Jay Slater’s family to fly back to UK with teen’s body as his devastated mum makes plans for his funeral
JAY SLATER’S family will travel home from Tenerife with his body, someone working closely with them has revealed.
Boss of British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global, Matt Searle, has been supporting Jay’s loved ones since he vanished on June 17.
His body was recovered from a ravine on the holiday island on Monday morning, after the teen is believed to have suffered a sharp fall.
Searle told the BBC that Jay’s mum and dad, Debbie Duncan and Warren Slater, are now making plans for his repatriation and funeral.
He said: “Debbie has told me if she is not doing something she will just fall apart.”
Spanish police revealed on Tuesday that the teen suffered “broken bones” following a horror “fall from height”.
Footage released on Monday showed rescue workers using a helicopter to reach the “inaccessible” ravine where his body was found.
He was discovered only yards away from where his phone last pinged on the morning of June 17.
It comes as…
- Jay Slater was confirmed dead on Tuesday as body was found in gruelling search on Monday after 4 weeks
- Jay’s mum said ‘our hearts are broken‘ after ‘beautiful’ son’s body is found
- Jay Slater cops revealed his cause of death details after teen suffered ‘broken bones’ from ‘horror fall’
- The body was discovered just yards away from where Jay’s phone last pinged
- Locals said it’s ‘hard to understand’ how Jay’s body got so far into ravine
- Jay’s best pal Lucy Mae Law paid tribute to the ‘happiest person in the room’
- Moment Jay Slater cops scoured ‘inaccessible mountain’ for clues after his body found
The teenager’s death was caused by “trauma consistent with a fall in a rocky area”, the Canary Islands High Court of Justice said.
Officials said the body was “very deteriorated” and documents found with it were Jay’s.
A Civil Guard spokesman also said Jay’s injuries included several broken bones.
Debbie has told me if she is not doing something she will just fall apart
Matt Searle, LBT Global CEO
His distraught mum Debbie, 55, wept after being told of her son’s death, describing it as the “worst news”.
She added: “I just can’t believe this could happen to my beautiful boy. Our hearts are broken.”
The devastated mum also said she wants to see Jay one last time and personally ID his remains.
Searle told the BBC “armchair detectives” and “so-called experts” had been “making a name for themselves” since the teen’s disappearance.
He said he would be raising the issue with the Home Secretary, as online sleuths had hampered the search for the missing teen.
Searle said: “If someone is missing, what parents will do is sit there and try to find every bit of information online, and there’s been all this stuff that’s been so hurtful for them.
“But as well as the parents, all this has a huge impact on the investigation.
“It’s been unprecedented, and I think it has to stop. This behaviour is just not fair for the authorities or practitioners like ourselves, but most of all it’s not fair for the families who are going through the worst time ever.”
The CEO – who was worked with the families of Brits who’ve died abroad for over 20 years – said he’s never seen anything like the reaction to Jay Slater.
“I’ve been in this job for over 20 years and I have worked on thousands of cases and I have never seen anything like this level,” he said.
“It seems like it’s ramped up recently and it’s something I feel passionately about, something I am going to be talking to the Home Secretary about in the coming weeks.”
Apprentice bricklayer Jay vanished in Tenerife a month ago – sparking a huge effort to find the Lancashire teen.
He had gone with two men to their Airbnb in the north of the Canary Island after leaving a music festival at a nightclub.
As he attempted the 11-hour walk back to his own accommodation through the rough and rocky terrain, it is feared accidentally fell.
Debbie and dad Warren Slater, 58, jetted to the island and have been battling for answers.
Warren, along with Jay’s brother Zak and a host of volunteers, spent weeks searching for him after Spanish cops called off their main search.
