Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020

[Liz40]

I get the impression from her facebook posts that it was Esther who had the need to be apart rather than her boyfriend. To me he comes across as fairly passive, and she is possibly the more dominant one in the relationship. What is it about his demeanour you find strange?

I agree it is mystifying, I keep toying between an accident or abduction/murder, or even the possibility that she has voluntarily taken off with someone.

I find it cold, and unemotional. It's not what I would expect .

 

[Zoomy]

I find it cold, and unemotional. It's not what I would have expected given the situation.

I've only read his facebook posts, so I'm going on that, and the fact he has gone up into the mountains to search for her alone. The weather has apparently turned now, so not sure if this is a sensible thing for him to have done.

 

[Liz40]

Not sure if this is an approved news source, please delete if not:

Mystery man who gave hiker lift 3 days before she vanished hunted by cops

I have wondered about this man from the start. He needs finding.

 

[RickshawFan]

yeah I would definitely describe that as gray with dark red bits, not the other way around

Yes, after I saw that photo, I saw it had more grey than red. I don't recall that Osprey used that color scheme, but it's possible they used it in their European versions only (Europeans generally don't like garish packs except in winter).
The lid is usually the same color as the rest of the pack on Osprey designs.My pack has the same harness, same dark red detail, and it's dark red.

 

[Satchie]

Anyone think there's anything off with the bf? Just found his demeanour really strange when he was speaking about Esther's disappearance. Judging by their Facebook pages, they seem to have had a need to be apart from each other. I feel extremely mystified by the whole thing.

Have you ever personally experienced your spouse disappearing on a hike, and then having to speak to the media? Do you know anyone who has? Have you had many, many deaths in your family and friends, so that you know that every one reacts in precisely the same way unlelss they are 'off' or 'strange'? Have you spent 18 years with one partner, often living for months at a time in a van?

 

[Andreee]

[sbm]
the dogs having pages is all about marketing - will sell more books
lots of people have social media pages for their pets



[sbm]
probably trying to build their 'brand'
trying to build a career as social media influencers
or just documenting their lives for a future book

Have you ever personally experienced your spouse disappearing on a hike, and then having to speak to the media? Do you know anyone who has? Have you had many, many deaths in your family and friends, so that you know that every one reacts in precisely the same way unlelss they are 'off' or 'strange'? Have you spent 18 years with one partner, often living for months at a time in a van?

Touche! You expressed what I was holding back on saying. Most longtime observers of these missing situations know that there are a wide variety of ways that loved ones and friends react to their missing person, from being stoic to falling apart while talking to the media or dealing with LE. The boyfriend has now gone looking for Esther himself, that's his caring reaction if people want to judge him!

 

[Sillybilly]

Hey everyone,

Please link directly to the actual image on the FB page itself rather than linking via scontent (which is not an approved source).

Thank you.

 

[jamjim]

Really hoping they manage to catch up with this guy who gave her the lift.

 

[hitthenick]

Yes, after I saw that photo, I saw it had more grey than red. I don't recall that Osprey used that color scheme, but it's possible they used it in their European versions only (Europeans generally don't like garish packs except in winter).
The lid is usually the same color as the rest of the pack on Osprey designs.My pack has the same harness, same dark red detail, and it's dark red.

It's a common backpack, I posted a photo of it, discontinued model now. Exos 58 it is. They have one each. His black and green, hers is grey and red. Various other colourways are/were available.

A photo for you

 

[Ruthbullock]

I agree. Admittedly, it’s not the lifestyle I would choose, but I can imagine the money worries are constant.

I’m not sure they had money worries as such. It’s just an assumption, but they both had high powered well paid jobs and I assume a house or flat before quitting their jobs (I presume selling their house etc). I think they had some money behind them, and the books and house sitting are ways to boost income, selling a news article to the bbc is another source of income. There only real outgoings are fuel and food. If they struggled for money I think they would have left more of the puppies at the parents house (they left two) so live with three/four in the campervan- dogs are more expensive to feed and care for than humans.

