Jay Slater’s grieving mum Debbie ‘given harrowing warning about son’ before making tragic final journey back to UK
JAY Slater’s grieving mum was reportedly given a harrowing warning about her son as the family tried to say a final farewell.
A devastated Debbie Duncan has promised to give the 19-year-old Brit the “send-off he deserves” as the family prepares to make the tragic journey home to the UK with Jay’s body.
The Slater family were directed against seeing Jay’s body in the morgue – leaving them without a chance to say goodbye properly, reports MailOnline.
Tenerife cops said the teen’s body had become “very deteriorated” after it had spent weeks in the ravine where he was eventually found on July 15.
Despite the warning, Debbie and the rest of Jay’s family are said to have found a sense of comfort after being told he likely died instantly from a fall rather than suffered.
The family are now set to bring Jay back to Lancashire for a final send off in the next few days after spending five weeks in Tenerife.
A source close to the family told The Sun last week: “Taking Jay’s body back will be the hardest journey of their lives. But they know it’s something they have to do.
“Their focus and aim is to give Jay the most fitting send-off possible and to celebrate and remember his life.”
“Officials are literally dealing with a final couple of matters and then Jay’s family will be able to take him back home and to start planning for the funeral.”
The cost of bringing back the body is due to be covered by the GoFundMe set up by pal Lucy Mae Law in the days after Jay first vanished.
The fundraiser has skyrocketed past £70,000 with more than 5,600 donations.
It reached £60,000 in an outpouring of support in the days after Jay’s body was found and has continued to rise ever since.
Debbie announced in a heartfelt statement via the fundraiser: “We want to give our boy the send-off he deserves.”
Web bullies have criticised Debbie and other members of the family for encouraging people to donate to the page even after Jay was found.
In a statement released on Thursday on the ‘Get Jay Slater Home’ GoFundMe page, Debbie said: “Hello everyone, thank you for all of your kindness, support and condolences in light of the tragic news that Jay’s body has been found.
“We are overwhelmed with grief and are so grateful for your support.”
Jay’s body was tragically discovered on Monday July 15 at the bottom of a treacherous ravine in Masca.
The teen had been missing for four weeks after disappearing while on holiday with his pals for the NRG music festival.
The apprentice bricklayer, 19, had travelled to a remote Airbnb in Masca with two men in the early hours of June 17.
He had been partying all night in Playa de las Americas, close to an hour’s drive away.
In the morning, he attempted the 11 hour walk back to his own accommodation miles away.
Jay made a tragic final phone call to friend Lucy Law to say he was lost, needed water and only had one per cent phone battery.
It was the last time Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancshire, was heard from, and a mammoth search mission was launched.
Jay’s dad Warren and brother Zak spent weeks searching the unforgiving terrain for a breakthrough after the teenager vanished on June 17.
They retraced his steps in the blistering heat for days on their own after Spanish cops suspended their search.
But his body was finally discovered by a helicopter crew on Monday at the bottom of a ravine close to where his mobile phone last pinged.
Timeline of Jay Slater disappearance
THE grim discovery of a body came after weeks of agony for Jay's friends and family. Here is how events unfolded:
June 16: Jay and his friends party on the last day of the NRG music festival at Papagayo nightclub in Playa de la Americas, Tenerife.
June 17th:
- 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 the 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.
June 18: Pals search the area but no sign of Jay. Local cops and mountain rescue teams start the 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 an appeal to Jay saying: “We just need you home.”
June 24: Claims of Jay sighting in Santiago del Teide — near where he disappeared — and family believe a grainy CCTV image could be of him.
June 25: Debbie issues a plea for Jay to come home as more friends fly out and TV investigator Mark Williams-Thomas joins the search.
June 29: Cops rule Mr Qassim, and another 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 a 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”.
July 17: Tenerife authorities confirm the body found in the mountainous area of the island is Jay’s.