Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020 #2
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CoverMeCagney
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Finally, some new (ish) news!
50 days already, must be agony for Esther’s friends and family.
So the 3 possible explanations for ED's disappearance still remain in DC's mind. With the 3rd party theory re involuntary disappearance seeming uppermost for him. Doesn't rule out the possibility of ED being picked up in a car. Of course it was always likely random people were in the mountains despite the winter beginning but I hadn't thought of hunters who DC became aware of during his own search.
France, it is claimed, has the most hunters in Europe, from September through to February.
France hunting season to begin: 4 facts about la chasse
In Spain hunting is extremely popular. The season is from mid October to early February. The most popular areas are the Atlantic coast, parts of Andalusia and the PYRENEES.
Hunting in Spain
Hunting is a popular sport, if controversial in some quarters, so possibly quite busy in those mountains.
France, it is claimed, has the most hunters in Europe, from September through to February.
France hunting season to begin: 4 facts about la chasse
In Spain hunting is extremely popular. The season is from mid October to early February. The most popular areas are the Atlantic coast, parts of Andalusia and the PYRENEES.
Hunting in Spain
Hunting is a popular sport, if controversial in some quarters, so possibly quite busy in those mountains.
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This leads me to believe that she planned to hike from Pic de Sauvegarde to the Port de Glere. I have been unable to find a trail between those two points. Has anyone else found this trail?
"Mr Colegate said that as he walked the trail she is believed to have gone missing on in November, he came across hunters - sparking the fear that she may have come across an armed stranger, and bundled into a car.
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He added that during his time retracing her steps, he spotted hunters out shooting, and wondered whether she may have encountered someone who was armed.
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Ms Dingley continued to keep her partner updated on her hike, saying in a later text she 'might dip into France' after heading for the Port de la Glere mountain pass.
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The last person to see Esther was Spanish Olympic skier Marti Vigo del Arco, who was coming down from Pico Salvaguardia with his girlfriend on November 22 at around 3pm as Esther was going up.
It is known that she reached the peak of the mountain because of a selfie she sent to Colegate at the top, just before 4pm, and three days before she was expected to return to the Spanish village of Benasque.
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He added that during his time retracing her steps, he spotted hunters out shooting, and wondered whether she may have encountered someone who was armed.
...
Ms Dingley continued to keep her partner updated on her hike, saying in a later text she 'might dip into France' after heading for the Port de la Glere mountain pass.
...
The last person to see Esther was Spanish Olympic skier Marti Vigo del Arco, who was coming down from Pico Salvaguardia with his girlfriend on November 22 at around 3pm as Esther was going up.
It is known that she reached the peak of the mountain because of a selfie she sent to Colegate at the top, just before 4pm, and three days before she was expected to return to the Spanish village of Benasque.
Boyfriend of Briton who vanished in Pyrenees rubbishes claim she was unhappy in their relationship | Daily Mail Online
Map without trail from Pic de Sauvegarde to Port de Glere
OpenTopoMap - Topographische Karten aus OpenStreetMap
CoverMeCagney
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This is the trail we’ve been talking about from the beginning. We’ve always known she was going from Sauvegarde to La Glere. It’s been discussed and mapped several times on here.
CoverMeCagney
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It sounds like he thinks hunters forced her down the mountain at gun point and are keeping her captive. This is the only scenario where she is alive, so it's understandable that he wants to keep this option open.
However, the fact that she was at Pic de Sauvegarde and intended to go to Port de Glere, and maybe dip into France afterward, suggests that she was hiking a route without a trail - at least I don't see a trail.
Perhaps someone else can find a trail between the two points? It also suggests that she did intend to bivouac between the two points.
CoverMeCagney
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I believe she was doing the loop trail in the second picture over 3 days. Anti-clockwise.
I was stating that phone batteries (lithium ion) were more susceptible than standard alkaline (AAA, AA, C, etc) technology. I am unsure how nickle metal hydride batteries fare as I do not have any outdoor gear that relies on that battery technology.
RedHaus
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@otto, I agree with @CoverMeCagney (CMC). I think DC and the press coverage (even today's) are using the two points on ED's intended route - Pic de Sauvegarde and Port de Glere - as two key milestones. IMO, this does not imply ED followed a direct line between them, because as you have affirmed, there doesn't seem to be a trail.
Given that, we could consider ED started a loop on 22/11 after she summited the pic de Sauvegarde (or even if she didn't go all the way up). The loop that @Skiptolou suggested a little while back, IMO, confirmed for us this is a possible loop that fits ED's intended route. But ED could have taken it clockwise or counter clockwise.
