Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Body found on Tenerife is identified as British teen missing for nearly a month

A Spanish court says a body found on the island of Tenerife was a British teen who went missing nearly a month ago

Via AP news wire
Tuesday 16 July 2024 09:12 EDT
Britain Missing Teen Tenerife
Britain Missing Teen Tenerife

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A British teen who was missing for nearly a month on the island of Tenerife likely died from injuries suffered in a fall in rocky terrain, a Spanish court said Tuesday.

Jay Slater, 19, was identified through fingerprints the day after his remains were discovered in a rugged area near his last known location, the Canary Islands, the High Court of Justice said.

Spanish authorities, family members, friends and volunteers spent weeks searching for Slater after he apparently got lost trying to walk from one corner of the island to another.

The journey from Masca, a village in the northwest, to where he had been staying in Los Cristianos in the south, would have taken about 11 hours on foot.

Slater frantically called a friend, Lucy Law, that morning and said he was “lost in the mountains, he wasn’t aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%,” she said.

His body was found Monday by the Spanish Civil Guard in a steep and inaccessible area. It was near the last known location of his mobile phone, said LBT Global, a charity that supported Slater’s family.

Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle in northwest England, had attended a music festival the day before his disappearance.

Law said on Instagram that Slater was “always the happiest and most smiley person in the room" and would be missed “more than you know.”

“I’m sure you’ll ‘have your dancing shoes polished and ready’ waiting for us all," Law wrote. "We all love you buddy. Fly high.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in