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

[Satchie]

I think even with a very strong "leave no trace" ethic, there would have been a trace left in the refuge under those conditions. For instance, it might be normal to expect ashes in the fireplace, but SAR found no ashes. There might normally have been a patch on the floor indicating a ground cloth had been there. There might normally have been a crumb or two on the table. Or a sniffer dog might normally have picked up on fresh pee or excrement. If SAR found no sign of her at the refuge, I would think we'd have to go with that.

My impression of the number one rule that LE/SAR use for any situation is, you can't prove anything from lack of evidence. The courts follow this rule as well: all that a lack of evidence means is, you can't be certain one way or another, it is unproven.

IMO, it is a crude, dirty stone hut. Unless she wrote "Esther was here 11/22/20" in a ledger or on the wall, or left something distinctive behind, I can't imagine what kind of evidence they could find, days after she had intended to be there.

"Theoretically her itinerary meant she should have done the loop and crossed into France before returning, but we cannot say for sure. We have no indication of whether she crossed the border or not,” Gaillard said. Gendarmes to scale down search for British hiker Esther Dingley in Pyrenees

ETA: IMO, if there is good cell reception at the refuge, but she did not turn on her phone that night, would be the strongest suggestion that she didn't stay there.

 

[Grouse]

I took it to mean she might have realized suddenly that she forgot to bring gas or left her stove behind in the van by mistake. Fruit doesn't have to be cooked or reconstituted.

If that was the situation, and the other hiker was unable to offer any supply, an experienced overnight hiker would have hiked right back to town, since the hike would be untenable.
So, ED might have just hiked right back?

Hmm, not sure on that, I think she might just have fancied eating a bit of fruit and was hoping they had some. I don't think she's the inexperienced hiker being portrayed here. If the photos fromn the summit are to be believed she didn't hike back and abandon the trek just because that guy didn't have any fruit on him.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

They do have internet and phone signal at the refuge, so given Esther is a regular social media poster, I have no doubt she'd have switched her phone on if she was able to.

Refuge de venasque

EDIT link hasn't worked I don't think. It is a post from 17th July saying "we no longer have phone or internet" followed a week later on 23rd "we have now got phone and internet working normally"

 

[Andreee]

Hmm, not sure on that, I think she might just have fancied eating a bit of fruit and was hoping they had some. I don't think she's the inexperienced hiker being portrayed here. If the photos fromn the summit are to be believed she didn't hike back and abandon the trek just because that guy didn't have any fruit on him.

I agree. I think too much is being made of the fruit lol.

 

[ZaZara]

IMO the newspaper maps are incorrect, they assume she returned to
ETA: so to sum up, I believe she started her multiday trip on the 22nd, hiked the 2 or 3 hours from Benasque to the Port Venasque, but being less than an hour from the Refuge, she decided to take a scenic side trip and hike up Sauvegard again, as she had done the previous day.

RSBM

Hiking distance from Benasque to La Besurta is 4 hours, add another hour to Puerto Benasque.

If she left at 10.00 am as she did previously, this schedule would be logical as far as time goes, but ED would be walking along the main road, instead of spending her time in the mountains.

I don't get it. She has wheels, why not drive that van as far as she could go? (roads might be closed of course, but Llanos del Hospital / Hospital de Benasque halfway up the road would be accessible.)
If she wanted to leave the campervan at the parking for motorhomes in Benasque, she might have taken a taxi, and even planned a return.

If she went to the Sauveguarde / Salvaguardia on the 21th as well, and she was there around noon as the pictures seem to indicate, how did she get there so early? I have difficulty imagining that someone would hike that same road twice, or decide to hike it after they had gone there by car.

Brainscratch....

 

[Vaccine]

I find this phrasing very interesting. There has been no sign of life. Hmm.


I am worried that this man hasn't appeared yet. This could be bad. I don't feel like she is still in the area they've searched.


Sometimes we read so many threads on so many cases and we forget what has already been posted. I was actually looking for that link so I am glad it got reposted.

Sorry for being grumpy when I posted! No worries.

 

[stmarysmead]

It’s my opinion that one cannot get a true sense of the “happiness” or contentment of anyone’s life by reading their social media. This would be especially true in situations where the marketing of products...books in this case...are part of the “package” and a-positive message of a joyful lifestyle is a selling point for those books.

Years ago, I read a book...”Exit the Rainmaker” about a very successful college President who ditched wife, job, lifestyle and disappeared. No one saw it coming. He had come to believe that a complete break was the only way to break free of a life that he had come to feel was a set of shackles...to people and responsibilities that emotionally overwhelmed him.

This is most likely an accident. It could be foul play. Or it could be something else. No way to tell from social media what the state of her relationship with her partner actually was. She has spent a month alone...involved in mostly solitary activities. This disappearance happens right before she has promised to return. Her phone appears to have been turned off.

Remember the case on here of the “runaway bride?” Or the young girl who walked away from her family at the airport and was assumed by many to be abducted? Sometimes, an individual needs a break from their life and does not expect it to blow up into a huge media event.

 

[Satchie]

RSBM

Hiking distance from Benasque to La Besurta is 4 hours, add another hour to Puerto Benasque.

If she left at 10.00 am as she did previously, this schedule would be logical as far as time goes, but ED would be walking along the main road, instead of spending her time in the mountains.

I don't get it. She has wheels, why not drive that van as far as she could go? (roads might be closed of course, but Llanos del Hospital / Hospital de Benasque halfway up the road would be accessible.)
If she wanted to leave the campervan at the parking for motorhomes in Benasque, she might have taken a taxi, and even planned a return.

