Body found in Tenerife may belong to missing British teen
4:43 PM EDT, July 15, 2024
On Monday, July 15, the Spanish police announced that the teams searching for missing British teenager Jay Slater in Tenerife for a month had found a body. Evidence strongly suggests the remains belong to the 19-year-old, the officers reported.
Rescue teams have been looking for 19-year-old Briton Jay Slater since June 17 and discovered the body of a young man. Local police reported that the body was found in the Masca area, where the Briton disappeared.
In a police statement, it was indicated that "preliminary evidence" suggests the found person "had an accident/fell in an inaccessible area." No other details were provided.
Agents of the Civil Guard belonging to the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group (GREIM) discovered the body of a young man this morning in the Masca area, part of the municipality of Buenavista del Norte. He might have died as a result of an accidental fall off a cliff due to the exceptionally mountainous terrain where the body was found, - the police said in an official statement.
The search for Jay Slater began on the day he went missing—June 17. The 19-year-old called his friend Lucy in a panic, telling her that he had gone for a hike in the mountains. He managed to say that he didn't have water with him, got lost, and had 1% battery left on his phone. Then he disappeared.
The police searched for the young man for two weeks. On June 30, the local Guardia Civil informed that they were calling off the search but not closing the investigation. The search was continued by the missing man's family, who flew to Tenerife. They were assisted by numerous volunteers, detectives, and a group of Dutch mountain rescuers.
It is not yet known whether the body found on Monday, July 16, belongs to the missing Jay Slater. The police stated that they have not yet conducted a full identification of the body.