 

[Gottlieb]

There was this case where an American woman (sorry, I forgot the name) walked the Camino and disappeared - it turned out some local psycho has turned the road signs into the wrong directon so that they lead to his home. She got there and he murdered her. Anyone remembers this case?

I am also a hiker and since I learned about this case, it comes into my mind every so often when on a hike.

The stranger in the car - people are prone to trust the likeminded. I am a hiker, he is a hiker, we like the same things, he can't be a bad person. Sadly, it's not how it works though.

Not suggesting this is what happened to Esther, the mountains in winter can be really dangerous even when you are an experienced hiker with good gear. I have been on winter hikes where I didn't meet a single person for 8 hours straight, would something have happen to me, there would have been nobody to help. You slip, you fall into a ravine and nobody finds you till spring, if ever.

I hope they find her alive.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Esther revealed the existence of the man in a Facebook post on November 19, saying they met by chance at the peak of a mountain, before hiking down together.

She said she had accepted a lift from the man back to her camper van, which was later found abandoned in the Spanish town of Benasque.

The meeting happened just three days before Esther was last seen, and police believe the man may hold vital clues about what happened to her.

She wrote: 'It was the first time I'd seen anyone else for almost two days and as this kind fellow hiker took some photos the weather blew in...

'I had the option of staying at a great caban, even had a mattress, but it was only 2pm or going down with my fellow hiker and getting a lift.

'He'd take me further up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge, or back to the camper.

"There will be more days in the hills!" I said to the little part of me that didn't want to go back just yet.

'This was about making it easy on myself. It would be warm and sunny back at the camper and here was someone willing to take me...
Police investigating missing Esther Dingley 'are seeking a man who gave the solo hiker a lift' | Daily Mail Online

 

[Grouse]

It is a post on the Esther & Dan facebook page dated 18th November, there is nothing posted for the 21st and 22nd.

<modsnip: Direct quotes from social media pages are not allowed. Paraphrase and link is okay.>

Just can't help but think how vulnerable she must have been on her own at night in these places, not to mention how cold and uncomfortable they look. She also posted photos on the 19th, of the cabana she was going to stay at the following night if she hadn't got the lift, but doesn't given the name

That's interesting. She said on that post (paraphrasing) that he would take her to where she might either go back to the camper or go on to another refuge, she didn't say which one or that it was the one she'd originally intended. In the photos for that day there were some of a refuge so presumably that was the one she had planned originally to go, it had a mattress as she'd mentioned, so guessing they were pics from a previous visit.

At the end of the post she did imply she was going back to the warmth of the camper and there was a photo of a meal she'd cooked, so it seems that's what she did.

Edit: the meal also looked like it was for one, so doesn't look like she invited the hiker to stay and eat.

 

[Grouse]

<snipped for focus>

She said she had accepted a lift from the man back to her camper van, which was later found abandoned in the Spanish town of Benasque.

Was it actually said somewhere that it was "abandoned" as such? I'd presumed it was found where she had been staying as her base for the treks she was doing in that area.

 

[ZaZara]

Was it actually said somewhere that it was "abandoned" as such? I'd presumed it was found where she had been staying as her base for the treks she was doing in that area.

Spanish / Catalan sources mention that the car was parked.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

'As things stand tonight, Esther is now listed as a national missing persons case in Spain and the case has been passed to a specialised judicial unit in France.

'This means they will be looking at other options beyond a mountain accident.

'While this is a terrifying development in many ways, I'm trying to focus on the fact that it leaves the door open that Esther might still come home.

'She was so utterly happy and joyful when we last spoke, I'd do anything to see her face and hold her right now.'

Her plan had been to hike from the town to Pic de Sauvegarde, a mountaintop in the Pyrenees, which she reached on November 22 - sending Mr Colegate a picture via WhatsApp, which was their last contact.

From there she planned to walk between Port de la Gléré and Port de Venasque - a route of some eight miles - before hiking down from the mountains on Wednesday.
Police investigating missing Esther Dingley 'are seeking a man who gave the solo hiker a lift'

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Was it actually said somewhere that it was "abandoned" as such? I'd presumed it was found where she had been staying as her base for the treks she was doing in that area.

