The mother of Jay Slater, who died after he went missing in Tenerife, has said retracing his footsteps was “very tough and emotional” but had given her “more closure”.

Jay, 19, and from Oswaldtwistle in Lancashire, went missing on 17 June 2024 after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas on the Spanish island, and was found dead after a 29-day search.

His mother, Debbie Duncan, told BBC Radio Lancashire she hoped after watching a forthcoming documentary on the case, people “may well believe the facts”.

The first episode of the Channel Five series “Cause of Death”, which will explore the manhunt and huge social media interest around the case, will air at 21:00 BST on Wednesday.

An inquest into Jay’s death ruled it was a “tragic accident,” and entirely without third party influence.

He had fallen in a “particularly dangerous area”, and suffered skull fractures and brain trauma that killed him instantly.

Debbie said retracing her son’s steps helped her, because “we could look at the terrain in more detail”.

“It was the timeline for me, from his location… to him saying ‘I don’t know where I am, I am lost’. So that was important to me, to time it.”

The episode retraces his steps alongside forensic pathologist Richard Shepherd, who carried out Jay’s postmortem when his body was returned to the UK.

“Having Dr Shepherd there to talk more about his injuries was just really good,” Debbie said, adding he had been able “to explain it in more simple terms”.

“It was very tough and emotional going back there, but we have got more closure. Obviously I didn’t question for one minute it was an accident,” she said.

She said the family were “all coping in different ways” since Jay’s death.

“I’m trying to keep busy, and I am in contact with other bereaved families.

“I can’t say it helps, but talking to other parents who have gone through losing their children, you know you are not on your own.”

Last year, she called for Jay’s Law to prevent the online trolling of grieving families.

Following his disappearance, a number of theories about what had happened to him began to circulate on social media.

She said the law would be “aimed at tech companies” and obligate them “to take down misinformation”.

She added that “the conspiracies were wild”.

“People have said you are taking away our freedom of speech.

“It’s not about freedom of speech. It’s downright bullying. They know the facts but they don’t want to believe them, they just go along withe their own narrative.”

She said “the right people were listening” to her campaign.

But she said it had not got easier to live without Jay, adding: “It seems to get harder to be honest.”

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