JAY Slater’s family were hopeful when police called on Monday morning only to be met with a parents worst “nightmare”, ex-Madeleine McCann cop claims.
Mark Williams-Thomas, who has been working closely with the family out in Tenerife, says Jay’s devastated family will still be left with questions after police found a body near to the search area.
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The family had vowed to stay in Tenerife until they found answers over Jay’s disappearance – with dad Warren, 58, remaining hopeful the teen would still be alive.
But Spanish cops announced Monday morning they had recovered a body using a helicopter in the area Jay was last known to be in Masca.
The Civil Guard have said “everything is pointing” towards the body being Jay as they fear he may have accidentally fallen to his death.
Jay’s mum Debbie Duncan and the rest of the Slater family were reportedly told the tragic news just after 10am.
Former investigator Mark has now revealed how he thinks the family may have reacted to the shocking discovery.
What they learnt was every parent’s nightmare, human remains had been found and they fitted the description of Jay, his clothing and personal belongings being found with him
Mark Williams-Thomas
He wrote in the Mirror: “It was late morning on Monday and Jay’s parents were asked to attend the police station for an update, they attended hoping for a positive update.
“What they learnt was every parent’s nightmare, human remains had been found and they fitted the description of Jay, his clothing and personal belongings being found with him.
“To compound the devastating news even further, he was found at a pretty inaccessible place not far from the spot where Jay had sent his location to two friends shorty before 9am.”
The family are now said to be facing an agonising wait to find out how exactly the teen may have died.
An autopsy is set to take place to formally identify the body but the results aren’t expected for several days, say cops.
JAY SLATER’S DISAPPEARANCE – A TRAGIC TIMELINE
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.
July 15: 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”.
A family source has also told The Sun: “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.”
Jay’s dad Warren, older brother Zak and uncle Glen had all been scouring the mountains for any trace of the teen.
Along with volunteers and specialist mountain recuse teams they spent four weeks looking for Jay.
Cops have decided to not say where they found the body yet but Mark claims it was around 20 minutes from where the Brit’s phone last pinged.
This has led to questions over how the days of searching all failed to look at the rough terrain the body was found, the family source told the Sun.
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
family source
The body was recovered in a “dangerous” spot where any wrong step would be fatal, Mark added.
Dramatic footage released from the Tenerife Guardia Civil shows rescue workers using a helicopter to reach an “inaccessible” ravine.
Officials coordinated with Civil Guard rescue experts who can be seen in the video scouring the mountainous region in Masca.
Rescue workers can be seen hacking at bushes and climbing up the sides of the huge mountains as part of their hunt.
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A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said they had been notified by the Civil Guard that a body was found – and that “the indications are that this is Jay Slater“.
They added: “While at this stage no formal identification has been carried out our thoughts are very much with Jay’s family at this time, and we continue to offer them our support.”
Jay was first reported missing the morning after he travelled to the unforgiving mountainous area of Tenerife in the early hours of June 17.
He went to stay at an Airbnb with two men after a night of partying.
He then left in the morning where he tried to do an 11-hour trek back to his own accommodation after missing the bus.
One of the men – convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim – says Jay left the house alive.
Jay made a final frantic call to friend Lucy Law to say he was lost, had one per cent phone battery, and needed water.
In an earlier call to friend Brad, his feet could be heard slipping on the rocks.
Mark also claims to have spoke to Qassim and was told the teen woke up asking to leave the home as he was hungry.
Qassim, who rented out the holiday let, says Jay wanted to go home so he could “get a scran”, and was planning on catching a bus.
Mark says that Qassim told him “no bus is coming”, and offered to drive him after taking a nap, but the teen left anyway.
It has since been claimed by Mark that Jay left in a panic and was “scared” to return to the Airbnb.
Tenerife is known as a dangerous place after dark with the holiday hotspot being stuck in a bitter turf war between British drug gangs and the feared Italian mafia.
Despite this, there is no suggestion that Jay was linked to drugs with cops finding no link to criminality in the case.
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