Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, Nov 2020 #7

[ChiCubs2016]

What I mean is, if she’d been found within a matter of days it would all have been forgotten about months ago. We certainly wouldn’t have done 6000+ posts on it here.

I agree @CoverMeCagney Like Catherine Shaw. I could not figure out how to copy the WS thread. There was lots of speculation and it turned out to be a terrible tragedy. Cat fell off the mountainside in Guatemala. But she was found and recovered in less than a week so the speculation ended quickly.
I feel glad for Dan and Esther’s family that Esther was found but it I am also so sad for them that they have to think about her being alone on the mountainside for 8 months. No ones fault, just nature preventing searches. I hope they find peace.

 

[ChiCubs2016]

Kind words @poirotoupierrot, and timely, as I’ve just seen this pop up on FB. As mental health has been much discussed here, I hope it is apt.

View attachment 308742

Again I agree @CoverMeCagney happiness is a state of mind. I often tell certain people in my life that other people cannot make you happy, they can add to it but it is all on you. You have to be happy and accept that you will not be happy 100% of the time. It is not the worst think in the world to be unhappy now and then. I was guilty wondering if Esther was truly happy in her life and if it caused her to make a tragic mistake. But that was not fair of me. She was living her life and probably had good and bad days. It is such a shame her life ended in this way. I am glad she was doing what she loved but still a terrible ending.
Thank you to everyone who contributed maps. It was extremely helpful to this “only walks and jogs on flat ground” sleuther.

 

[Federico_A]

I applaud her spirit but if she actually climbed the obscure Pic de la Glere (I would call it a climb rather than a hike) alone - (would anyone else here do that? Me neither) - well...
It's hard to avoid saying it's a severe lapse of judgement, but adults must take responsibility for their actions.

If she didn't actually climb the peak but fell from much lower down as I suggested, then that's partial exoneration as there is clearly a small path up to that point. (By the way, for those who didn't understand, the red arrow simply pointed up the little path that goes to point X on the precipice - not any particular insight on my part, but it's simply the only accessible spot I can see that is at 100m horizontal distance from the path in the cirque below, as we were informed).

I don't blame her boots because there are some places you shouldn't stand in any footwear. I do think she was impelled to take risks for the sake of her blog when it came to getting photos, and the BBC feature would have had a significant psychological effect right at that time and perhaps given her a sense of invincibility.

Well, that's the end of the case for me. She fell from a place she didn't really ought to be. I draw appropriate conclusions about human nature, but in the end I don't think we have really learnt anything unusual.
Enough said.

 

[mrjitty]

I applaud her spirit but if she actually climbed the obscure Pic de la Glere (I would call it a climb rather than a hike) alone - (would anyone else here do that? Me neither) - well...
It's hard to avoid saying it's a severe lapse of judgement, but adults must take responsibility for their actions.

If she didn't actually climb the peak but fell from much lower down as I suggested, then that's partial exoneration as there is clearly a small path up to that point. (By the way, for those who didn't understand, the red arrow simply pointed up the little path that goes to point X on the precipice - not any particular insight on my part, but it's simply the only accessible spot I can see that is at 100m horizontal distance from the path in the cirque below, as we were informed).

I don't blame her boots because there are some places you shouldn't stand in any footwear. I do think she was impelled to take risks for the sake of her blog when it came to getting photos, and the BBC feature would have had a significant psychological effect right at that time and perhaps given her a sense of invincibility.

Well, that's the end of the case for me. She fell from a place she didn't really ought to be. I draw appropriate conclusions about human nature, but in the end I don't think we have really learnt anything unusual.
Enough said.

I think you are right about where she went over. It may have been a totally spontaneous thing. She saw the track to the ridge line and wanted to see the view from there, or see if she might go up the ridge. Danger would appear low from the side she was on.

I don't think she fell from further up the ridge or anywhere close to the peak

 

[Konstantin]

Yes I think Esther made a tragic human error and in her joy at being in the place she loved she forgot that nature is dangerous and can be deadly.

There were so many conditions against her out there— winter, being by herself, no other people around, not having the right shoes— and the tipping point was making a mistake about where to walk or stand.

anyone can have an accident in the high peaks even seasoned mountaineers. Which Esther wasn’t even if she’d had a decent amount of hiking experience with Dan.

I hope her family can bear the pain of losing her. It’s so sad.

 

[mal23]

“The accidental theory is now more than strong because the body was found directly below a kind of rocky peak,” Amunzateguy told MailOnline. “We believed that Esther would have fallen because along this wall we found items that belonged to her and they ended up at the bottom. We estimate the fall at about 20 or even 30 metres.”

