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

[Deleted member 277705]

re- And, why did she want fruit? - Maybe she didn't ?

 

[Deleted member 277705]

If not a mountain accident (and at this moment there is no sign of one) then I am thinking Soham. Two young girls vanished mysteriously into thin air. The last known person to see them / have contact with them was a male. The police took a helluva long time to upgrade him from being a witness to a suspect. Mystery was then solved.

 

[Grouse]

If not a mountain accident (and at this moment there is no sign of one) then I am thinking Soham. Two young girls vanished mysteriously into thin air. The last known person to see them / have contact with them was a male. The police took a helluva long time to upgrade him from being a witness to a suspect. Mystery was then solved.

So that would be the olympic skier and his girlfriend then. Really?

 

[ZaZara]

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?

No new news for a long time now. Recycling is key.

The greatest recycle find was a report that IMO was translated from an English source to Spanish or French and then back to English by an online translator, without any human checks. Someone gave her an elevator....

#1087

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Hopefully LBT Global will release more info today, clear a few things up (and give us something else to talk about!)

 

[Deleted member 277705]

So that would be the olympic skier and his girlfriend then. Really?

Were they the last known persons to have made contact with ED ? If so, it is possible ED went back down with them. We only have their version of accounts, times etc.

 

[Sjm_qc]

No new news for a long time now. Recycling is key.

The greatest recycle find was a report that IMO was translated from an English source to Spanish or French and then back to English by an online translator, without any human checks. Someone gave her an elevator....

#1087

Thanks for making me LOL.

 

[Deleted member 277705]

DBM

 

[Sjm_qc]

Hopefully LBT Global will release more info today, clear a few things up (and give us something else to talk about!)

I hope so too. However I’m not holding my breath.

 

[Sjm_qc]

Article from La Vanguardia, 3/12/20. (for the word his, he, read her, she). El temporal obliga a suspender la búsqueda de la excursionista británica desaparecida en los Pirineos

Thank you, I have that one (and quoted it extensively earlier) and I think it’s the most recent one that’s not recycled/regurgitated from other outlets.

 

[Grouse]

I can't find the posts on here now, but to answer the question I recall some asking as to why would she go up Pic de Sauvegarde twice :

on 11th Nov Esther posted Esther & Dan

" sometimes it's nice to go somewhere familiar. Not to have to push into the unknown but where you can go to find quiet and rest...

I'd never been to Egea or up to Trubon before but after being shown it by some locals on Sunday, I found myself going another 3 days in a row up to this peak 2492m...

Have to say there are 5 routes up to the summit so I was able to vary the route but something just captivated me at the top of this peak."
​

BBM

 

[Grouse]

Were they the last known persons to have made contact with ED ? If so, it is possible ED went back down with them. We only have their version of accounts, times etc.

OK, just re-read one of your earlier posts so I see the angle you are coming from now and that you really do mean the skier.

 

[Sjm_qc]

re- And, why did she want fruit? - Maybe she didn't ?

I’m not getting hung up on the “she asked for fruit” thing, because I’ve not seen it quoted in a Spanish language source. The perils of “lost in translation” are very real, as we’ve seen in other cases (and ZaZara gave a great example up thread). And apparently Esther didn’t speak Spanish.

It’s one of the reasons I’m trying to find the video interview with Olympic skier witness: I want to hear what he said in his own words.

 

[Deleted member 277705]

I’m not getting hung up on the “she asked for fruit” thing, because I’ve not seen it quoted in a Spanish language source.

It is mentioned here. This is a Spanish language source. Article from La Vanguardia, 3/12/20. (for the word his, he, read her,she).
El temporal obliga a suspender la búsqueda de la excursionista británica desaparecida en los Pirineos
eg, “The Olympic skier Martí Vigo del Arco , and a friend with whom the Safeguard ascended on Sunday 22, could be the last people who saw Esther, 37 years old. “It would be around three in the afternoon and we were already going down, she was going up, heavily loaded, with a very large backpack. We stopped and he asked if we had a piece of fruit or something fresh, but we had nothing left. She kept going up, the temperature was good and it was sunny. There was very little snow on the top ”, Vigo del Arco details by phone.”

