News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The family of British backpacker Connor Jarvis who was found dead in a Moroccan ravine are travelling to the country to bring his body home.

The 19-year-old vanished while on a trek in the country’s Atlas Mountains and his body was discovered by a guide in a mountainous region.

In a heartfelt message posted online, his parents John and Sian Jarvis said: “Today we have been told that the person who lost their life on Mount Toubkal in Morocco has been confirmed as our dear son, Connor Jarvis.

“We are in Morocco now to bring Connor back home.

“The family would like to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and messages.

“We would like to ask everybody to respect our privacy at this very sad time.”

(Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

Read more:Missing Connor Jarvis: Teenager missing after failing to return from holiday in Morocco

Tributes to the 19-year-old have been flooding in on social media, with one friend writing: “I literally have no words”.

Jade Kendall continued: “I was praying it would not be Connor. My thoughts are with you all. and I am sending sooooo much love to you all. From the bottom of my heart.”

Hannah Eggleton posted: “My heart goes out to you and your family, I worked a few doors down from Connor and he was always such a really lovely person. Really sorry to hear this sad news.”

Sherree Antsis added: “He was such a funny & caring lad.”

The region where Connor was found is close to Mount Toubkal, the summit of the Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa, an area popular with tourist hikers.

(Image: Avon and Somerset Police)

Read more:Missing Connor Jarvis: 'Body found in Moroccan ravine' during hunt for Brit traveller who disappeared trekking Atlas mountains

Avon and Somerset Police said a body had been recovered from the Atlas Mountains, although formal identification has not taken place.

A spokesman said: “We can confirm that a body has been located in the Atlas mountains in Morocco," the spokesman said.

"Moroccan authorities have recovered the body. Although formal identification has not yet been completed, the family of Connor Jarvis have been made aware."

Police had appealed for information about Mr Jarvis's disappearance, saying it was out of character.

They revealed Mr Jarvis had met a soldier, also from Bath, who was heading for an eight-day trip to the Atlas Mountains and the authorities wished to speak to him.

- Connor's family have set up a JustGiving charity fund in Connor's memory to raise funds for Mountain Rescue England and Wales: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Connor-Jarvis

An earlier version of this story briefly stated that Connor had last posted on social media on Saturday 28 May, writing: "Multiple Jagerbombs into the Bank Holiday weekend lmao." We wish to make clear that this message was posted on 28 March - not 28 May - in Bristol and had no connection with the trip to Morocco. This information was originally provided to us by a news agency, and we removed it as soon as we were alerted to its inaccuracy. We apologise to Connor's family for this error.