Pictured: British gap year student, 19, found dead on remote Colombian dirt track after hallucinogenic jungle drug ritual went wrong

Henry Miller, 19, was found dumped on dirt road after visiting remote tribe

He had travelled into remote rainforest to take tribal drink called Yage

Henry, from Bristol, was found dead on Wednesday after ritual

One report says Henry fell unconscious and tribesmen tried to revive him

His parents said he was 'polite, popular' and had a great sense of humour



Believed to have accepted a place at University of Brighton



Victim: Henry Miller, 19, died after taking 'Yage' in a remote part of Colombia

The body of a British teenager on a gap year has been found dumped on a remote road in the Colombian jungle after taking the hallucinogenic drug Yage.



Henry Miller, 19, who was due to go to university in September, had travelled to a remote rainforest area in the long-troubled South American country and taken the substance, which induces vivid hallucinations and supposedly spiritual experiences.

His family, who live in a £450,000 Victorian terraced house in Bristol, released a photo of him today while trying to come to terms with his death.



Elizabeth and David, and brother Freddie, said today Henry had reacted to the plant infusion after the hostel he was staying at recommended he drink it.

In a statement they said: 'In the last 48 hours we received the exceptionally sad news that our son Henry has died whilst travelling in Colombia.

'We are being informed of the circumstances through the Foreign Office.

'We understand that he took part in a local tribal ritual recommended by the hostel that he was staying at.



'The ritual involves a drink made from local plant infusions. We are awaiting further information from the Foreign Office but it is likely that a reaction to this drink was the cause.



'Henry was an adventurous person who travelled extensively. He was polite, popular with a great sense of humour and was very much loved by his family and his many friends.

'We hope we can all be given the time and space to come to terms with what has happened and to grieve for our son and brother.'

A Twitter user also paid tribute to the student. She posted: 'So sad. RIP Henry you amazing guy.'

Many of his friends changed their profile pictures on Facebook to one of them with Henry.

It is thought he attended North Bristol Post 16 Centre and had accepted a place at the University of Brighton to study at the school of English Literature, Language, Linguistics & Media.

After trying the drug for the first time, the student decided to stay at the hostel to take it again and collapsed on the second occasion.

Hours later Henry's body was dumped on a remote dirt track.

Scroll down for video



Tributes: Henry's family described him as 'popular' and 'polite' 'Popular': The student from Bristol was due to go to university in September after his travels

Education: He attended the North Bristol Post Centre and is believed to have accepted a place at the University of Brighton

Destination: The drug is found in the Andes in Southern Colombia

Colombian police are now investigating the death, and the people who supplied Henry with Yage, which was said by one local to kill a couple of people every year.



Henry, from Bristol, had been travelling round South America for some months, but only recently arrived in the remote town of Mocoa in the Putumayo region .

Around a week ago he booked in to the Casa del Rio hostel there. The hostel continues to list the taking of the potentially lethal hallucinogen on its 'things to do' web page, saying: 'experience Yagé, Indian tradition taking a medicinal plant which purifies and can make you hallucinate'.

However the owners maintain that they did not encourage Henry to take the drug.



THE DRUG THAT OFFERS 'EXTREME HALLUCINATORY EXPERIENCES'

Ayahuasca, or Yage, contains Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT. It is a plant-based mixture that can also be smoked to give users a hallucinatory 'journey' more extreme than that of LSD, ketamine or magic mushrooms.

Adam Winstock, founder of the Global Drugs Survey, claims it has 'a larger proportion of new users' compared to other powerful drugs.

According to the 2012 study, conducted between November and December last year, DMT offers an 'extreme hallucinatory experience' and users cite a 'bad trip' as a potential risk. The majority of users rated the effect of DMT as stronger than ketamine, magic mushrooms and LSD

They added that the reaction was a 'journey' rather than a trip because the experience stands apart from anything else.



The young Briton, who appears to have been travelling alone but had made friends on his travels, first drank the drug on Sunday without suffering apparent harm, then took it again on Tuesday.

Henry travelled a short distance from his hostel to take the drug on the land of a shaman named as Guillemo Mavisoy Mutumbajoy from the Kamentsa tribe, among a small group of other tourists from around the world.



There was one local report that Henry fell unconscious at around 3am on Wednesday morning, and that attempts were made to revive him with a nettle ointment said to be an antidote to Yage.



One source was reported as telling a local Colombian news site: 'A couple of people die every year from taking Yage. I can't say very much as there is a police investigation.



'Henry was a very decent polite young man who looked more like a student than a hippy. He was not the sort of person you would expect that would take Yage.'



The source added that Miller, who was travelling alone but had met others on his south American journey, may have been talked into taking the potentially lethal herbal cocktail.



He revealed that Miller took part in the drug taking ritual twice while he was in Mocoa, with just one day between sessions, and 'was planning to travel on but changed his mind to go and take it again'.

The process is said to take around 24 hours, and involves a number of processes which require the user to dress in white.



Investigators from the Colombian Attorney General's Office removed the body to Mocoa to establish the cause of death.



A UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesperson said: 'We are aware of the death of a British national on 23 April in Colombia. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.'

Tribal: The drug is said to produce an 'extreme hallucinogenic reaction' that takes the user on a 'journey'