1. Counter Clockwise: ED could have done as CMC suggests, above. From the pic de Sauvegarde summit and/or the port de Vanesque (if ED did not go all the way up the to the summit) ED could have aimed for the winter room of the refuge de Vanesque for the night of 22/11 (or to bivouac outside). From there she could head towards the Hospice de France and loop through the chemin de l'impératrice towards the Cabane de la port de glere. Then she could loop back to the Refuge de V.
2. Clockwise: Obviously it is what is described above in reverse. Please see the attached map. The question this could pose is whether ED would have stayed at the Refuge de Vanasque the night of 22/11 or if that late afternoon she hiked clockwise towards the Cabane de la port de glere, perhaps that depended on available light?
I have reattached @Skiptolou's map, with added graphics on the loop to help explain what I am trying to say here...
As others have said about this scenario, if ED did this loop in either direction, she would have stayed the night of 23-24/11 somewhere - in a cabane / hospice / bivouac, etc. That alone leaves many possibilities wide open. And of course, what she did the afternoon / night of 21/11 (i.e. per my "two loop theory") may simply be irrelevant...
But this loop does fit the vague descriptions of ED's route that DC and the MSM refer too... and fits otto's sleuthing that focused us back on the port de la glere. That said, I suggest looking at this description of the pic de Sajust, which appears to be on the route between the Refuge de V and Port de Glere area, I think... Wow!
Pic de SAJUST
Food for thought!
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RickshawFan
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Snipped for focus
It's on the other side of the sauvegarde ridge, I believe, from the Refuge basin. You enter the valley from the Port de Picade further along. You posted photos from a Frenchman's blog ^^^^, if you recall. The trail is clear and well-marked.
Apologies, but I don't have a reference. I don't understand.
Is there a trail between the Pic de Sauvegarde and Port de Glare that is unmarked? If there is a trail, please link to a map without referencing others on this forum.
The only way she could get to the Port de Glere without crossing into France is to bivouac between Port de Venasque and Port de Glere.
Her partner said that she might enter France after the hike to the Port de Glere.
We know about the trail to Port de Glere through France (refuge de Venasque), but that is not what her partner said.
Gotta keep our eye on the facts:
"Ms Dingley continued to keep her partner updated on her hike, saying in a later text she 'might dip into France' after heading for the Port de la Glere mountain pass."
Boyfriend of Briton who vanished in Pyrenees rubbishes claim she was unhappy in their relationship | Daily Mail Online
RickshawFan
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DC could have been mistaken and got the Ports mixed up. There are several Ports.
Of course. The police could be mistaken, the boyfriend could be mistaken, there might be an unmarked trail between Port de Venasque and Port de Glere.
Esther told her partner on Nov 22 at 4 PM from the Pic de Sauvegarde that she might "dip into France" after conquering the trail between the Pic de Sauvegarde and Port de Glere - without dipping into France. She might "dip into France" later.
This route does not include the Refuge de Venasque.
Port de Glere: search area and trip plan
Boyfriend of Briton who vanished in Pyrenees rubbishes claim she was unhappy in their relationship | Daily Mail Online
Did she intend to hike from the Pic de Sauvgarde to the Port de Venasque trailhead, to the Port de Glère, bivouac nearby Nov 22? Where did she plan to sleep on Nov 22?
If she was headed to Port de Glere at 4 PM from the summit, she was not sleeping at the refuge de Venasque.
Arrows crudely identify a path from Port de Glère to the Refuge de Venasque.
"Ms Dingley continued to keep her partner updated on her hike, saying in a later text she 'might dip into France' after heading for the Port de la Glere mountain pass"
Boyfriend of Briton who vanished in Pyrenees rubbishes claim she was unhappy in their relationship | Daily Mail Online
"The [search] sector envisaged for his hike extends from the port of Glère to the port of Vénasque (French and Spanish sides)."
Pyrénées. Neuf jours après son dernier message, aucune trace de la randonneuse disparue en Haute-Garonne
Did she intend to hike from the Pic de Sauvgarde to the Port de Venasque trailhead, to the Port de Glère, bivouac nearby Nov 22? Where did she plan to sleep on Nov 22?
If she was headed to Port de Glere at 4 PM from the summit, she was not sleeping at the refuge de Venasque.
Arrows crudely identify a path from Port de Glère to the Refuge de Venasque.
From 4 PM at the Pic de Sauvegarde to the Port de Venesque was 30 minutes. At 4:30 she had one hour to sunset and perhaps intended to watch the sunset from the top of the mountains - but what if there wasn't a good path, beyond a few goats, and the slope didn't work for bivouacing?
Would she hike up or down the mountain to make her way to the Port de Glere? How long would it take to hike up, and where would she land in France if she screwed up?
Would she hike up or down the mountain to make her way to the Port de Glere? How long would it take to hike up, and where would she land in France if she screwed up?
PeggyHenry
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Hopefully this new communication will prompt an update from the Spanish / French police forces in charge of the investigation.
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