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4 months ago
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THE shock discovery of Jay Slater’s “body” is the “worst possible ending” for his family – but it will silence the trolls, an ex-cop says.
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley believes the find will bring heartbreak for the Slaters after four weeks of searching for the 19-year-old.
Jay Slater went missing on June 17
Arthur Edwards / The Sun
Dad Warren Slater and brother Zak never gave up hope and kept searching for JayDoug Seeburg
Peter said it was the worst possible ending for Jay’s loved ones.
He said: “We don’t have any formal identification of these human remains yet, but it is reasonable to work on the theory that this tragically is the body of Jay Slater.”
The former murder squad cop said the facts showed Jay was in a hostile landscape where someone would struggle to survive.
He added: “He had 1% battery power left on his mobile phone, and he had no water or other drink.
“It was also suggested that he cut himself on a cactus, and all those facts would indicate that this, perhaps, was a man in rugged, unfamiliar terrain, who was clearly going to be getting into difficulties in a short space of time.”
Peter slammed trolls who ignored the facts and said the four weeks of “conspiracy, theorizing nonsense, and claptrap” would finally come to an end.
He said the most likely outcome put forward by police had turned out to be correct.
“Some people chose to ignore those facts as they were known, and go off into wild hurtful, damaging, unnecessary theorizing.
“Perhaps it would appear that the Guardia Seville, who were better placed to make a judgement call. Bearing in mind they knew more than anyone. Perhaps their initial theory was right all along.”
Social media has been rife with wild claims and mindless armchair detectives peddling conspiracy theories about the apprentice bricklayer’s disappearance.
Jay’s distraught family have also been hounded by warped trolls who targeted his Instagram account.
Dad Warren had blasted trolls only several days ago and told them to search on the ground themselves before jumping to conclusions.
Peter said that whenever there was some kind of mystery now the trolls turned out.
He said: “Those armchair detectives, the amateur sleuths, the online investigators, unfortunately, are always going to be a presence.”
The teenager has been missing since June 17PA
PAPeter defended the Guardia Civil in the search and said it had done as much as it could with the resources it had.
He said: “Yes, if they had been able to mobilize a battalion of a thousand soldiers, for example, then I suspect the answers could have been discovered much earlier.
“I think they probably deployed all the resources that they reasonably felt they could do at that time.”
A Civil Guard spokesman said the body was found at around 10am – some two hours before going public with the information.
He said: “The large-scale operation involving multiple units had been suspended but as we always said, we never stopped looking for Jay.
“The mountain rescue group continued looking for the missing man when they were on duty and have now found the remains of a person they believe is him.”
We don’t have any formal identification of these human remains yet, but it is reasonable to work on the theory that this tragically is the body of Jay Slater
Peter BleksleyAsked whether the force could say exactly where the human remains had been found, he said: “In the area near Masca is all I can say at the moment.”
He added: “We’ve always said the terrain is a very difficult terrain and the search was complicated.”
British overseas missing persons charity LBT Global said: “LBT Global is saddened to announce that a body found in Tenerife does look to be that of Jay Slater.
“It is understood the body was found close to the site of his mobile phone’s last location.
“Although formal identification is yet to be carried out, the body was found with Mr Slater’s possessions and clothes.
“LBT Global are supporting the family at this distressing time and ask for everyone to afford them space and privacy to come to terms with the news.”
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said they have been notified by the Civil Guard that a body has been found – and that “the indications are that this is Jay Slater”.
They added: “While at this stage no formal identification has been carried out our thoughts are very much with Jay’s family at this time, and we continue to offer them our support.”
What happened to Jay Slater?
Jay travelled to the unforgiving mountainous area in Tenerife in the early hours of June 17 with two men after a night of partying.
He then left in the morning, but after learning he’d missed the bus started trying to do the 11-hour trek back to his own accommodation.
One of the men – convicted drug dealer Ayub Qassim – says Jay left the house alive.
Jay made a final frantic call to friend Lucy Law to say he was lost, had one per cent phone battery, and needed water.
In an earlier call to friend Brad, his feet could be heard slipping on the rocks.
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.
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.
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 almost two 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.
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