 

[Deleted member 277705]

OK, just re-read one of your earlier posts so I see the angle you are coming from now and that you really do mean the skier.

I think you are misreading my posts. I really don't know who the last known person(s) was that had contact with ED. Failing a mountain accident, I believe the Soham model may apply to this scenario. I have a feeling that LE may have been wrong footed by a person(s) and as in the Soham case, greater LE scrutiny of the last known contact(s) could hold the key to unlocking this mystery.

 

[Ruthbullock]

They updated Esthers information an hour ago. Nothing of interest.
https://www.lbt.global/post/esther-dingley

 

[j_in_c]

RSBM

It's amazing to me how misinformation enters the news media and then spreads like a virus.

The official statement issued in the early days was not "she had undertaken a hike from Port de la Glere..."

The actual statement was released by French Search and Rescue, not the police. Search and Rescue stated " The area envisaged for her hike extends from the port of Glèrere to the port of Venasque (French and Spanish slopes). Anyone who has seen or crossed this hiker..." PGHM Luchon

IMO SAR were not describing her intended route. They were describing the boundaries of an area of a map, from west to east, and on both north and south slopes. If you were in that area between the November 22 and the 25, and saw someone like the photo, please call SAR.

Surely we have all seen missing persons alerts that state 'the person was in the area of x and y streets.' The person's route is not being described.

This French site got the info correct IMO:
"The areas prioritised (for the search) are those that Ms Dingley had planned to visit during her hike, including between the Port de la Glère and the Port de Vénasque. The experienced walker began hiking from Benasque in Spain, and had planned to stay at the Refuge Vénasque on Monday night, her partner said."
Search for British hiker missing in Pyrenees

However, we later got a precise description of her route:
"Dingley was on the Chemin de l’Impératrice (Empress Path) hiking route via Port de Venasque before heading for Porte de la Glère in the Luchon valley"
Gendarmes to scale down search for British hiker Esther Dingley in Pyrenees

It seems very obvious to me, comparing the quoted news report in the OP, with the official quote in the Guardian, she was not hiking from Glere to Venasque, she was hiking from Venasque to Glere (I simplifly the names to just make it absolutely crystal clear).

Unfortunately, there are no online maps of that hiking route. If I had a high-quality topo map of that section of the Pyrenees, I could trace it on the map (kind of ruining the map) and then scan it in to show people. But I can't/won't do that. That's what the news media are supposed to do, instead of getting graphic designers to carelessly create, and then gleefully publishing for the world, incorrect, unverified maps.

The best online map I could find is this one:

Salvaguardia desde los Llanos del Hospital

ETA: the link does not show her whole intended route, but it shows the sidetrack to the peak, and then the route in red, to the Refuge and continuing on, her intended route, that goes in a loop back to cross the mountains at La Glere.

Hi there - try out caltopo.com - I just checked (I use this site in the US all the time) and they do have the maps and trails for Europe as well! If you are unable to use it, I can try and screen shot this area along with the marked trails and post. To get to the correct area I had to type in "pico de salvaguarda"

 

[Sjm_qc]

It is mentioned here. This is a Spanish language source. Article from La Vanguardia, 3/12/20. (for the word his, he, read her,she).
El temporal obliga a suspender la búsqueda de la excursionista británica desaparecida en los Pirineos
eg, “The Olympic skier Martí Vigo del Arco , and a friend with whom the Safeguard ascended on Sunday 22, could be the last people who saw Esther, 37 years old. “It would be around three in the afternoon and we were already going down, she was going up, heavily loaded, with a very large backpack. We stopped and he asked if we had a piece of fruit or something fresh, but we had nothing left. She kept going up, the temperature was good and it was sunny. There was very little snow on the top ”, Vigo del Arco details by phone.”

Thank you.

 

[Kaykedi]

Have you guys noticed that CoverMeCagney, Kike76, and EDImath (hope I haven't missed anyone out) have done a fantastic job spotting a road sign in the photograph on page 60?

 

[Sjm_qc]

They updated Esthers information an hour ago. Nothing of interest.
https://www.lbt.global/post/esther-dingley

That’s pretty much what I was expecting in the way of an update.