 

[pineapple23]

Well, that's the end of the case for me. She fell from a place she didn't really ought to be. I draw appropriate conclusions about human nature, but in the end I don't think we have really learnt anything unusual.

Except maybe something about the indefatigable spirit of human nature and a love that never gives up. I'm talking about Dan of course, a man who was subject to everything from sly insinuation, to character assassination to outright accusations in mainstream and social media.
I'd hate to think of everything I'd ever said and done, every nuance of my life, being put under a spotlight. I don't think many of us would come out of that sort of scrutiny squeaky clean.
Well done Dan for not giving up.

 

[BoraBora]

Is the general consensus that she fell from either of these points on Pic de la Glere (see attached screenshots).

The first SS, the red pin demarks the point (where the words Pic de la Glere are written). This is the point high up the pic where some thought she may have taken an incorrect path.

The second SS, where the red pin is. This is the lower path that FredericoA pointed out.

I know we will never know for sure, I'm just trying to work out roughly where she might have fallen from as the DM maps don't seem to be correct.

 

[19thcenturynovel]

Except maybe something about the indefatigable spirit of human nature and a love that never gives up. I'm talking about Dan of course, a man who was subject to everything from sly insinuation, to character assassination to outright accusations in mainstream and social media.
I'd hate to think of everything I'd ever said and done, every nuance of my life, being put under a spotlight. I don't think many of us would come out of that sort of scrutiny squeaky clean.
Well done Dan for not giving up.

Totally agree, pineapple23. All of our lives are a work in progress. For Dan and Esther's lives to be commented upon, picked apart and downright misrepresented as clickbait must have been awful. Dan and the family now have an explanation but still have a long journey of grief ahead.

 

[OEJ-JEO]

Is the general consensus that she fell from the point marked on the map attached (the red pin where the words Pic de la Glere are written). And if so, is the thinking she could have mistakenly climbed up there taking the wrong path? I know we will never know for sure, I'm just trying to work out roughly where she might have fallen from as the DM maps don't seem to be correct.

It's not clear precisely where she fell. The red pin "Pic de la Glère" marks the summit of the Pic. It was reported initially that her remains were found above the Port de la Glère/Puerto de Gurgute but below the Pic. It seems likely that she fell from some point on the ridge between the two into the fractured rocks below. The skull fragment was found much further down the scree slope below the ridge.

It's been suggested that she might have found her way up to that ridge by mistake, but I don't find that credible. The main path is too clear on the ground in that area, and the terrain off the path is too steep. It seems more likely that she was looking for a better view down the path into France, or maybe that she was trying to bag one last summit before descending, and simply lost her footing.

 

[BoraBora]

Thank you to everyone for your brilliant insights and amazing map reading skills. I have a fair idea where she fell from now thanks to all your hard work (I think she was somewhere near to FredericoA's "x").

I followed along from time to time but didn't comment much as I'm not the best at map reading.

I agree it's a terrible shame it took so long to find her. Had she been found quickly then none of the speculation would have happened. I guess on the upside they are lucky to have found her at all. She could have laid there for years and years without them ever knowing what really happened. Dan never gave up, and as heartbreaking as it is that they lost her, at least they found her too. RIP Esther. Many condolences to Dan, Mum and family.

 

[OEJ-JEO]

(By the way, for those who didn't understand, the red arrow simply pointed up the little path that goes to point X on the precipice - not any particular insight on my part, but it's simply the only accessible spot I can see that is at 100m horizontal distance from the path in the cirque below, as we were informed).

Where does the 100m horizontal distance come from?

It was reported that the distance between the location of the skull fragment and Esther's body was 100m, and that the skull fragment was found near the path at 2200m altitude, a few hundred metres into France. I can't actually square these two reports with any location on the ridge, or the earlier suggestion that the body was above the Port but below the Pic.

 

[The_Investigator]

I applaud her spirit but if she actually climbed the obscure Pic de la Glere (I would call it a climb rather than a hike) alone - (would anyone else here do that? Me neither) - well...
It's hard to avoid saying it's a severe lapse of judgement, but adults must take responsibility for their actions.

If she didn't actually climb the peak but fell from much lower down as I suggested, then that's partial exoneration as there is clearly a small path up to that point. (By the way, for those who didn't understand, the red arrow simply pointed up the little path that goes to point X on the precipice - not any particular insight on my part, but it's simply the only accessible spot I can see that is at 100m horizontal distance from the path in the cirque below, as we were informed).

I don't blame her boots because there are some places you shouldn't stand in any footwear. I do think she was impelled to take risks for the sake of her blog when it came to getting photos, and the BBC feature would have had a significant psychological effect right at that time and perhaps given her a sense of invincibility.