It is unclear exactly what rescuers now believe happened to Ms Dingley, since her car was found abandoned in the Spanish town of Benasque, from where she had set out on the final leg of a month-long solo hiking adventure on November 21.

Investigators now believe the reason they cannot find her is because she is no longer in the mountains and have listed her as a 'missing person' case across the whole of Spain.

Mr Colegate revealed the new information on a joint Facebook page where the couple have documented six years of their nomadic travels across Europe.

He penned the post just hours before snowy weather hit the Pyrenees, which rescuers believe will be the start of the winter snow dump, making search efforts much more difficult.

He wrote: 'With no result day after day, taking into account Esther's high level of experience, the nature of the terrain, the good weather she would have had, the fact she had a clearly defined route for Sunday evening and Monday, and various other factors, both search coordinators have essentially told me that although they can never be 100% sure, the prevailing opinion in the search teams is that she isn't there.

'That if she had fallen from one of the paths, they really would have expected to find her given the intensity, the closeness of the search and the fact most of the trails are really quite straightforward across open ground.
Police investigating missing Esther Dingley are 'seeking a man'

 

[Grouse]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

I didn't get the impression money was a major worry for them. The BBC article said they managed on a combination of savings, renting out their house and casual work and that they acknowledged they were in a fortunate position to be able to do that. They bought decent hiking gear, and they were planning on upgrading the campervan again (although I gather campervans don't usually depreciate much in value if looked after) Our Motorhome | Esther & Dan - Adventuring Together - Life, Love, Health & Travel

From reading their background info on their website About Us | Esther & Dan - Adventuring Together - Life, Love, Health & Travel they weren't extravagant, they were savers by nature, and had worked and saved hard for 10 years. Depending on their incomes that could have been a sizeable amount to fall back on if you are frugal with it.

 

[Grouse]

Yes absolutely 100% certain same place and time, same sunlight directions when you break the photo directions down. We are relying on him though for the 22nd don't forget. SM shows the 21st she posted. He said she whatsapped a photo on the 22nd, yet the photo's were all on facebook and Insta on the 21st, he is admin on the facebook page too so he will have definitely known of the posts.

On Insta, you can only post 10 photos per post done at one time, on FB you can post a lot more photos on one post at one time. No doubt she'll have taken 50 selfies at the top, she seems to be constantly taking photos for some reason when you scroll through the 1,000's of photos she has uploaded all over the place.

Seems crazy keen on living a SM life but doesnt appear to be sponsored by equipment nor does she promote any goods so as far as her being an influencer type to make a living out of all this, she probably doesnt earn a penny. Instagram don't pay people with 5k followers to upload a bunch of photographs.

<modsnip: Not victim friendly>

That's possibly very significant. So basically the photo that was Whatsapp'd to Dan on 22nd and cited as her last location/timeframe, was possibly actually taken and posted on 21st?( I'm not on instagram so not been able to see it), yet there are supposedly witness statements that she was on that peak on 22nd?

Looking back through the Facebook posts again it's very striking to me that Esther posted every day (except one, 12th November) from the first post she made about being in the Pyrenees, made on 7th November, up until the 19th when she mentioned the male hiker. After that there are only posts that look like they were made by Dan. I don't see any from Esther on facebook on 21st.

Another thing I've noticed that's a bit odd (but probably nothing) is that loads of the photos are actually mirror images (as seen by logos on her bike, and the osprey logo on her rucksack).

Edit: realising now that these discrepancies of photo dates and message times could of course also be if someone has else her phone. Could have gone up the mountain on sunday and sent saturday's picture?

 

[Grouse]

Just took a better look at this photo https://www.facebook.com/estheranddan/photos/pcb.1475330215997689/1475329269331117 and I can see now not just the person in the distance, but what also appears to be a person in the foreground (was obscured before by the banner at the bottom of the screen when I wasn't signed in to Facebook) , dark blue waterproof with hood up and looking at a phone or tablet, maybe photographing something on the ground.