Volunteer who helped in search for Jay Slater fears he walked past teen's body 'five or six times'

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By James Kay

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A volunteer who flew to Tenerife to help search for Jay Slater fears he may have been close to discovering the missing teen on a number of occasions.

jayslater(1) (1).jpegJay Slater had been missing since June 17. Credit: Instagram

On July 15, nearly a month after Jay went missing, human remains were located just a 20-minute walk from the last known location where his phone had pinged.

In a statement to Sky News, police said: "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."

During the search for Jay, who went missing on June 17, many volunteered their time including some who flew to the Canary Islands to offer their services.

Londoner Callum Fahim, who answered the family's pleas to join the search for the missing teenager in Tenerife, has opened up about his time looking for the 19-year-old.

jay slater 3.jpegThe body of Jay Slater has been found. Credit: Handout

Fahim combed the rocky ravines of the Spanish island alongside a search party just days after the 19-year-old apprentice bricklayer vanished outside a remote Airbnb in Masca.

Speaking to The Independent shortly after a Spanish court confirmed the body belonged to Slater through autopsy fingerprinting, Fahim expressed his devastation.

“I’m absolutely devastated,” Fahim said. “We searched that area on the first day right next to where he was found further down. It is very dangerous there and inaccessible really."

Fahim continued: "They had to get a helicopter to lift searchers out of there. We just assumed that specialists had been there - it just looked like another bit of shrub to us. I don’t know what is going through someone’s head to walk down there. There are unmade paths all over the area - some more dangerous than others.”

jayslater2(1) (1).jpegCredit: Facebook

Fahim noted that the police initially seemed uninterested in the area.

“The police weren’t particularly interested in that area at that time. They would walk around looking side-to-side driving up the road but I was there climbing through all the cactuses. The police said they had searched the area with drones and all that. It doesn’t make sense.”

Reflecting on the tragic outcome, Fahim added: “I think we kind of expected that he wouldn’t be coming out alive. But just now, the question is what led him to be there? I am gutted we couldn’t find him sooner because there could have been a chance to save his life. I will always question myself - could I have done better?

"I do feel like I failed a little bit, no matter what people say. I imagine I’ve walked past him five or six times. I hope this means the whole family can get peace, including the people who tried their hardest to find him. I’m just gutted, really.”

Screenshot2024-06-24at11.32.38(2).jpegDebbie Duncan with her son, Jay Slater, who vanished in Tenerife. Credit: Facebook

Fahim had canceled his search efforts after a disagreement with the Slater family over his expenses while in Tenerife.

He shared: “His mum has been sitting there in hell for 29 days constantly. I wish I had given everyone closure. I just wish he could’ve been found in the first couple of days.”

Our thoughts remain with Jay's loved ones.

Featured image credit: Instagram