Jay Slater's mum demands answers after body found as discovery leaves her with 'lots of questions'
Debbie Duncan has "lots of questions", an insider claimed
PA
Jay Slater's "devastated" mum has been left with "lots of questions" after Spanish investigators found a body in the search for the missing teen.
Slater, 19, had disappeared almost a month ago on the Spanish island of Tenerife - and the subsequent hunt had sparked a global popular frenzy.
But amid the chaos - and the heart-wrenching discovery of a body just yesterday - Jay's mother, Debbie Duncan, is demanding answers.
A source close to the Slaters told The Sun that the "hardest" part for Duncan was that the human remains were "found so close to the original search site" near the village of Masca.
Search teams had to be airlifted out of the area in which the body was found
Reuters/PA
"It means it's entirely possible they have walked past his body whilst searching for him", the insider said.
The source added that the family had been "dreading" news of this nature from Spanish authorities after they called off their official search some weeks ago, and said it "hasn't completely sunk in yet" for Duncan.
They said: "It seems incredible so many people walked that area and yet he was so close.
"As we have seen with mountainous terrain and ravines, it does happen - no matter how hard that is to believe."
MORE AS THE SEARCH FOR JAY SLATER REACHES ITS CONCLUSION:
The source said the news "hasn't completely sunk in yet" for Debbie Duncan
PA/ITNOn July 13, Duncan had said the family had arranged for a team of experts with specialist dogs to fly in over the weekend from the Netherlands.
"Jay is just a normal hardworking young lad from Lancashire who is very loved by all who know him," she wrote in a statement, asking people to pray for him and his family.
LBT Global, which supports the families of British people missing overseas, said it was "saddened to announce that a body found in Tenerife does look to be that of JaySlater".
The group continued: "It is understood the body was found close to the site of his mobile phone’s last location.
Debbie Duncan has "lots of questions", an insider claimed
PA"Although formal identification is yet to be carried out, the body was found with Slater's possessions and clothes.
"A post-mortem examination and forensic inquiries 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."
While Tenerife's Guardia Civil said yesterday that officers were waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination to confirm that Slater died as a result of an accident.
Footage from the authority showed investigators being airlifted out of a ravine where they were searching for the teen after a weeks-long hunt.
In a statement, the Guardia Civil said: "The discovery was 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 onlookers."
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