Jay Slater search member describes treacherous conditions of area
A former British army veteran who has spent weeks searching for missing Jay Slater has opened up about the treacherous conditions of the area where a body was found.
Spanish police confirmed on Monday (July 15) that human remains were found as part of their search for Jay. The 19-year-old, from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, has not been heard from since going missing on the Spanish island on June 17.
The Civil Guard says while a formal identification needs to take place, "all evidence suggests" the remains are those of Jay and that he may have suffered an accident or a fall
The body was found near his phone's last location and alongside his possessions and clothes, British charity LBT Global says. The search for the teenager was focused on the Masca area and on June 30 the Civil Guard said it was calling off its search.
Chris Pennington, who has been helping try to find the missing teenager, appeared on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday (July 16) and spoke to hosts Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley live from Tenerife.
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He said: "I would go as far as saying it's absolutely deadly. To try and search in that area and try and make sure your own safety is looked after and try and find a missing person is task of the highest order.
Kate asked: "What do you mean by deadly? Is it the fact you can't see where the drops are? You can't see where you might fall? What is that jeopardy.
He added: "There are a number of challenges. The first vegetation is extremely high. Once you enter off the road into the vegetation you disappear quickly. Th ground is very dry with make is extrmeltuy slippy and once you come completely off the path it's volcanic rock and If you slip on the volcanic rock like I have done last Saturday I'm bruised, cut graze and scrapped.
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"It's almost like an amp theatre and that's a heat trap so once you're in that area it's so easy to become dehydrated and suffer from heat exhaustion. As you get further down to where the cliffs are, the drops are 200 to300 feet and if you slip or fall at that point it really is game over."
Chris went on to share that he thinks Jay was trying to take a short cut but to the coast and says "it looks closer than what it really is" and says the challenges he would have gone through to get to land would have been "unbearable".
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am
