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

[Deleted member 277705]

CoverMeCagney, re-“It said the Olympic fella was believed to be the last person to see Esther... which leads me to believe he has told police there wasn’t anyone behind him”- do we know if Olympic fella, Ballarin, refuge manager and the supermarket woman have actually told police anything ? Seems strange that the press know the details of persons who have given police statements. Is it maybe the case that, in the first instance, these people have seen an opportunity to make some money by selling a story to the press, with the police, if they are involved, getting their details by reading the newspapers ? I remember a tv series, Drop the Dead Donkey, where it wasn't so much the truth that sold newspapers, but more the “inventive creativeness” of the reporters.

 

[wary]

Reminds me of Leanne Bearden.

I raced through these pages rather fast, but what was the timeline on the person who said that she sounded happier than she had in a long time? And who was it? That’s a huge red flag.

 

[Kaykedi]

I raced through these pages rather fast, but what was the timeline on the person who said that she sounded happier than she had in a long time? And who was it? That’s a huge red flag.

It was her partner who said that wary

 

[otto]

A final post to try to clarify my view that Esther may have fallen in the lake. In the attached file I have highlighted what I think is the descent path from the Pic de Sauvegarde that Esther would have taken to the Refuge de Vensaque.

I've drawn a green line just below what I think shows the descent path, and a red line showing where a person could, I think, easily slip down a steep slope of loose scree into the lake.

And here is a link on google - the view is facing up towards Sauvegarde from roughly where the Refuge de Venasque is.

Google Maps

There's one section where people need to hold onto a rope attached to the mountain. Is that where the rope is?

 

[Deleted member 277705]

ETA: actually I do see what looks like a black dog with white collar in her left lens but no human[/QUOTE]

That particular pic was supposedly taken on the 22 Nov atop Sauvegarde and the sky, light etc is very similar in appearance to pics sent from the same summit on the 21st. I don't think that there is anything in this particular lens reflection to prove the presence of people or dogs, so ED might well have been on her own. I would like to know though if the skier went to the top of Sauvegarde, what time he summited, if there were others in the area, how many did he see & where exactly was he when the woman (believed to be ED) asked him for fruit ? What route did he take to get back home ? Presumably he had transport ?. It looks like we have only got the skier & his G/F's account re- this story. For all I know, ED could have gone back down with the skier and his G/F. Is there any independent witnesses that can back up the skier's account ?

 

[RickshawFan]

Just more of the confusion that is building in this thread . Not the 19th and 22nd, it was the 21st and 22nd. Check it out on Instagram it is definitely on there. She definitely went up twice.

Could you please link the IG 22nd entries? I can't find them on the IG. I only see the 21st.

Besides, what is the basis for determining she went up that peak twice? Only that she's wearing a different outfit? She prolly just changed.
She's wearing rain gear in one photo: it retains heat and cuts the wind. It's very common to throw it on when stopped.
The turtleneck? Same deal. She would have sweated up the trail. Easy just to change tops. She may have just put it on over another top.
This is normal hiking behavior.

 

[Ruthbullock]

Absolutely. On 21st she got a lift with Ballarin and his grandson, up to Plan d'Estan which is another 6km ish further up from Literola

This map shows the 4 points

Benasque - where campervan is
Parking Literola - where rainbow was / mystery hikers car
Plan d'Estan - where she was dropped off on 21st
Sauvegard - about a mile from Plan d'Estan

Google Maps

(PS when I post map links, do they show up as a normal map view or aerial view in 3D? Because the 3D really helps set the scene, as it were)

3D on my phone- and yes it’s great for the context of the slopes.

 

[PeggyHenry]

So very difficult to actually get a clear vision on events in this case. So much confusion and speculation. The only things I believe in are the CCTV images, the Ballarin encounter and the Vigo encounter. Even the posting at 4 pm I can’t fully believe in. If there was foul play involved then whoever it was can manipulate her phone.

 

[Ruthbullock]

Could you please link the IG 22nd entries? I can't find them on the IG. I only see the 21st.

Besides, what is the basis for determining she went up that peak twice? Only that she's wearing a different outfit? She prolly just changed.
She's wearing rain gear in one photo: it retains heat and cuts the wind. It's very common to throw it on when stopped.
The turtleneck? Same deal. She would have sweated up the trail. Easy just to change tops. She may have just put it on over another top.
This is normal hiking behavior.

