Body found in hunt for missing Brit, 19, who vanished in Tenerife after four week search

A BODY has tragically been found in the hunt for missing Brit Jay Slater after a gruelling x week search.

The 19-year-old vanished on the morning of Monday June 17 after going to a rave the night before with friends in Tenerife – sparking a huge effort to find the Lancashire teen.

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A body has been found in the hunt for missing British teenager Jay Slater[/caption]

Tim Stewart

Jay (R) with his older brother Zak (L) and mum Debbie Duncan (C)[/caption]

Ian Whittaker

Zak and Jay’s father Warren Slater spent the x weeks scouring Tenerife for any trace of the teen[/caption]

Jay, from Lancashire, went home with two men he had recently met to a secluded Airbnb hours away from the holiday apartment he was staying in with pals.

The teen spent the night sleeping on the sofa up in the mountainous region of Masca after a long day of partying at the NRG festival.

One of the men – convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim – says Jay left the house alive.

Former investigator Mark Williams-Thomas – who has been working on the case for weeks – 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.

The missing teen tried to make his way back to his holiday apartment which was an 11-hour walk away.

The apprentice bricklayer made a final frantic phone call to pal Lucy Mae Law, 18, hours into the trek to tell her he was stranded in the “middle of nowhere”.

Panicked Jay told his close pal he needed water, only had one per cent of battery left on his phone and had been cut by a cactus.

Close friend Brad Hargreaves later revealed he also had a Snapchat call where Jay told him he had veered off the main path.

Brad said he could hear the missing teen slipping on rocks during a final video call – leading to speculation he may have slid down rocks.

A friend of Jay then allegedly called Qassim, dubbed “Johnny Vegas” telling him Jay was “in a ditch somewhere”.

The identity of the friend has not released.

Qassim has been questioned by cops in Spain already with them dubbing him “not relevant” to the case.

He has since flown back to the UK.

The convicted criminal, who became a key witness, hit out at speculation online over his involvement and insisted he has “nothing to hide”.

Jay’s family have repeatedly slammed the Spanish investigation into his bizarre disappearance.

Ian Whittaker

Jay went missing after going on holiday to the NRG rave in Tenerife[/caption]

Convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim was with Jay the morning he vanished

PA

The Airbnb where Jay stayed the night before he vanished without a trace[/caption]

PA

Rescue workers say they struggled with the search due to the altitude, heat and the sheer size of the area they feared Jay could’ve been[/caption]

His uncle, Glen Duncan, is convinced of “third party involvement”.

And the teen’s devastated dad, Warren Slater, says “everything stinks”

Mark later claimed his efforts have “opened up an established criminal network with links to drugs , violent crime and thefts”.

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.

THE MAMMOTH SEARCH

Lucy reported Jay missing to Spanish cops a few hours after their final phone call – sparking a huge search across the island that would last for weeks.

Jay’s upset mum Debbie Duncan quickly rushed over to Tenerife to help cops with their investigation.

She was later followed by Jay’s older brother Zak, 24, and his dad Warren Slater, 58, as well as a number of volunteers.

The case quickly gained global attention as the family called for help to scour the mountains where Jay’s phone last pinged on June 17.

Jay’s final location showed he was near Rural de Teno Park – a massive barren landscape filled with bushes and rocks.

Dozens of rescue workers and the Spanish Guardia Civil all took to the mountain range using sniffer dogs, drones, a helicopter and volunteers.

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for missing Jay Slater’s family by Lucy which hit over £50,000 in a month.

Debbie revealed she would be withdrawing some of the donations to fly supporters out to Tenerife to help with the hunt just weeks into the search.

But after cops had no success, the official search was called off on June 30 after two weeks.

Jay’s heartbroken and frustrated family vowed to carry on the hunt regardless.

A new team led by local hiker Juan Garcia, and including Jay’s uncle Glen Duncan, dad Warren and brother Zak, focused on an area of a gorge close before exploring caves, ravines and slopes.

Seasoned mountain experts who were flown out by Jay’s family said the search was hampered by the altitude, heat and the size of the area.

Warren voiced similar concerns over the huge area they needed to look through.

He warned it would’ve taken “an army 10 years” to search the whole area as the distraught father pleaded with Interpol and British cops to help.

Close friend Brad Hargreaves claims he heard Jay walking on a rocky path in their final phone call hours before he vanishedEroteme

Jay’s dad Warren has been left heartbroken after spending weeks in TenerifeIan Whittaker

Jay’s final Snapchat post showed him smoking a cigarette with a blanket given to him by Qassim at the Airbnb

Ian Whittaker

Mark William-Thomas claimed his efforts ‘opened up an established criminal network with links to drugs , violent crime and thefts’ in Tenerife[/caption]