Spanish rescue teams in Tenerife found human remains in the area where British teenager Jay Slater went missing nearly a month ago, local police said on Monday.
Evidence strongly suggested the remains were those of the teenager, they added.
The Guardia Civil police said in a statement that he may have died due to an accidental fall in the difficult-to-access mountainous area, but the autopsy will show whether it was an accident.
Mr Slater (19) went missing on June 17th and his phone was last traced to the Masca ravine in a remote national park on the Canary Islands archipelago.
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The body is understood to have been found close to his mobile phone’s last location and with his possessions and clothes, missing persons charity LBT Global said on behalf of the family.
In a statement reported by Sky News, police said: “The mountain rescue and intervention group of the Civil Guard has located the lifeless body of a young man in the Masca area after 29 days of constant search.
“Given the complexity of the case, the discovery has been possible thanks to the incessant and discreet search carried out by the Civil Guard during these 29 days, in which the natural space was preserved so that it would not be filled with curious onlookers.
“All indications indicate that it could be the young British man who has been missing since June 17 in the absence of full identification. The first investigations reveal that he could have suffered an accident fall in the inaccessible area where he was found.”
The LBT Global charity said in a statement it was “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. A postmortem examination and forensic enquiries will follow.
“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.” – Agencies