Adjusting, removing and adding layers are common as you said- what is odd is that it’s her layer closest to her skin that has changed (the lightest top). That should be the one stable layer and in both photos.

 

[Ruthbullock]

There's one section where people need to hold onto a rope attached to the mountain. Is that where the rope is?

The very top has a cable, see attached photo.
Attached the blog with more photos, and the one I screenshot, of the route and area:
sport passion philippe: Randonnée Pic de Sauvegarde (2738m)

 

[PeggyHenry]

The very top has a cable, see attached photo.
Attached the blog with more photos, and the one I screenshot, of the route and area:
sport passion philippe: Randonnée Pic de Sauvegarde (2738m)

that is great blog to look at.. you can see exactly how it is up there. Many thanks

 

[Hatty]

ETA: actually I do see what looks like a black dog with white collar in her left lens but no human

That particular pic was supposedly taken on the 22 Nov atop Sauvegarde and the sky, light etc is very similar in appearance to pics sent from the same summit on the 21st. I don't think that there is anything in this particular lens reflection to prove the presence of people or dogs, so ED might well have been on her own. I would like to know though if the skier went to the top of Sauvegarde, what time he summited, if there were others in the area, how many did he see & where exactly was he when the woman (believed to be ED) asked him for fruit ? What route did he take to get back home ? Presumably he had transport ?. It looks like we have only got the skier & his G/F's account re- this story. For all I know, ED could have gone back down with the skier and his G/F. Is there any independent witnesses that can back up the skier's account ?[/QUOTE]


And, why did she want fruit? Was she feeling a bit poorly? Why set off at a late time of day if she wasn’t adequately stocked up with the kind of food she needed?
After she sent the photo to Dan at 4pm, would she have been able to get back down in daylight if she had decided to? The police believe she is not on the mountain. The search has been extremely thorough and will have been undertaken by experienced search trained officers. Dan seems convinced of this as per his FB comments. If she is not on the mountain, IMO there is a possibility she descended for some unknown reason - (by this time darkness would be setting in) and then hitched a ride with a ne’er do well.....

 

[ZaZara]

Google Maps

(drive slightly north, the sign is just before the white van)

Actually, his vehicle could easily have been parked further north on that road, including at the Llanos del Hospital where he could have been staying. I think that got suggested early in the thread.

There is a lockdown in Spain and many hotels are closed. Not sure if this hotel was open at the time.

 

[Grouse]

Could you please link the IG 22nd entries? I can't find them on the IG. I only see the 21st.

Besides, what is the basis for determining she went up that peak twice? Only that she's wearing a different outfit? She prolly just changed.
She's wearing rain gear in one photo: it retains heat and cuts the wind. It's very common to throw it on when stopped.
The turtleneck? Same deal. She would have sweated up the trail. Easy just to change tops. She may have just put it on over another top.
This is normal hiking behavior.

No I can't she never posted on SM on 22nd. Basis for thinking she went up twice is :
1) believing Dan received the last pics on 22nd and that the police have validated them as such
2) the sun angle is quite different - 22nd pics indicate late afternoon 21st pics indicate midday (no shadow cast by the mast on those)
3) IG posts prove 21st, olympic skier witness proves 22nd

I agree about changing tops etc. Also the different sun angles could potentially mean she was up there twice on 21st but I think the points above apply.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

There is a lockdown in Spain and many hotels are closed. Not sure if this hotel was open at the time.

Does it say on here? I don’t speak Spanish!
Hotel Hospital de Benasque y Estación de esquí nórdico Llanos del Hospital

 

[Sjm_qc]

There is a lockdown in Spain and many hotels are closed. Not sure if this hotel was open at the time.

Does it say on here? I don’t speak Spanish!
Hotel Hospital de Benasque y Estación de esquí nórdico Llanos del Hospital

It appears to me that it was open. There are reviews from October on 3rd party booking sites.

 

[ZaZara]

Does it say on here? I don’t speak Spanish!
Hotel Hospital de Benasque y Estación de esquí nórdico Llanos del Hospital

No mention of COVID measures that I can see at a quick glance, but COVID measures do apply to hotels and restaurants, and local authorities may impose extra rules.

