Pyrénées. Le crâne retrouvé est bien celui d'Esther Dingley, l'Anglaise portée disparue depuis huit mois | Actu Toulouse
Painful news for Esther Dingley's relatives, more than eight months after her mysterious disappearance during a hike in the Pyrenees: the human skull found last week, near a hiking trail at Port de la Gléré, in Bagnères-de-Luchon (Haute-Garonne), is indeed that of the British blogger, aged 37 at the time of her disappearance, Actu Toulouse heard on Friday 30 July 2021, from the charity LBT Global, who are assisting Dan and Esther's family.
Spanish hikers raised the alarm at the end of last week after discovering what they believed to be the remains of a human body near the spot where Esther Dingley last made contact with her partner. The bones, which included a skull, were examined at the forensic laboratory in Toulouse
According to our information, two of the bones found turned out to be "of animal origin", but the piece of skull, which included the remains of long hair, was indeed human. The DNA and morphological analyses carried out by specialists in Toulouse confirmed that it was that of Esther Dingley.
The gendarmes expected this outcome, as it was the "only disappearance currently reported in the area" on the French side. Esther Dingley's mother, who had been living in the area for several months in order to trace her daughter, had provided a scan of Esther's teeth and a DNA sample.
After this macabre discovery, it was first the Spanish Civil Guard that went to the scene, but it then alerted the French gendarmerie, after discovering that the place was just across the border.
The gendarmes of the Saint-Gaudens company "combed the area with a fine-tooth comb", said Colonel Xavier Wargnier of the Gendarmerie of Occitanie. "They combed everything". No other part of the body, nor any belongings of the victim, were found. No bag, no clothes. Not even her famous bright yellow tent...
The investigation was entrusted by the prosecutor of Saint-Gaudens Christophe Amunzateguy to the investigation section of Toulouse.
Although they were discovered at an altitude covered by snow for a good part of the winter, these bones were not there a few weeks ago. As Jean-Marc Bordinaro, the second in command of the Saint-Gaudens gendarmerie company, told Actu Toulouse on Monday: "Everything suggests that these are bones recently moved by animals", as they were not there a few weeks ago. They have "certainly stayed in a cavity", said the officer.
"This is the most plausible hypothesis", said Colonel Wargnier, but it is not the only one either: found at an altitude of 2,200 metres, on the French side of the Port de la Gléré, a few hundred metres from the Spanish side, they could also have fallen down the mountain with the thaw or the rain. Especially as it is a snowy place for a good part of the winter, and it is therefore very difficult to access. The weather conditions and the snowfall had forced the gendarmes to suspend the search.
The skull in question was found "in the sector that Esther Dingley was supposed to have taken when she disappeared," Jean-Marc Bordinaro had indicated. A perimeter combed from top to bottom by the police during the various search operations on site.
BBM