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

[ZaZara]

...investigating officer Capitaine Bordinaro, who is leading the French part of the joint Franco-Spanish investigation, revealed that the couple’s life was ‘not as idyllic as the images posted on social media suggest’ following an interview with Ms Dingley's partner.

‘We went to see Mr Colegate so that we could go through social media with him – messages, etc.

‘It appears that their lives together were not as happy as the images posted on social media suggest.

Police reveal missing British hiker's domestic life 'was not as idyllic as social media suggested' | Daily Mail Online

It's not merely based on the witness in the shop.

I honestly never thought their life was as idyllic as the pictures suggest. No one is obliged to reveal everything (or anything) on the internet, but that does not mean it is not there. It's simply private.

I find captain Bordinaro's words a little puzzling. Did he really believe those pictures were reality and all there was when he first saw them?

 

[otto]

On the 22nd she was seen (by independent witnesses) on the trail ascending towards Pic de Sauvegarde (Salvaguardia). All reports allege/suggest that she intended to stay at Refugio (Refuge) de Vanesque. I don’t know where you get the other refugios from regarding her supposed route?

I'm just trying to figure out where she was headed. Using the coordinates for this Refugio de Vanesque this is what I get.

• Département: 31 Haute-Garonne
• Commune: BAGNÈRES DE LUCHON
• Carte IGN: 1848 OT
• Coordonnées géographiques:
  • GPS (UTM WGS84): 31T 306883 4730154
  • Coordinadas GPS decimales: 42.699625 N / 0.642222 E

If she was alive and well at 4PM on Nov 22, and then vanished, it seems logical that something happened between the summit at 4PM and her next destination.

Although there is a lake in the area, it doesn't look particularly treacherous hike.






Situación – Acceso, Refuge de Vénasque

 

[ZaZara]

I need clarification on where her campervan was found. She had been parking it in a parking lot in the town of Benasque.
But surely she didn’t start her hike from the campervan at the parking lot?
She would have driven it up further to start her hike at the trailhead no? Why walk all the way through town and on the shoulder of the road to start your hike when you can easily save time and effort and drive there?
I’m wondering now if she wasn’t abducted after returning from Pic de Sauvegarde and was closer to town. Maybe she decided to return to town for some reason and descended with that in mind instead of heading to the refuge for the night? Or she was taken by force from the trail.

If her van was found back at the parking lot but she was known to have driven it out to start her hike then definitely something happened closer to town. I feel the campervan/ parking area activities hold a vital clue. Was her van found where she last left it?

This is one of the questions that still remain open. Possibly it is linked with the fact that she was seen by the Spanish hikers going up the Salvaguardia late in de afternoon. She may have started from the campervan in Benasque and walked all the way to the top. This would have taken her hours and it might indicate that she left around 10.00 in the morning from Benasque and walked lots of kms. There are earlier posts on this thread where we did some calculations.

Sofar, it is not known what she did and how she arrived at the start of the trail.

 

[Sjm_qc]

...investigating officer Capitaine Bordinaro, who is leading the French part of the joint Franco-Spanish investigation, revealed that the couple’s life was ‘not as idyllic as the images posted on social media suggest’ following an interview with Ms Dingley's partner.

‘We went to see Mr Colegate so that we could go through social media with him – messages, etc.

‘It appears that their lives together were not as happy as the images posted on social media suggest.

Police reveal missing British hiker's domestic life 'was not as idyllic as social media suggested' | Daily Mail Online

It's not merely based on the witness in the shop.

If I’d wanted to create maximum clicks and/or indulge in or fuel maximum speculation, I could have created that sensationalized headline just from reading their social media & blog.

I’ll also note that - reading carefully - the LE officer quoted doesn’t say anything new, it’s a rehash with a slightly different spin of what he/other sources have supposedly said previously.

Also, it appears (again if one looks carefully) that the CCTV wasn’t released by LE, looks like the Fail and/or other tabloids have a stringer crawling around the town.

/end my admittedly biased rant about British tabloid press.

 

[otto]

If I’d wanted to create maximum clicks and/or indulge in or fuel maximum speculation, I could have created that sensationalized headline just from reading their social media & blog.

I’ll also note that - reading carefully - the LE officer quoted doesn’t say anything new, it’s a rehash with a slightly different spin of what he/other sources have supposedly said previously.

Also, it appears (again if one looks carefully) that the CCTV wasn’t released by LE, looks like the Fail and/or other tabloids have a stringer crawling around the town.

/end my admittedly biased rant about British tabloid press.

You are quite right that the Dailymail fabricates sensational stories with absurd connections about missing people in foreign countries. In 2019, there were 3 murders in BC, Canada. The DM invented information that had no basis in reality.

 

[GinaSeikwa]

This is one of the questions that still remain open. Possibly it is linked with the fact that she was seen by the Spanish hikers going up the Salvaguardia late in de afternoon. She may have started from the campervan in Benasque and walked all the way to the top. This would have taken her hours and it might indicate that she left around 10.00 in the morning from Benasque and walked lots of kms. There are earlier posts on this thread where we did some calculations.