If she went to the Sauveguarde / Salvaguardia on the 21th as well, and she was there around noon as the pictures seem to indicate, how did she get there so early? I have difficulty imagining that someone would hike that same road twice, or decide to hike it after they had gone there by car.

Brainscratch....

I agree it is 5 hours to get to the pass from Benasque, my estimate was incorrect.

This link shows a more direct hiking route from Benasque up to the Port Venasque that doesn't follow the road. Actually, La Besurta is far off to the East. Salvaguardia desde los Llanos del Hospital

Regardless, I have found non UK media that indicate she started from the town on the 22nd, but if she actually started from the ski hill is not so significant, I think.

Search for British hiker missing in Pyrenees

 

[kelsie]

I agree. I think too much is being made of the fruit lol.

Idk, I think it's a solid sign that she wasn't as prepared as she should've been for this hike.

Any updates on how her SO is doing and how his search is going?

 

[HongKongPhooey]

Remember the case on here of the “runaway bride?” Or the young girl who walked away from her family at the airport and was assumed by many to be abducted? Sometimes, an individual needs a break from their life and does not expect it to blow up into a huge media event.

RSBM

Definitely an interesting thought IMO.

The only thing I dont see though, is why she wouldnt have taken the van. Without the van, distance was limited (also comfort and safety, but that's me applying my basic needs probably). She could have had plenty of alone time in the van.

 

[Grouse]

ETA: IMO, if there is good cell reception at the refuge, but she did not turn on her phone that night, would be the strongest suggestion that she didn't stay there.

Unless her battery had died ? Do they have power points at these refuges? If yes then I'd have to agree with you.

 

[LadyL]

Pretty sure the reference was to the photo in that DM article of ED making a one-footed, arms-akimbo pose well away from the camera, so presumably taken by another person.

never saw that

 

[Seni]

Unless her battery had died ? Do they have power points at these refuges? If yes then I'd have to agree with you.

Hi Grouse,

No WIFI and no power points according to this site:

Accueil, Refuge de Vénasque

 

[Grouse]

Hi Grouse,

No WIFI and no power points according to this site:

Accueil, Refuge de Vénasque

Hi Seni, thanks for that. I had seen pictures of the refuge but hadn't realised it was as big as that, or as organised (as in making reservations etc).

 

[BoraBora]

RSBM

Definitely an interesting thought IMO.

The only thing I dont see though, is why she wouldnt have taken the van. Without the van, distance was limited (also comfort and safety, but that's me applying my basic needs probably). She could have had plenty of alone time in the van.

IF she did something like this (and I'm leaning towards it being an accident), she might have gone off with someone, maybe the chap with the car. Maybe her post about him giving her the lift was a tease. That would explain why she didn't take her car. That said, she seemed a very emotionally aware person, and I can't see her putting her family through that kind of torture. It would be very cruel.

 

[Auntie Cipation]

never saw that

This is the photo I was referring to, that someone else clearly took (unless she used a timer):


(source: Police searching for missing UK blogger interview boyfriend twice | Daily Mail Online)

 

[HongKongPhooey]

IF she did something like this (and I'm leaning towards it being an accident), she might have gone off with someone, maybe the chap with the car. Maybe her post about him giving her the lift was a tease. That would explain why she didn't take her car. That said, she seemed a very emotionally aware person, and I can't see her putting her family through that kind of torture. It would be very cruel.

I dont think she would be cruel to her loved ones either. I also think if she needed a longer breather, she would just have told Dan.

 

[stmarysmead]

I dont think she would be cruel to her loved ones either. I also think if she needed a longer breather, she would just have told Dan.

They have been “on the road” for a long time. Do they BOTH return to visit family often? Go back for holidays? Call home on a regular basis? I don’t know the answer to these questions...so I really have no idea if there are close family relations?

I have friends whose adult children have little interaction with them except birthdays and Christmas. If one of those offspring considered that they needed to find a radical way out of their primary romantic relationship, I doubt they would consider the effects this might have on extended family with whom they have minimal contact.

We really don’t KNOW any of these people. We make assumptions on what they post on a social media profile but really, how authentic is that?

I also believe an accident is most likely...but really, other options are also possible.

 

[LadyL]

The third photo from the set that includes photos taken by this man, there is a photo of him or at least someone else,, taken at a distance. Not much detail due to the distance, but he appears to be wearing a reddish jacket.

Login • Instagram

that looks like Esther?

 

[HongKongPhooey]

They have been “on the road” for a long time. Do they BOTH return to visit family often? Go back for holidays? Call home on a regular basis? I don’t know the answer to these questions...so I really have no idea if there are close family relations?

I have friends whose adult children have little interaction with them except birthdays and Christmas. If one of those offspring considered that they needed to find a radical way out of their primary romantic relationship, I doubt they would consider the effects this might have on extended family with whom they have minimal contact.

We really don’t KNOW any of these people. We make assumptions on what they post on a social media profile but really, how authentic is that?

I also believe an accident is most likely...but really, other options are also possible.

It would be extreme IMO for a well person to a) decide to leave their partner by disappearing in a dramatic fashion, thin air and on foot with no possessions and b) not to let their parents know they are safe to prevent them from suffering, particularly with a media storm. However minimal their normal contact may be (and we have no idea either way on that).

I agree ofc we dont "know" Esther, or Dan, or any of the people we talk about here on WS, as a rule anyway.

We form opinions based on what we read, see, watch, research and deduce. I personally take social media with a pinch of salt. People show what they want you to see.

JMO