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

[JosieJo]

Why would he think she would be kidnapped from the mountain itself ..as in actually while out walking...if kidnapped would it not be that she has got in a vehicle willingly with someone in the first instance?

 

[stmarysmead]

Aunt of missing hiker Esther Dingley fears she may have been kidnapped

Captaine Jean-Marc Bordinaro, leading the French operation, told the Sunday Mirror: "The weather is deteriorating, making searching very difficult.

"There may be a resumption if there is new information. Spring will ensure a resumption of the search."

Asked if he had any knowledge of the Spanish side of the investigation over the man who gave Esther a lift - Cap Bordinaro replied: "No…we are on the French side".

But he rejected the theory that Esther had been taken.

He said: "It's impossible to be kidnapped on the mountain. You’re not going to hide her in a rucksack. There would have to be a camping car or something."

He also rules out a bear attack.

I see no reference in this article at this link... to “the towns.” I see no direct quote that he does not believe she is on the mountain.

 

[Atoz]

He seems to rule out kidnapping from the mountain, but I can't find anywhere he states she's not on the mountain.

 

[JosieJo]

It would be very interesting to know how much if anything the police have managed to find out about this mystery hiker she met

 

[AnnesCuthberts]

It would be very interesting to know how much if anything the police have managed to find out about this mystery hiker she met

Yes, I’ve been casually following but this is the thing that interests me the most at the moment to know

 

[Mountaingazer]

Aunt of missing hiker Esther Dingley fears she may have been kidnapped

Captaine Jean-Marc Bordinaro, leading the French operation, told the Sunday Mirror: "The weather is deteriorating, making searching very difficult.

"There may be a resumption if there is new information. Spring will ensure a resumption of the search."

Asked if he had any knowledge of the Spanish side of the investigation over the man who gave Esther a lift - Cap Bordinaro replied: "No…we are on the French side".

But he rejected the theory that Esther had been taken.

He said: "It's impossible to be kidnapped on the mountain. You’re not going to hide her in a rucksack. There would have to be a camping car or something."

He also rules out a bear attack.

I see no reference in this article at this link... to “the towns.” I see no direct quote that he does not believe she is on the mountain.

If anything it sounds like he believes she is on the mountain, with the plan to resume searching now if there is new information and then a definite resumption of the search in spring. I think they have exhausted their search based on her itinerary, but if they get new info that she might have changed course, then they would brave the weather and go looking now.

In the spring they will search again which IMO will likely include a search of the lakes etc. I wish they had more time before the snow came.

 

[Auntie_Seagull]

Why would he think she would be kidnapped from the mountain itself ..as in actually while out walking...if kidnapped would it not be that she has got in a vehicle willingly with someone in the first instance?

There aren't much (if any) car accesible roads in the area of Pico de Salvaguardia.

 

[JosieJo]

There aren't much (if any) car accesible roads in the area of Pico de Salvaguardia.

When she says she was offered a lift ..where abouts would that be from ?

 

[Justice2016]

Esther Dingley: Police looking for missing British hiker looking at 'options beyond mountain accident'

He seems to rule out kidnapping from the mountain, but I can't find anywhere he states she's not on the mountain.

Daily Mail interviewed the same Captain Bordinaro.

He said they do not believe she is in the Pyrenees.

Sky ran the same thing but 3rd hand via DC. Esther Dingley: Police looking for missing British hiker looking at 'options beyond mountain accident'

 

[ZaZara]

When she says she was offered a lift ..where abouts would that be from ?

Llanos del Hospital / Hospital de Benasque or La Besurta, both on the road to Benasque. She would have come down from the mountains already.

 

[stmarysmead]

Esther Dingley: Police looking for missing British hiker looking at 'options beyond mountain accident'



Daily Mail interviewed the same Captain Bordinaro.

He said they do not believe she is in the Pyrenees.