Sofar, it is not known what she did and how she arrived at the start of the trail.

Right thank you.
From what I can tell she also may have driven along the A139 from the town of Benasque to l’Hopital de Benasque and parked there. This is where many hikers begin the trail. Interesting to know if that area was searched.
I suppose her late start up the mountain may have been because she did start out from the town adding to the time.

 

[Tortoise]

If I’d wanted to create maximum clicks and/or indulge in or fuel maximum speculation, I could have created that sensationalized headline just from reading their social media & blog.

I’ll also note that - reading carefully - the LE officer quoted doesn’t say anything new, it’s a rehash with a slightly different spin of what he/other sources have supposedly said previously.

Also, it appears (again if one looks carefully) that the CCTV wasn’t released by LE, looks like the Fail and/or other tabloids have a stringer crawling around the town.

/end my admittedly biased rant about British tabloid press.

Nevertheless, it is new information that DC was re-interviewed for a third time, yesterday.

 

[GinaSeikwa]

So unclear on the final found location of the van
From the Daily Mail article:

'Specialist officers are looking for any traces of evidence, such as finger prints and blood. The van was parked out in the street. But when it became a possibility that she had not had an accident it was taken to the headquarters to be examined.'

Argh what does this mean?? That it was parked out in the street of the police station while being examined or that it was found parked out in the street and NOT in the car park?!?
So many questions.

Pictured: Missing British hiker Esther Dingley's Fiat camper van | Daily Mail Online

 

[Satchie]

If I’d wanted to create maximum clicks and/or indulge in or fuel maximum speculation, I could have created that sensationalized headline just from reading their social media & blog.

I’ll also note that - reading carefully - the LE officer quoted doesn’t say anything new, it’s a rehash with a slightly different spin of what he/other sources have supposedly said previously.

Also, it appears (again if one looks carefully) that the CCTV wasn’t released by LE, looks like the Fail and/or other tabloids have a stringer crawling around the town.

/end my admittedly biased rant about British tabloid press.

I so agree. Just as investigators evaluate the reliability of witnesses, I evaluate the reliability of the different MMM, it's not always unbiased factual information.

My question is, what kind of police investigator speaks privately to the Daily Mail, but doesn't issue a formal official statement that is available to all the media, such as, say, the BBC, or the London Times. Since when has the Daily Mail been the publication of record for official communications on international investigations?

Secondly, given France's extreme strict privacy laws, would an official spread what is essentially gossip about these people? Perhaps because they aren't French, they're open targets for innuendo that could never, ever, be made about a French citizen? I mean, you wouldn't see a police officer in Canada making those sorts of remarks to a tabloid, and French privacy laws are even more strict than here.

Did the Captain know he was speaking officially to the Daily Mail, or was he shooting off his mouth to a colleague, who then sold the story to the DM?

I'm copying over an article from the French Alps thread, about the way that French privacy laws are so strict, they enable the UK tabloids to publish any and every wild conspiracy theory.

Special report: What links Diana’s death to the murders in Annecy? A

I recall the frustration of the investigator of the Alps murders, who I quoted in that thread complaining that the British tabloids were perpetually twisting his words and just publishing outright lies about what he supposedly said.

 

[otto]

Right thank you.
From what I can tell she also may have driven along the A139 from the town of Benasque to l’Hopital de Benasque and parked there. This is where many hikers begin the trail. Interesting to know if that area was searched.
I suppose her late start up the mountain may have been because she did start out from the town adding to the time.

I think you're right about this location for the van. This looks like the entrance to the hiking trails

 

[Grouse]

It's good to have the information from their own words on Facebook. Trouble is many of us don't have (or want|) access to Facebook and rely on various published accounts and those, like yourself who watch Facebook.

<snipped for relevance>

PatCee, you don't need to be on Facebook, you don't need an account or anything special to read Esther and Dan's posts they are fully public on the website at Esther & Dan

 

[patCee]

<snipped for relevance>

PatCee, you don't need to be on Facebook, you don't need an account or anything special to read Esther and Dan's posts they are fully public on the website at Esther & Dan

Many thxs Grouse, now saved to read at leisure.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I'm just trying to figure out where she was headed. Using the coordinates for this Refugio de Vanesque this is what I get.

• Département: 31 Haute-Garonne
• Commune: BAGNÈRES DE LUCHON
• Carte IGN: 1848 OT
• Coordonnées géographiques:
  • GPS (UTM WGS84): 31T 306883 4730154
  • Coordinadas GPS decimales: 42.699625 N / 0.642222 E

If she was alive and well at 4PM on Nov 22, and then vanished, it seems logical that something happened between the summit at 4PM and her next destination.

Although there is a lake in the area, it doesn't look particularly treacherous hike.

