Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020 #1

[Liz40]

Why were they living apart the month of November? She seemed to be really sad about not having her dogs with her.

I couldn't understand this either.

 

[Zoomy]

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.

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.

 

[LadyL]

There does appear to be conflicts between them both. Also she seems to be a serial blogger/facebooker and instagramer but she doesn't seem to attract much interaction on those all platforms. A couple of comments here and there and a few likes etc but nothing involving a lot of interaction.

It's interesting that the 5 dogs also have their own social media accounts, why do dogs really need a social media account???. Here > Login • Instagram

They have written loads of books too, books about the dogs.

They have a website called Esther & Dan - Adventuring Together - Life, Love, Health & Travel which doesn't appear to have been updated since June 2020.

Their whole lives seem to be about posting everything constantly on social media channels, there's literally 1,000's of photographs.

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

This girl is absolutely prolific on social media. Having a few accounts for sure.

Facebook:
There's her personal one here Esther Dingley

The joint facebook page we know about.

Instagram:
Another one called - Healthyadventureswithlove Login • Instagram - this one isn't very active posting but seems to be riddled with quotes but it's her who's running it.

And the website blog.

Some really bizarre postings she's done. Reminds me of 2 of my friends who do this sort of thing and it gets really tedious to read after a short while, like seeking attention.

It does make me wonder why she feels the need to be prolifically posting all the time on these platforms, it isn't like there is many people interacting, collecting likes and so on can give people a boost so to speak. She looks to me like she is an approval junkie.

[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

 

[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'