly difficult for mothers, it is never Cool having to look for a small child.
“Losing your child is the worst thing you can think of.
“I think the rescue team that found him did a very good job.
“Jay was a very young guy, he did very well to get as far as he did.
“The place where he was found is a small and very dry valley, difficult to access.”
Esther, who remains in close contact with Jay’s family, said they are “crying, crying, crying.”
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Spain’s Guardia Civil repeated to The Sun today that it would not reveal the exact location where Jay’s body was found.
The deployment of a private search team suggests that Jay’s grieving family were not informed of the exact location where his remains were discovered.
Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, said today: “The wonderful Signi Zoekhondon team have remained in Spain all week and have continued to support us since Jay was found.
“They are expected to return home in the next few days and we are so grateful for their dedication and support.”
Come as…
Meanwhile, devastated mother Debbie, 55, father Warren Slater and brother Zak were in the mountainous region’s gateway town, Santiago del Teide, as the search team scoured the ravine.
Warren, 58, spoke at length with a man in khakis, believed to be from the Signi Zoekhondon search team, outside the San Fernando Rey church.
Meanwhile, Debbie was sitting on a bench with sunglasses covering her face while Zak stood nearby.
The family and some other people then went to a cafe opposite.
Jay’s loved ones were heartbroken when police recovered his body on Monday from a treacherous ravine.
After authorities confirmed the identity, Jay’s family left moving tributes in the area where the teenager is feared he fell.
A teddy bear with English flags and a bracelet with the letter J were also placed on a rocky track where Jay last stood.
Debbie described Jay as her “beautiful boy” in a touching handwritten note.
She wrote: “I’m so sorry I never found you.
“I miss you so much. You will always be young and will be missed forever.
“I love you lots.”
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Warren left a message that simply said: “To my son. I love daddy.”
Zak promised to look after his parents, writing: “Love you bro.
“I never in a million years thought I would do this.
“I will take care of mom and dad. Hope you’re partying there with grandpa.
“I hope to see you again someday. Rest easy, bro. I love you.”
Distraught, Debbie, Warren and Zak, 24, hope to board the same flight – which must be early next week.
Apprentice bricklayer Jay traveled to a remote Airbnb in Masca with two men in the early hours of June 17.
He spent the entire night partying in Playa de las Americas, about an hour’s drive away.
In the morning he attempted the 11-hour walk back to his accommodation, miles away.
Jay made one last tragic phone call to his friend Lucy Law to say he was lost, needed water and only had one percent of his phone’s battery left.
That was the last time Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, was heard from and a massive search mission was launched.
Jay’s father, Warren, and brother Zak spent weeks searching for a discovery in the unforgiving terrain after the teenager went missing on June 17.
They redid their steps alone in the scorching heat for days after Spanish police suspended the search.
But his body was finally discovered by a helicopter crew on Monday, at the bottom of a ravine near where his cell phone last rang.
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Timeline of Jay Slater’s Disappearance
The grim discovery of a body came after weeks of agony for Jay’s friends and family. Here is how events unfolded:
June 16: Jay and his friends party on the last day of the NRG music festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17th:
- 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.
June 18: Friends search the area but no sign of Jay. Local police and mountain rescue teams begin the official search. 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 is refused.
June 22: Mom Debbie makes a plea to Jay saying, “We just need you at home.”
June 24th: Jay is alleged to have been sighted in Santiago del Teide – close to where he disappeared – and his family believe a grainy CCTV image could be him.
June 25th: Debbie asks Jay to return home while more friends travel and TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas joins the search.
June 29: The police remove 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 a 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”.
July 17th: 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
