Jay Slater’s mother Debbie Duncan has paid tribute to her “beautiful boy” after Spanish authorities confirmed a body found in Tenerife was that of the missing teenager.
In statement she said: “I just can’t believe this could happen to my beautiful boy. Our hearts are broken.”
Court officials said on Tuesday that injuries sustained by Mr Slater were compatible with an accidental fall.
“Fingerprinting confirms that the body belongs to Jay Slater and the death was due to multiple traumas compatible with a fall in the mountainous area,” a court spokesperson said.
The Canary Islands High Court of Justice confirmed that Mr Slater’s documents were found on the body, and said “everything suggests” the teenager’s cause of death was an “accidental fall”, though no official cause has been determined yet.
In a statement carried by the BBC, it said: “It is confirmed that the documentation that was on the body found yesterday in the mountains of Masca belongs to Jay Slater and everything suggests that it was an accidental fall.”
Charity LBT Global said remains were found on Monday with the 19-year-old’s clothes and possessions near his last known location.
Members of a mountain rescue team from the Spanish Civil Guard discovered the body near the village of Masca.
Mr Slater had 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.
He 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.
Spanish police called off the search for the apprentice bricklayer at the end of June after helicopters, drones and search dogs were deployed to find him.
Following the discovery, Mr Slater’s friend Lucy Law, who was the last known person to speak to him during a phone call on June 17, issued a tribute on her Instagram page.
She said: “Honestly lost for words.
“Always the happiest and most smiley person in the room, you was (sic) one of a kind Jay and you’ll be missed more than you know.
“I’m sure you’ll ‘have your dancing shoes polished and ready’ waiting for us all.
“We all love you buddy. Fly high.”
An account which appeared to below to fellow friend Brad Hargreaves wrote: “No words. Nothing will be the same without you. Rest easy brother. Love you always.”
His mother, Debbie Duncan, is also said to be “completely devastated” alongside other family members who had personally searched for the missing teen.
The day before her son’s body was discovered, she described him as a "loving son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend to so many".
She also criticised online comments and conspiracy theories that ran wild since the teenager’s disappearance.
The Spanish Civil Guard said Mr Slater, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, could have fallen in the steep and inaccessible area where he was discovered.
It released video footage of rescuers climbing rock faces and battling through scrub as they carried out the search.
Part of the clip shows two members of the search team being winched out of the area by helicopter after the body had been found and recovered.