Sky ran the same thing but 3rd hand via DC. Esther Dingley: Police looking for missing British hiker looking at 'options beyond mountain accident'

Ah, thank you. You had merely provided us with the wrong link...which caused the confusion. Thanks for the correction.

 

[Justice2016]

Aunt of missing hiker Esther Dingley fears she may have been kidnapped

Captaine Jean-Marc Bordinaro, leading the French operation, told the Sunday Mirror: "The weather is deteriorating, making searching very difficult.

"There may be a resumption if there is new information. Spring will ensure a resumption of the search."

Asked if he had any knowledge of the Spanish side of the investigation over the man who gave Esther a lift - Cap Bordinaro replied: "No…we are on the French side".

But he rejected the theory that Esther had been taken.

He said: "It's impossible to be kidnapped on the mountain. You’re not going to hide her in a rucksack. There would have to be a camping car or something."

He also rules out a bear attack.

I see no reference in this article at this link... to “the towns.” I see no direct quote that he does not believe she is on the mountain.

Here you go. The Captain.
Police searching for missing UK blogger interview boyfriend twice | Daily Mail Online

 

[AnnesCuthberts]

Thank you for the clarification re which media said it, reading now

 

[Mountaingazer]

Here you go. The Captain.
Police searching for missing UK blogger interview boyfriend twice | Daily Mail Online

This quote from that article is informative!

"Police also announced today that they believe Ms Dingley never crossed the border from Spain to France."

So if we are looking into the theory she met with foul play, it would have happened on the Spanish side. I wish they could locate the other hiker she mentions on her Nov. 19th post. He was parked and hiking in from the Spanish side as well that day. They would have spent several hours together in their descent and then the drive in his car to her camper and she likely would have talked about her plans for her final hiking trip before returning to her partner.

I am on the fence whether there was foul play, but if there was, he well positioned to have earned enough of her trust to then be able to cause her harm. I hope through investigative work and technology they are able to locate him.

 

[stmarysmead]

"Henry went to see her in Spain last May and I just can’t stop looking at the pictures he sent me. I can’t bear hearing my brother so upset - he had such a lovely time with her in Spain, he was so cockahoop and met the boyfriend.”

If this is correct, it sounds like after all these years together, her father just met her partner for the first time last May.

Aunt of missing hiker Esther Dingley fears she may have been kidnapped

Her father lives in Holland. She and her partner are on the move in their camper constantly. Yet it took 18 years?

It’s interesting to me about her familial relationship beyond her partner...if her Father just met her partner after 18 years. Have there been any mention of other family members that she may have had a closer relationship with. Not talking about protestations of love...I mean references to them actually having an active part in her life?

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

Occam's Razor.

She was seen hiking up the mountain, alone, by several people. It was unusually late in the day for a hike into the mountains. Her backpack was noted as "very heavily loaded," which is atypical for an experienced hiker. She summited an hour later and sent pictures to her husband. We don't know how long she stayed at the summit, with the times reported she would have been descending somewhere in the range of 4:30 to 5:30, maybe later if she stayed a bit or took time to eat. You don't have to be an experienced hiker to know that descending a mountain at that time of day, especially in the winter, is not optimal.

Her ride with mystery hiker was three days before. She made no mention of him after that. Red herring.

This site has many, many cases of "experienced" hikers who never came home because they misjudged their ability and/or conditions. That she chose to summit late in the day, and descend as it was getting dark, makes it likely she is, sadly, in that category.

 

[ZaZara]

Occam's Razor.

She was seen hiking up the mountain, alone, by several people. It was unusually late in the day for a hike into the mountains. Her backpack was noted as "very heavily loaded," which is atypical for an experienced hiker. She summited an hour later and sent pictures to her husband. We don't know how long she stayed at the summit, with the times reported she would have been descending somewhere in the range of 4:30 to 5:30, maybe later if she stayed a bit or took time to eat. You don't have to be an experienced hiker to know that descending a mountain at that time of day, especially in the winter, is not optimal.