View attachment 274900

View attachment 274902


Situación – Acceso, Refuge de Vénasque

Yes, Otto; that is all correct.

Esther should have reached the refuge by sunset (5:30ish). So, either something happened between the Sauvegarde and refuge. Or she headed back to the van instead. There are really only two route options and SAR have searched both thoroughly, seemingly ruling out an accident or a fall into water.

The police clearly don't think she's still in the mountains, and appear to be focussing mainly on foul play or voluntary disappearance.

 

[ZaZara]

So unclear on the final found location of the van
From the Daily Mail article:

'Specialist officers are looking for any traces of evidence, such as finger prints and blood. The van was parked out in the street. But when it became a possibility that she had not had an accident it was taken to the headquarters to be examined.'

Argh what does this mean?? That it was parked out in the street of the police station while being examined or that it was found parked out in the street and NOT in the car park?!?
So many questions.

Pictured: Missing British hiker Esther Dingley's Fiat camper van | Daily Mail Online

The town of Benasque has regulated parking for motorhomes. There is a special parking area for motorhomes, with access to electricity and running water. and within walking distance of the ancient center of the town where the shops are.

 

[stmarysmead]

Yes, Otto; that is all correct.

Esther should have reached the refuge by sunset (5:30ish). So, either something happened between the Sauvegarde and refuge. Or she headed back to the van instead. There are really only two route options and SAR have searched both thoroughly, seemingly ruling out an accident or a fall into water.

The police clearly don't think she's still in the mountains, and appear to be focussing mainly on foul play or voluntary disappearance.

If she turned back after her encounter where she asked for fruit...about how long might it have taken her to reach the van? Could she have made the trip before darkness set in?

 

[patCee]

I think you're right about this location for the van. This looks like the entrance to the hiking trails

View attachment 274904

Now I'm confused. If the mystery hiker offered a lift to her camper, why would that be necessary if the van was parked so close to the start of the trail.

 

[ZaZara]

Now I'm confused. If the mystery hiker offered a lift to her camper, why would that be necessary if the van was parked so close to the start of the trail.

The van was parked in Benasque. There are no indications that she drove it into the mountains. Maybe she did, but that news has not been made public.

 

[JosieJo]

Far fetched and much less likely than an accident but its not impossible she got to know someone over a few days and decided to go off the radar with them in their vehicle for a while ...or come to harm from someone she met days before
Also far fetched could a new friendship spark jealousy whilst in a troubled relationship having been away for some time

 

[ZaZara]

I so agree. Just as investigators evaluate the reliability of witnesses, I evaluate the reliability of the different MMM, it's not always unbiased factual information.

My question is, what kind of police investigator speaks privately to the Daily Mail, but doesn't issue a formal official statement that is available to all the media, such as, say, the BBC, or the London Times. Since when has the Daily Mail been the publication of record for official communications on international investigations?

Secondly, given France's extreme strict privacy laws, would an official spread what is essentially gossip about these people? Perhaps because they aren't French, they're open targets for innuendo that could never, ever, be made about a French citizen? I mean, you wouldn't see a police officer in Canada making those sorts of remarks to a tabloid, and French privacy laws are even more strict than here.

Did the Captain know he was speaking officially to the Daily Mail, or was he shooting off his mouth to a colleague, who then sold the story to the DM?

I'm copying over an article from the French Alps thread, about the way that French privacy laws are so strict, they enable the UK tabloids to publish any and every wild conspiracy theory.

Special report: What links Diana’s death to the murders in Annecy? A

I recall the frustration of the investigator of the Alps murders, who I quoted in that thread complaining that the British tabloids were perpetually twisting his words and just publishing outright lies about what he supposedly said.

Adding this one, from France Bleu, yesterday:

The question is, what to think of what some British tabloids are publishing about Esther Dingley's disappearance? This 37-year-old hiker who set off from the Spanish side of the Pyrenees to the French side of the Luchonnais region has not been seen since 22 November.
On the other side of the Channel, some media speak of kidnapping, others evoke a bear attack.

"If this hiker had been attacked by a bear, a body would have been found, the animal would not have gone into hibernation with it in a cave".

These are the comments of a source close to the investigation who is surprised that the British press, like the Sun to name only one of them, could publish such a "far-fetched" hypothesis. Esther Dingley did post the cliché of a footprint in the snow on Facebook, wondering if it was a bear's, but nothing more.

Accident, suicide or crime?

At this point in time, there are only three viable scenarios: an accident, the hiker might have fallen into a crevasse, voluntary disappearance or a criminal hypothesis. "The version of the kidnapping reported by the British press does not hold water," according to the same anonymous source close to the case.

The Spanish investigators, who were the first to take up the case, are in permanent contact with their British and French counterparts. They are going one by one through all posts by Esther Dingley on social networks, checking places and dates in the hope of finding a clue.


BBM

 

[10ofRods]

So her van was not in the RV parking area (is there a charge?) and was out on the street?