The heartbroken family of Jay Slater has hired a private search team to search for the exact spot where the 19-year-old disappeared over one month ago.
After weeks of searching, police retrieved the Brit teen’s body from a perilous ravine in the rugged terrain of Tenerife on Monday.
An examination of Jay’s body indicated he had sustained multiple injuries indicative of an accidental plunge from a significant height.
Photos show the moment a helicopter crew member was carefully lowered into the deep gorge, arms raised, as part of the sensitive retrieval mission.
But his family still have questions about his disappearance.
The precise location where Jay’s body was found has not been disclosed by Spanish authorities.
The group, hired by Jay’s family, named Signi Zoekhonden, arrived on the island Sunday night, mere hours before the discovery of Jay’s body the next morning.
Despite the find, they have stayed on in Tenerife and are expected to head back later in the week.
Today, they were spotted navigating a barren ravine alongside their search dog, Flex.
Esther van Neerbos, a veterinarian who heads the search group, reported that Flex showed interest in a specific area within the ravine, which she described as “difficult and dangerous”.
She also mentioned that she has advised the family against laying flowers at the exact spot where Jay was found because it’s too dangerous.
Esther said: “Every case is sad, it’s particularly difficult for mothers, it is never nice to have to search for a young child. Losing your boy is the worst thing you can think about. I think the rescue workers that found him did a very good job. Jay was a very young guy, he did very well to get as far as he got. The place where he was found is a very dry, small valley, very difficult to get into.”
Spain’s Guardia Civil told The Sun on Friday that they would not be disclosing the exact location where Jay’s body was discovered.