JAY Slater’s family could have walked yards from his body during their agonising search across the Tenerife mountains.
Mum Debbie Duncan, 55, said “our hearts are broken” after the body found in a ravine yesterday was confirmed to be her son’s.
A court on the island today confirmed the body was ID’d via fingerprints and Jay, 19, had suffered multiple injuries.
The “worst possible” news for Jay’s family comes after mum Debbie, dad Warren, and brother Zak had jetted out to the island last month to join the search.
Jay disappeared in the rugged and steep terrain of northwestern Tenerife and was found just yards from where his phone last pinged.
Now a family source has revealed it’s “entirely possible” the family could have walked right by him as they searched.
The family source said: “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.”
They added: “Debbie is completely devastated.
“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.”
Officials say the body recovered was “very deteriorated” but documentation found with it was Jay’s.
A Civil Guard spokesperson said Jay’s injuries included several broken bones.
She said: “The body of the man located yesterday has been identified of that as Jay Slater through fingerprint comparison and identification.
“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.”
A family spokesman told The Sun: “There should be no need for the family to have to perform a formal identification.
“Debbie has said she wants to see him one last time.
“Obviously that’s a personal voice but given he’s been there the best part of a month in those conditions, I’m not sure that’s a memory she will want.”
Arrangements are now being made to repatriate the body to the UK where a second post-mortem is likely to be carried out by a Home Office pathologist.
What we know so far…
Jay’s body was spotted on Monday 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 Civil Guard said: “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.
“The body of the young person was found in a very inaccessible area. The results of the autopsy are awaiting confirmation 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.”
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley said it was the worst possible ending for Jay’s loved ones.
The former murder squad cop said the facts showed Jay was in a hostile landscape where someone would struggle to survive.
He added: “He had 1% battery power left on his mobile phone, and he had no water or other drink.
“It was also suggested that he cut himself on a cactus, and all those facts would indicate that this, perhaps, was a man in rugged, unfamiliar terrain, who was clearly going to be getting into difficulties in a short space of time.”
Peter slammed trolls who ignored the facts and said the four weeks of “conspiracy, theorizing nonsense, and claptrap” would finally come to an end.
THE grim discovery of a body comes after weeks of agony for Jay’s friends and family. Here is how the events unfolded:
Sunday, 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 Ayub Qassim and another man 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: He calls pal Lucy Mae Law and says he is “lost in the middle of nowhere” with no water, a cut to his leg 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 mother Debbie Duncan 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 22: Mum Debbie issues emotional appeal to Jay saying “We just need you home.”
June 24: Claims of Jay sighting in Santiago del Teide — near to where he disappeared — and family believe a grainy CCTV image could be of 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 hunt but say probe “remains open”. His family continue to search.
Yesterday: A body is found by helicopter search team close to where his phone last pinged. His possessions are discovered next to human remains. Spanish cops say it points to an “accidental fall”.
