**Coroner concludes Jay Slater’s death was accidental as family mourns ‘joyful’ son**
A coroner has found that Jay Slater, the 19-year-old British tourist whose disappearance sparked an intensive month-long search in Tenerife last year, died as a result of an accidental fall. The ruling came after a detailed inquest at Preston Coroner’s Court, where shocking evidence was presented and Jay’s devastated family paid tribute to a young man described as loving and full of life.
Jay, hailing from Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, was attending the NRG music festival with friends in Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas in June 2024 when he vanished under mysterious circumstances. The Court heard that Slater spent the night out with companions, consuming drugs and alcohol, before travelling with two acquaintances to an Airbnb in the mountainous region of Masca—far from his holiday accommodation. He was last seen early the following morning, embarking on what appeared to be a perilous attempt to return on foot.
According to friends, Jay called for help while trying to find his way back. In emotional accounts, close friends described video and phone calls from Jay in the hours before his disappearance. He reportedly told them: “I’m in the middle of the mountains,” emphasising his distress, thirst, and isolation. One friend, Bradley Geoghegan, testified that Jay still seemed “under the influence” during an early morning video call, with Bradley urging him to find a taxi instead of walking the estimated 14 hours to safety. “I said ‘Get a taxi back’, then he just goes, ‘I will ring you back’,” he recalled.
Other testimonies painted a tragic picture of confusion and anxiety on the morning Jay vanished. Another friend, Lucy Law, said she begged him to retrace his steps before the temperatures soared: “Go back to wherever the f**k you just came from before it gets boiling.” Jay had also expressed concern about his surroundings, asked if cactus plants were poisonous, and reported seeing only “mountains… nothing, literally nothing.”
The coroner’s enquiry outlined the subsequent search, describing the formidable terrain that complicated rescue efforts over 29 days. Authorities from Tenerife’s Mountain Rescue services detailed operations involving helicopters, dogs, drones, and dozens of personnel. On 15 July, search teams discovered Jay’s body in the steep, densely vegetated Juan Lopez Ravine—an area so treacherous it required machetes to traverse, and where sheer drops made any wrong step perilous. Close to where his remains were recovered, rescuers also found his phone, his Armani bag, and empty nitrous oxide canisters.
Spanish officials could not explain why Jay left the safety of the road to descend into the ravine, speculating that he might have incorrectly believed he could reach the coastline and get help. The coroner’s report noted: “It would be easy to slip on the rocks and fall into the void. The death must have occurred as a result of an accidental fall.”
Toxicology tests revealed traces of cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, and alcohol in Jay’s system—a finding that suggests his judgement may have been impaired. Forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd testified that Jay’s injuries aligned with a fall from height, and there was no evidence of violence, restraint or foul play. Marieke Krans from Dutch rescue charity Signi Zoekhonden, which assisted in the search, described the landscape as “really steep, really dangerous”, explaining that losing one’s footing would have been all too easy.
Jay’s mother, Debbie Duncan, struggled to contain her grief during the hearing. She described her son as a “joy to be around”, loved both by his family and the “large circle” of friends left devastated by his loss. “He loved his family very much and was not afraid to show affection,” she read in a tribute at court. “He was very loved and our hearts are broken. Our lives will never be the same without Jay in it.”
Despite the inquest’s conclusion, Jay’s family expressed ongoing frustration, noting that some expected witnesses failed to appear and that a number of difficult questions remain unanswered. Nonetheless, the coroner’s verdict established that Jay Slater’s untimely death was a tragic accident—one that has left lasting scars on both friends and family, and resonated across the UK.
This heart-breaking case has not only shattered the lives of those closest to Jay, but also highlighted the dangers young people can face abroad—particularly in unfamiliar and hazardous terrain. As his mother poignantly remarked, Jay’s story has “touched the hearts of the nation,” serving as a sombre reminder of the fragility of life and the pain wrought by sudden loss.