The Mountain Rescue and Intervention Group of the Civil Guard discovered a deceased young man on Monday morning in the Masca area of Buenavista del Norte, Tenerife. There are strong indications that the body belongs to Jay Slater, the British tourist who went missing 29 days ago. Authorities believe the young man may have died as a result of accidentally falling in the rugged and hard-to-reach area where he was found.
The Civil Guard’s relentless search efforts led to the discovery after 29 days of continuous searching in the Masca area. On Monday morning, GREIM mountain specialists found the young man’s body in an extremely inaccessible location.
The confirmation of the cause of death is pending the autopsy results.
Slater had travelled to the island to attend a music festival and had met two individuals with whom he had gone to an apartment in the remote Masca area.
The last contact from Slater was a call to a friend on June 17, where he expressed confusion about his whereabouts, extreme thirst, and his intention to walk to her apartment. The call abruptly ended when his phone battery died. The location of the call was far from his accommodation, situated in a rugged inland region known for the tourist hotspot of Masca and its ravine, a path with limited access due to past accidents.
The search operations, involving drones, dogs, and helicopters, have been concentrated in the ravines of the northwest coast of the island.
On June 29, a large-scale operation was conducted by the Civil Guard, deploying officers, helicopters, drones, and search dogs specialised in covering vast terrains, brought in from Madrid’s Canine Service of the Civil Guard. Numerous volunteer associations and individuals experienced in challenging terrains also participated in the search effort due to the rugged nature of the Masca area.
Following his disappearance, Slater’s family promptly travelled to the island to assist in the search operations.