Well, that's the end of the case for me. She fell from a place she didn't really ought to be. I draw appropriate conclusions about human nature, but in the end I don't think we have really learnt anything unusual.
Enough said.

Beautifully said. The nicest of conclusions to this case, it is what it is, our interpretations are ours alone, it was what it was, her life, her problems, her choices, RIP Miss Dingley, and thanks for all the blogs you wrote, on health and yoga, I was inspired by you on many occasions from them. *advertiser censored*

 

[OEJ-JEO]

Are there any native French speakers in the house?

I'm puzzling over a couple of remarks made by the procureur, M. Amunzateguy, as reported in the French media.

The first is that "Le corps a été découvert en bas d’une sorte de piton rocheux". I presume the suggestion is that Esther had been on that pinnacle ("piton") when she fell. But would that refer to the Pic de la Glère itself, or to some sub-peak below it?

The second is that "C'est une zone où il faut être un sacré montagnard pour y aller". Is that a general remark about the nature of the terrain in the high Pyrenees, or does it seem to refer to the specific location of her body?

Pyrénées. Mort d'Esther Dingley : la blogueuse anglaise a très certainement été victime d'un accident | Actu Toulouse

Disparition d'Esther Dingley : l'autopsie confirme l'hypothèse de la chute mortelle

 

[searancke]

Where does the 100m horizontal distance come from?

It was reported that the distance between the location of the skull fragment and Esther's body was 100m, and that the skull fragment was found near the path at 2200m altitude, a few hundred metres into France. I can't actually square these two reports with any location on the ridge, or the earlier suggestion that the body was above the Port but below the Pic.

I posted this before, the yellow line marks the level where Esther was found (a fall of 20m to 30m from the top) as reported. The ovals mark the points where is is possible to end up from the "obvious" places to fall. I think now the most likely is the cyan oval, although it is still hard to see how she could have been missed if she were here.

 

[ZaZara]

Are there any native French speakers in the house?

I'm puzzling over a couple of remarks made by the procureur, M. Amunzateguy, as reported in the French media.

The first is that "Le corps a été découvert en bas d’une sorte de piton rocheux". I presume the suggestion is that Esther had been on that pinnacle ("piton") when she fell. But would that refer to the Pic de la Glère itself, or to some sub-peak below it?

The second is that "C'est une zone où il faut être un sacré montagnard pour y aller". Is that a general remark about the nature of the terrain in the high Pyrenees, or does it seem to refer to the specific location of her body?

Pyrénées. Mort d'Esther Dingley : la blogueuse anglaise a très certainement été victime d'un accident | Actu Toulouse

Disparition d'Esther Dingley : l'autopsie confirme l'hypothèse de la chute mortelle

I translated both in the previous thread. Hope this helps as I am in a hurry now and cannot give your questions the attention they deserve, sorry.

 

[everybodhi]

Where does the 100m horizontal distance come from?

It was reported that the distance between the location of the skull fragment and Esther's body was 100m, and that the skull fragment was found near the path at 2200m altitude, a few hundred metres into France. I can't actually square these two reports with any location on the ridge, or the earlier suggestion that the body was above the Port but below the Pic.

They specified, "as the crow flies", which is a much different distance than a hike.

 

[OEJ-JEO]

I posted this before, the yellow line marks the level where Esther was found (a fall of 20m to 30m from the top) as reported.

Right. I meant to reply to this on the previous thread.

I think your yellow line is much too far from the ridge. It's hard to judge scales by eye, and of course there are distortions inherent in Google Earth, but the big square block on the slope below the summit looks to be about 100m from the summit, according to géoportail. The distance from the path to Federico_A's point X is likewise about 100m. That would put your your line more like 50-100m from the ridge.

 

[OEJ-JEO]

They specified, "as the crow flies", which is a much different distance than a hike.

Indeed. But given that the skull fragment was found near the path at 2200m, the body would have been nowhere near the ridge, and not in a plausible location for a body falling from Federico_A's point X. I haven't seen 100m mentioned in another context, but perhaps I missed it.

To me, this suggests that the 100m is a red herring, but it's hard to be sure.

 

[everybodhi]

Indeed. But given that the skull fragment was found near the path at 2200m, the body would have been nowhere near the ridge, and not in a plausible location for a body falling from Federico_A's point X. I haven't seen 100m mentioned in another context, but perhaps I missed it.

To me, this suggests that the 100m is a red herring, but it's hard to be sure.

I cannot help.
Pinpointing where she was found is way out of my league, that's for sure.