The body of tragic teenager Jay Slater has arrived in the UK two months after he disappeared while on holiday in Tenerife, his family has revealed, as his family said his funeral will be a ‘celebration’ of his life.
A date for the 19-year-old’s funeral has also now been set for Saturday, August 10, in the Chapel at Accrington Crematorium, in Lancashire, The Sun reports.
The service will include a ‘celebration of life’ prior to the interment.
Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, disappeared on the morning of June 17 while trying to walk back to his holiday accommodation in Los Cristianos, taking what he believed was a short cut across the mountains.
He attended the NRG music festival with two friends before his disappearance, and his last known location was the Rural de Teno Park in the north of the Canary Island, which was about an 11-hour walk from his accommodation.
The body of tragic teenager Jay Slater has arrived in the UK two months after he disappeared while on holiday in Tenerife, his family has revealed
Jay had travelled to an Airbnb in Masca after a night out but the two men said to have rented the property were later ruled ‘not relevant’ to the case.
Jay’s final resting place was discovered by a Dutch search team sent to the Spanish holiday island to find his body after he disappeared on June 17.
Three members of the Signi Zoekhonden team and their Belgian Malinois dog called Flex pinpointed the tragic spot during a five hour trek in and out of the remote Barranco Juan Lopez valley and the rocky ravine at the end of it.
The team carried out their mission to take videos and pictures of the scene around 300 yards into the ravine to try and bring some comfort to the 19-year-old’s family by showing them where he was in his last moments.
The footage shows cliffs soaring either side of the ravine which Jay is believed to have been attempting to scale in a desperate bid to reach the sea beyond when he lost his footing and fell.
One clip in the video shows the three-year-old search and rescue dog Flex peering cautiously over a ledge into an area of thick bushes at the base of the ravine where the teenager’s body lay hidden for nearly four weeks.
The Spanish Civil Guard said the teenager could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where he was discovered more than a month after he was first reported missing.
A GoFundMe fundraiser originally set up to help find the apprentice bricklayer has been used to repatriate Jay’s body and to give him, as his heartbroken mother Debbie Duncan put it in a plea for further donations, ‘the send-off he deserves’ after he was found in the Barranco Juan Lopez valley last month.
At the time of publication, the fund – set up by his friend Lucy Mae just hours after he disappeared – had reached £74,000 of its £30,000 goal.
A postmortem in the UK has concluded that Jay died from traumatic head injuries consistent with a fall from height.
His death would have been instantaneous.
Jay Slater was found in a ravine in the west of Tenerife almost a month after he went missing following a night out
Jay’s disappearance in Tenerife triggered a frantic search effort that tragically ended with his body being found more than four weeks after he was first reported missing
Details of Jay’s funeral have appeared on social media, with those attending asked to wear ‘something blue in his memory.’
The statement also paid tribute to Jay, who was described as ‘a loving son’, keen footballer and young man who loved to meet new people.
It said: ‘After Jay left Rhyddings High School he went on to become an apprentice bricklayer with the PH Build group, a job he greatly enjoyed.
‘At the young age of 5 Jay started playing football for Huncoat United FC until the age of 17 and also did a few seasons with the Sunday team at St Joesph’s too.
‘He also loved spending time chilling out with his friends.
‘Jay’s love of music and dance started at a very young age. He loved attending music festivals and events across the country and also loved to socialise and meet new people.
Jay pictured with his mother Debbie Duncan
A handwritten message from Jay’s mother Debbie Turner attached with a blue peg to one of the bouquets
His mother, Debbie Duncan, who travelled to Tenerife hoping to find her son alive
‘A loving son of Debbie and Warren, a cherished brother of Zak and brother-in-law of Jessica, a treasured grandson of Dawn, June and the late Dougie, a much-loved nephew of Glen and Katie, a dear cousin of Maddie and Tillie and a loyal friend to many.
‘Jay will be very sadly missed by all those who knew him.’
A celebration of life service will be held at 10.30am on Saturday 10th August 2024, at Accrington Cemetery Chapel prior to interment.
Attendants are also asked make donations in lieu of flowers to the charity LBT Global, which provides crisis support for the families of people missing overseas.
Volunteers searching for Jay in Masca after the teenager went missing