If he was staying in the hotel, he would have had to register and leave contact details. He could easily be traced by LE checking the books.

BTW I see we had this conversation before

IMO the hotel is a ski resort and it was probably not open in November. (COVID) I think the resorts will open next week given that there is enough snow on the slopes, and under many COVID restrictions.

What's your gut feeling on where Mystery Hiker was staying/going on the 19th? Day tripper?


Hotel Hospital de Benasque y Estación de esquí nórdico Llanos del Hospital - Hotel - appears to be open, it let me start making a booking (obvs I had to stop before I paid lol!)

 

[Grouse]

So this 2nd guy offered her a lift starting at 10:30 am on the 21st to Sauvegarde, per the Daily Mail. She reached the peak at 1 pm or so and took lots of photos.

The she hiked somewhere unknown until dark, stayed somewhere unknown, uploaded all her photos from the peak, and the next day either continued on to hike some kind of loop... or started out around 1 pm to retrace her steps back to Sauvegard...

Just looking at the maps, it's not obvious to me where she would have stayed the night of the 21st. I'd assumed she'd just been on a day hike and gone back to her van.

Yes that sounds about right.

She usually posted on both IG and FB but on 21st it was just IG, and just a small (for her) number of pictures all from the summit around midday, with no indication where she was going and then that was it, nothing until the last pictures to Dan on 22nd.

Can you tell what time she uploaded her photos from the peak? I can't see any timestamps on IG. Maybe she uploaded them from the summit given it has a telecomms mast, which leaves a big unknown gap - from 1PM 21st until 3PM 22nd when the skier saw her.

Edit: from the wording of that post it sounds like she did post it from the summit

Login • Instagram

"@dancolegate Maybe I can see you!! Such a clear day!! "

 

[Sjm_qc]

Bringing my own post about the timeline forward yet again after cross-referencing IG & FB posts, media reports & updating it. It’s stripped down as much as I can to be the least confusing possible:


November 17th

- Leaves reffugio de Angel Orus (IG/FB & media interview with refuge manager/owner)


- Plans to hike a 2850m col, but turns back because the snow was too deep for the equipment she had with her and possibly camps out or goes back to reffugio de Angel.



November 18th

- Another day of hiking on a section of the GR11.2, sleeps at Cabana Santa Ana (IG)



November 19th

- Hikes 2550m mountain, intending to camp/stay in a caban for another night. Weather is not great (rain and wind).


- Reaches summit, meets nice hiker (first person she’s seen in 2 days), who takes the (full length) pictures of her at the summit (on *her* phone) & offers her a lift either further up the valley or back the her camper in Benasque. She accepts lift back to camper at ~2pm because of weather. (IG)


- CCTV from Benasque supermarket (source Daily Mail)


November 20th

- no info



November 21st

- Senor Ballarin & grandson give her a lift to Plan de l’Estan where she sets off on hike again ~10.30am (Daily Mail), beautiful weather and views of pic Aneto and Bagnieres de Luchon (IG). Takes several photos including selfies. Not known whether she camps out or returns to camper that night.


November 21st or 22nd

- Seen by same woman from supermarket doing yoga by her camper at the carpark in Benasques (Daily Mail)


November 22nd

- speaks to father by phone.

- Speaks to D at some point.

- Seen by Olympic skier witness around 3pm on the trail ascending Salvaguardia. Olympic skier was on his way down, Esther was on the way up. Not known exactly where on the trail the encounter happened.

- Sends selfie to D around 4 pm. (Sources: multiple media outlets UK, France, Spain as well as French & Spanish authorities).

November 25th

- expected back in Arreau France.

- When she doesn’t arrive there, DC reports her missing to French then Spanish authorities.

ETA: sources for info in brackets.

 

[Sjm_qc]

I know there are several multi-linguists following the thread .

Has anyone found recent (i.e. in the last few days or so) NEW updates from Spanish media and/or authorities that AREN’T regurgitations of previous reports/copy-paste from others?

At one point I saw & listened to a TV segment of Olympic skier witness in Spanish media recounting the encounter, but can’t find it again - does that ring any bells for anyone else?