Following the discovery of human remains in the search for Jay Slater, a preliminary autopsy has revealed the probable cause of death.
On July 15, almost a month after Jay's disappearance, human remains were found just a 20-minute walk from the last location his phone had pinged.
Police said in a statement via Sky News: "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.
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Officials from the Canary Islands High Court of Justice identified Jay's remains through fingerprint analysis.
A spokesperson stated: "We have a positive ID... Fingerprinting confirms that the body belongs to Jay Slater."
A Civil Guard representative added that Jay's injuries included several broken bones, consistent with a fall.
"The result of the preliminary autopsy points to the cause of death being a fall or plunge from height due to the broken bones he suffered," she said.
Jay’s body was recovered from a steep ravine in Masca, an area close to where his phone last pinged.
He had vanished on June 17 after leaving an Airbnb where he'd spent the night with two men. It is believed that he accidentally fell while attempting an arduous 11-hour walk back to his accommodation through rough terrain.
The recovery operation, involving a helicopter, was described as delicate and dramatic. Footage captured a crew member being winched into the chasm to retrieve Jay’s remains.
Local sources told Sky News that navigating the valley on foot is "exceptionally difficult." One local commented: "It is sad - the spot where they found him shows he had gone a long way into the ravine. It is hard to understand how he got there."
Jay's mother and father, Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, have been in Tenerife seeking answers and are now making arrangements to repatriate Jay’s body to the UK, where a second post-mortem is expected.
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Lucy Mae Law, a close friend who was in Tenerife with Jay when he vanished, has shared an emotional tribute.
"Honestly lost for words. Always the happiest and most smiley person in the room, you were one of a kind, Jay, and you’ll be missed more than you know," she wrote on Instagram. "I’m sure you’ll ‘have your dancing shoes polished and ready’ waiting for us all. We all love you, buddy. Fly high."
Our thoughts remain with Jay's loved ones.
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