The Spanish Civil Guard has revealed why it "discreetly" continued the search for Jay Slater despite publicly announcing the hunt had ended.
On Monday (July 15), almost a month after the 19-year-old went missing, human remains were discovered in the village of Masca, which was just a 20-minute walk from the last location where Slater's phone had pinged in Tenerife.
The following day, a spokesperson for the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands confirmed to Sky News and BBC News that the body found was the missing British teenager.
Officials identified the remains remains through fingerprint analysis. "We have a positive identification and more data: fingerprint tests show that the body is [that] of Jay Slater," a court spokesperson said.
A Civil Guard representative disclosed that the teen's injuries, including several broken bones, were 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, per Daily Mail.
The teen from Lancashire in the UK had vanished on June 17 after leaving an Airbnb where he'd spent the night with two men.
Before his disappearance, Slater attended a rave with friends Lucy Mae Law and Brad Hargreaves at Papagayo nightclub during the NRG music festival.
The following morning, he called his friend Lucy Mae Law to say he was about to begin an 11-hour walk back to where they were staying. He also told her that he was lost and thirsty and that his phone battery was critically low.
On Sunday (June 30), the Spanish Civil Guard announced that the search for Slater around the Rural de Teno Park area had come to an end, but that the case remains open.
However, according to The Independent, Tenerife’s civil guard has now revealed that they continued an “incessant and discreet” search in which the “natural space was preserved so that it would not be filled with curious onlookers," despite having publicly called off the search.
Slater's grieving mom, Debbie Duncan, expressed her heartbreak over her late son's death in a heartwrenching message placed near the ravine where the young boy was located.
“To my beautiful boy. I’m so sorry we never found you. I miss you so much. You will be forever young and forever missed. Love you so much, Mum,” Debbie penned, as cited by Metro.
The late boy's dad Walter said: “To my Boy, Love Dad, Always, XXXX," while his brother Zak addressed his "little bro," writing: "Never in a million years did I think I’d be doing this.
"I’ll look after mum and dad. Hope you’re partying up there with granddad. Hope to see you again some day. Rest easy bro, I love you, Zak XX," he concluded.
Our thoughts remain with Slater's loved ones at this devastating time.
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