THE grief-stricken mum of missing Brit teen Jay Slater demanded answers last night after a body was found yards from his last known location.
Debbie Duncan was said to be “totally devastated” after searchers discovered remains in a ravine 29 days since Jay, 19, disappeared on Tenerife.
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A family source said: “It’s the news they have been dreading. She has lots of questions.”
Meanwhile, a pal on holiday with Jay Slater when he vanished paid an emotional tribute to his friend yesterday after his body was found.
An account apparently belonging to Brad Hargreaves wrote: “No words. Nothing will be the same without you. Rest easy brother. Love you always.”
His heartfelt online post came as Jay’s body was recovered from a remote ravine in Tenerife.
Dramatic images released by Spanish cops showed the moment a helicopter crewman was winched into the ravine with his arms aloft in the delicate recovery operation.
Mum’s anger
The grim find — which was just metres from 19-year-old Jay’s last known location — sparked anger from his distraught mum.
Debbie Duncan, 55, is demanding answers over how the police search teams missed her son’s corpse.
A family source told The Sun: “Debbie is completely devastated.
It means it’s entirely possible they have walked past his body whilst searching for him.
A family source
“It’s the news they’ve all been dreading. She has a lot of questions which she hopes will be answered in the coming days.
“It hasn’t completely sunk in yet. The hardest thing for her is to hear he was found so close to the original search site. It’s hard to take.
“It means it’s entirely possible they have walked past his body whilst searching for him.
“It seems incredible so many people walked that area and yet he was so close. As we have seen with mountainous terrain and ravines, it does happen — no matter how hard that is to believe.”
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A statement by the Guardia Civil said “initial evidence” suggested the person found had “suffered an accident or fall in the inaccessible zone”.
They said “all the evidence” suggested the remains found were those of “the young British man who disappeared”. Full identification is yet to be carried out. But the charity LBT Global, which works with families of people missing overseas, said the remains were found with Jay’s clothes and possessions, close to his mobile phone’s last known location.
The apprentice bricklayer, of Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, vanished on June 17.
He was on holiday with Brad and friend Lucy Law. Jay spent time with two men at a £40-a-night Airbnb in the north of the Canary Island after a music festival. The next morning he called Lucy from near remote Masca village to say he was thirsty and his phone battery was nearly dead.
His mobile went dead at 8.50am near a hiking trail in the Rural de Teno national park — an 11-hour trek from his apartment in the south of the island. Police combed the area for 12 days using a helicopter, drones and dogs.
HOW EVENTS UNFOLDED
A BREAKDOWN of events leading up to and after Jay Slater’s disappearance leading to yesterday’s tragic discovery.
June 16: Jay and his friends party at the last day of NRG music festival being held at Papagayo night club in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17 3-6am: Jay leaves with two men, including convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim, for a £40-a-night Airbnb 23 miles away in the village of Masca.
7.30am: Jay shares a photo on Snapchat standing at doorway of the Airbnb.
8.50am: Jay calls pal Lucy Mae Law and says he is “lost in the middle of nowhere” with no water and one per cent on his phone.
Tuesday, June 18: Pals search area but no sign of Jay. Local cops and mountain rescue teams start official search. Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan, 55, flies to Tenerife.
June 19-20: Spanish police deploy drones, dogs and a helicopter, but find no trace. Search moves to Los Cristianos amid possible sighting, but it is ruled out and they return to Rural de Teno, near Masca.
June 21: Lancashire Police offer support but it is declined.
June 24: Claims of Jay sighting in Santiago del Teide — near to where he disappeared — and family believe a grainy CCTV image could be him.
June 25: Debbie issues plea for her son to come home as more friends fly out and TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas joins search.
June 29: Cops rule Mr Qassim and other man at Airbnb, out of investigation.
June 30: Spanish cops officially suspend search but say probe “remains open”. His family continue to look.
July 3: Mr Williams-Thomas says Snapchat clip appears to show Jay boasting of stealing a £12,000 Rolex.
Yesterday: A body is found close to where his phone last pinged. His possessions are discovered next to human remains. Spanish cops say it points to an “accidental fall”.
To the family’s dismay the full search was suspended on June 29. But Jay’s dad Warren, 58, brother Zak, 24, and uncle Glen Duncan, 41, continued to hunt for him.
The body was spotted yesterday at around 10am by members of the Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group close to where his phone last pinged in an area too steep to access on foot.
The Guardia Civil said in a statement: “After 29 constant days of searching the lifeless body of the young man has been found in the Masca area. Given the complexity of the case the discovery has been possible thanks to the tireless and discreet search . . . in which the natural space was preserved.
‘Our beautiful boy’
The body of the young person was found in a very inaccessible area. The results of the autopsy are awaiting confirmation that it is an accident.
“The large-scale operation involving multiple units had been suspended but as we always said, we never stopped looking for Jay.
“The mountain rescue group continued looking for the missing man when they were on duty. We’ve always said the terrain is very difficult and the search was complicated.”
Jay’s family were last night being supported by British Embassy official. A post-mortem is expected to take place in the next 48 hours.
We cannot put into words the heartache we are suffering as a family. We are just a normal family desperate to find our beautiful boy.
Jay’s mum Debbie
The shock news yesterday came, hours after Jay’s family had marked four weeks since he disappeared.
In a statement, mum Debbie had said: “We cannot put into words the heartache we are suffering as a family. We are just a normal family desperate to find our beautiful boy.”
A spokesman for the family confirmed the body was found close to the site where Jay’s mobile phone’s had last sent a signal.
He added: “Although formal identification is yet to be carried out, the body was found with Mr Slater’s possessions and clothes. We are supporting the family at this distressing time and ask for everyone to afford them space and privacy to come to terms with the news.” Lancashire Police said its thoughts were with Jay’s family.
Ayub Qassim, 31, was among the last people to be with Jay.
They were seen together outside a nightclub in the early hours before heading to the remote Airbnb. At 7.30am Jay posted a Snapchat picture of himself holding a cigarette outside the holiday let.
He was seen by a local resident in Masca at 8am walking along the road out of the village after stopping to ask for directions.
Spanish police ruled Qassim out of the investigation and allowed him to fly home insisting there was “no evidence of criminality”.
At his home in Barking, East London, Qassim insisted he played no part in Jay’s disappearance.
He said the teen had arrived at the Airbnb alive and left it alive.
Jay’s family were even accused of pocketing more than £50,000 raised via GoFundMe page. Debbie slammed the senseless trolls as vile and said they hindered the hunt.
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