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When British teenager Jay Slater vanished in northern Tenerife a little under a month ago, the case captured the attention of the nation.
Tens of thousands of pounds were donated by the public to fund the search, with some even volunteering to fly over to the popular holiday island to assist.
Helicopters, sniffer dogs and, in the last days of the search, private experts were brought in, in the hope of finding the Lancashire teenager.
The search followed Mr Slater’s last known steps through treacherous valleys and dangerous ravines until a body, thought to be the remains of the 19-year-old, was found after four gruelling weeks.
The Civil Guard said the evidence strongly suggested the remains found near Masca, north western Tenerife, were those of the apprentice bricklayer. The officials added that DNA tests will now be carried out to officially establish the person’s identity, along with an autopsy to uncover the cause of death.
Mr Slater had flown to the island to attend a music festival with his friends – his first holiday without his family.
On Sunday 16 June, he had spent the day at the NRG music festival, where his friends left him to return to their accommodation early after a tiring weekend.
He then went to a nightclub on the Veronicas strip in Playa de Las Americas, near where his holiday accommodation was, until the early hours of the morning. At around 5am, Mr Slater travelled to an Airbnb where two men he had met were staying, around 27 miles further north in the remote village of Masca.
One of the men has been identified as Ayub Qassim, who told the MailOnline that he let Mr Slater stay at his accommodation because he “had nowhere else to go” and insisted he was safe when he left the property at 7.30am.
Mr Slater was last seen by a cafe owner, who said the teenager had asked her about bus times before deciding not to wait two hours for a service.
The cafe owner said she saw Mr Slater “walking away fast” out of the village, and his phone was last detected nearby in the Rural de Teno National Park.
At around 8.15am on Monday, he called his friend Lucy Law to tell her he was lost, needed a drink of water and that he had one per cent battery left on his phone.
“He’s ended up out in the middle of nowhere. Jay was obviously thinking he would be able to get home from there,” Ms Law told the Manchester Evening News. “But then in the morning he’s set off walking, using his maps on his phone and ended up in the middle of mountains with nothing around.”
Mr Slater also phoned his friend Brad Hargreaves, who heard him “sliding” over gravel which indicated he had left the main road in the national park.
The police were alerted just after 9am, with Jay’s mother and father, Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, as well as brother Zak flying out to the island the next day and issuing a public appeal.
A huge search ensued in the north west of the island, with helicopters, sniffer dogs and a number of officials scouring the Masca valley.
The search was focused within the Rural de Teno park with an emphasis around the path Jay’s phone last “pinged” from. In the first weeks of the search, authorities were seen searching outbuildings on farmland and searching around ravines.
Some false leads arguably disrupted the search along the way. One report claimed Jay was spotted watching a Euro football match in another mountainous village after his disappearance, while another saw the search temporarily moved to the Los Cristianos area in the south of the island.
In light of this information, Mr Slater’s mother said she feared her son had “been taken against his will”.
Both reports were discounted but came within a chorus of online sleuths giving their own theories on social media.
Almost two weeks after his disappearance, the Guardia Civil appealed for volunteers to assist in a “busqueda masiva” - a massive search - to take place on Saturday 29 June.
However, turnout was described as “disappointing” by Mr Slater’s father, with just himself, his brother and a few lone volunteers appearing in the park.
The next day, Spanish authorities called off the official search but insisted they would continue to investigate leads.
Mr Slater’s family expressed their disappointment in the decision but vowed to continue scouring the challenging terrain, using some of the £50,000 that was donated to a fundraiser set up for them to cover their stay and search supplies.
His father, brother and uncle were consistently seen alongside a small number of locals continuing to search a gorge near to where his phone was last located.
On Saturday 13 July, Ms Duncan posted an update to the fundraising page, saying they were flying in a team of experts from the Netherlands to carry on the search with specialist dogs.
Just two days later, however, members of a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard discovered a body near the village of Masca on Monday as they revealed they had not stopped searching the area.
“The discovery was 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 onlookers,” its statement read.
The force said Mr Slater could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where he was discovered as it released video footage of rescuers climbing rock faces and battling through scrub as they carried out the search.
Charity LBT Global said that, while formal identification has not yet taken place, the remains were found with the 19-year-old’s clothes.
The organisation, which supports the families of British people missing overseas, said: “LBT Global is saddened to announce that a body found in Tenerife does look to be that of Jay Slater.
“It is understood the body was found close to the site of his mobile phone’s last location. Although formal identification is yet to be carried out, the body was found with Mr Slater’s possessions and clothes.”
It added that it is supporting the family, who are yet to make a statement on the news.
