LONDON (AP) 鈥 A British teen who was missing for nearly a month on the island of Tenerife likely died from injuries suffered in a fall in rocky terrain, a Spanish court said Tuesday.
Jay Slater, 19, was identified through fingerprints the day after his remains were discovered in a rugged area near his last known location, the High Court of Justice said.
Spanish authorities, family members, friends and volunteers for Slater after he apparently got lost trying to walk from one corner of the island to another.
The journey from Masca, a village in the northwest, to where he had been staying in Los Cristianos in the south, would have taken about 11 hours on foot.
Slater frantically called a friend, Lucy Law, that morning and said he was 鈥渓ost in the mountains, he wasn鈥檛 aware of his surroundings, he desperately needed a drink and his phone was on 1%,鈥 she said.
His body was found Monday by the Spanish Civil Guard in a steep and inaccessible area. It was near the last known location of his mobile phone, said LBT Global, a charity that supported Slater鈥檚 family.
Slater, an apprentice bricklayer from Oswaldtwistle in northwest England, had attended a music festival the day before his disappearance.
Law said on Instagram that Slater was 鈥渁lways the happiest and most smiley person in the room" and would be missed 鈥渕ore than you know.鈥
鈥淚鈥檓 sure you鈥檒l 鈥榟ave your dancing shoes polished and ready鈥 waiting for us all," Law wrote. "We all love you buddy. Fly high.鈥