Her ride with mystery hiker was three days before. She made no mention of him after that. Red herring.

This site has many, many cases of "experienced" hikers who never came home because they misjudged their ability and/or conditions. That she chose to summit late in the day, and descend as it was getting dark, makes it likely she is, sadly, in that category.

IMHO the backpack was big and heavily loaded because she carried a sleeping bag, sleeping pad and a tent, plus food to stay overnight in the mountains. On their blog, there are pictures of the sleeping bag during the previous days, it is big, it looks comfy and makes me wonder how one rolls it up.

The key to what happened may be in the fact that she asked the Spanish hikers for a piece of fruit. This could be an indication that her glycogen levels were getting low, causing fatigue and loss of energy. Also known as hitting the wall, or the man with the hammer. If so, everything wasn't going as well as it should have been, and she better would have taken a rest, eaten some food and then gone back.
Instead she continued for an hour and 20 minutes (estimate of the Spanish hiker) and stretched herself. Perhaps too much.

This scenario could well lead to an accident, probably a fall. Depending where she was, she might have gone into the water / under the ice with full gear. That's how she never reached the Refuge in France. If she had set up her tent and camped nearby, the tent would have been found.

 

[Justice2016]

This quote from that article is informative!

"Police also announced today that they believe Ms Dingley never crossed the border from Spain to France."

So if we are looking into the theory she met with foul play, it would have happened on the Spanish side. I wish they could locate the other hiker she mentions on her Nov. 19th post. He was parked and hiking in from the Spanish side as well that day. They would have spent several hours together in their descent and then the drive in his car to her camper and she likely would have talked about her plans for her final hiking trip before returning to her partner.

I am on the fence whether there was foul play, but if there was, he well positioned to have earned enough of her trust to then be able to cause her harm. I hope through investigative work and technology they are able to locate him.

Interesting. I wonder if that was a joint country statement? In several reports they say both countries' police are investigating their sides of the mountain. Wish we had a Pyrenees police expert on here.
Is that Spanish town called Benasque?

Now why head there when she has to head to France by 25 Nov? The hiker friend possibly invited her to visit?

Her good friend described her as dangerously trusting.
One of the news articles.

 

[stmarysmead]

There are only two options if she is still alive. One, she is being held against her will, which is terrifying to think of what she may be enduring. The other, that she left voluntarily.

She writes often about coming to realize that she must “self-care.” She pushes herself to overcome fear of the unknown. She writes that this year, withCovid, living in a tiny space with her partner and numerous dogs....has been stressful. She also writes of her love for her partner.

Suppose in these weeks away, she feels her need for self care...demands that she make a drastic life change. Set off on her own, with truly NO responsibilities to any partner or even dogs. Just to continue being free...as she has been for these weeks...when her peace and happiness returned.

Suppose she cannot find the words to tell him that she is not coming home now...or maybe ever to him. It truly feels that he will be the only directly related party...if her contact with relatives is sparse. Maybe she intends to contact at some point and if she’s off the grid, doesn’t realize she is the subject of an international mystery.

Probably just my fantasy. But I’d like to believe that she is okay somewhere and perhaps this will have a happy ending.

 

[CocoChanel]

Thread has been temporarily CLOSED for clean up of arguing and personalizing posts which are violations of TOS.
Check back later.


ETA:
THANK YOU to all members who have made the effort to post respectfully and responsibly according to the TOS. You are GREATLY appreciated as you help limit the damage that violations do to a thread.

Cleanups are time consuming to remove all violations, including multiple posts that reply to those violators. PLEASE REPORT THOSE POSTS AND DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM AS THAT HAS THE TENDANCY TO QUICKLY DEVOLVE INTO A RUDE BICKERING CONTEST THAT IS NOT WHAT WEBSLEUTHS IS ABOUT.

Thread has now reopened. Let’s all do our best to check ourselves to keep it open.

Faithfully,
CocoChanel
Moderator