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

[Satchie]

The man who gave her a lift, saw her on the day before.

RSBM

I haven't been following that angle of the driver, I didn't realize this, thanks. Talk about red herrings!

November 19. After staying at a friendly hostel somewhere, and a few days trekking in solitude/snowy conditions, got a lift back to her van in Benasque by a fellow hiker
*Confusion #1: who was this person, did he mean her harm, where is he now?*

November 19-21. Hanging out in Benasque.
Uploaded the last bit about her trek to SM.
*Confusion #2: was this the trek she was on when she disappeared?*
Chia/yoga sightings.

Nov 21. Got a lift from a Spanish driver to the trailhead for Port Venasque.
*Confusion #3: She was supposed to be heading to Port de la Glere per the previous reporting!...Did she tell this man the secrets of her life?*

From there, hiked up the peak of Sauveguard and returned the way she came, back to the van in Benasque. Posted photos online.
*Confusion #4: were these the photos of the day she went missing? Why are they dated November 21, when she went missing on the 22nd?*

Talked to father, partner, and did various other things to prepare for a longer hike along that route.

Nov. 22. Set off on a 3 day trek with full backpacking gear, along a circle route that would pass into France (stay at the Refuge Venasque on her first night), continue through France to a different border crossing, and then back to her camper van in Benasque.

Took a side trip to hike again to the peak of Sauveguard. Was seen (1 hour before she reached the peak) by a hiker and his companion, probably near the pass at Port de Venasque, which is about 1 hour from the peak for a fit hiker. The witnesses continued downhill back to Benasque, as they were on a day hike. Esther intended to head downhill in the opposite direction, into France.

Sent a message to her partner when she reached the peak at 4 pm.
*Confusion #4 again: are the photos online really the photos of her at the peak at 4 pm on the 22nd, or are they photos from the previous day's hike, the 21st, that she had posted to SM and sent to her partner?

Then: No witnesses, no cellphone signals, no evidence as to what happened to her after that point.

IMO, regarding the 4 confusions:
#1: the previous hiker is IMO irrelevant, she'd met him several days earlier.
#2: the post on the 19th is IMO irrelevant, this was a completely different route from the one she was on when she disappeared.
#3: what route was she on and when did she start? IMO, the trek started Nov 22, she was to return on the 25. She was on a loop into France and back into Spain, via two different mountain passes.
#4: IMO, the photos were all taken on the 21st, a day hike to the peak where she took lots of photos. I'm not sure whether she took any photos on the 22nd. Possibly she just sent Colegate a text message, but he shared the photo from the previous day so people who might have seen her would know what she looked like.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Excuse my crap photo of my laptop screen, and wonky writing (a technical whizz I am not!). I think this was her planned route.

A - Plan d’Estan where she was dropped off the previous day (and maybe returned to sleep - unconfirmed)

B - Port de Venasque which is the cut through, or “doorway” through the mountains. Fun fact: This was detonated with explosives to form a trading route between France and Spain.

C - Pic de Sauvegarde where Esther was last known to be. She’d have to climb up to the peak and back down the same way to the doorway at B to continue the trail.

D - Refuge de Venasque where Esther was planning to stay that first night.

E - Pic de la Glere, the last stop on her plan having followed an anti-clockwise loop.

F - Llanos del Hospital is a ski resort where I think she would have ended her trip, before getting a lift back to her van in Benasque.

 

[Wyle_E_Coyote]

Yes, and the maps make this clear. So I'm really confused why people are saying there was more than one route and therefore someone could have approached her from the other side.

Are we just all really confused?

My confusion is seeing the summit as a side trip, a side trail to the summit from the main trail. So she hiked up the main trail, then took the side trail up to the summit, then came back down the same side trail, then continued on the main trail. The main trail would have gone downhill to the refuge. So the main trail went up, the side trail continued upward to the summit, the main trail went downhill beyond the side trail.

So it is possible (although IMO not likely) someone could have been coming from the opposite direction on the main trail.

 

[Satchie]

Excuse my crap photo of my laptop screen, and wonky writing (a technical whizz I am not!). I think this was her planned route.

A - Plan d’Estan where she was dropped off the previous day (and maybe returned to sleep - unconfirmed)

B - Port de Venasque which is the cut through, or “doorway” through the mountains. Fun fact: This was detonated with explosives to form a trading route between France and Spain.

C - Pic de Sauvegarde where Esther was last known to be. She’d have to climb up to the peak and back down the same way to the doorway to continue the trail.

D - Refuge de Venasque where Esther was planning to stay.

E - Pic de la Glere, the last stop on her plan

F - Llanos del Hospital is a ski resort where I think she would have ended her trip, before getting a lift back to her van in Benasque.

View attachment 275499

Success! thanks,

 

[CoverMeCagney]

So it is possible (although IMO not likely) someone could have been coming from the opposite direction on the main trail.

Yes, there could have been someone coming from the refuge direction, who she could have bumped into on her way to it.

But it’s unlikely anyone else was actually up Sauvegarde when she was up there or the skier would have seen them. And she climbed it because she wanted to, not because she needed to.

The problem is, without any witnesses, we don’t know if she fell off Sauvegarde, or whether she successfully descended and something else happened at or on the way to the refuge.

 

[ZaZara]

Excuse my crap photo of my laptop screen, and wonky writing (a technical whizz I am not!). I think this was her planned route.

A - Plan d’Estan where she was dropped off the previous day (and maybe returned to sleep - unconfirmed)

B - Port de Venasque which is the cut through, or “doorway” through the mountains. Fun fact: This was detonated with explosives to form a trading route between France and Spain.

C - Pic de Sauvegarde where Esther was last known to be. She’d have to climb up to the peak and back down the same way to the doorway at B to continue the trail.

D - Refuge de Venasque where Esther was planning to stay that first night.

E - Pic de la Glere, the last stop on her plan having followed an anti-clockwise loop.

F - Llanos del Hospital is a ski resort where I think she would have ended her trip, before getting a lift back to her van in Benasque.

View attachment 275499

She was planning to stay in the Refuge de Venasque the second night (22 November). She went up to the mountains and got a ride from Mr Ballarín on 21 November, the day before. We don't know where she slept the night from 21 to 22 as far as I am aware.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

She was planning to stay in the Refuge de Venasque the second night (22 November). She went up to the mountains and got a ride from Mr Ballarín on 21 November, the day before. We don't know where she slept the night from 21 to 22 as far as I am aware.

Sorry, yes, I meant the 22nd but was counting it as day 1 since we don’t know where she stayed on 21st. I figured 21st was just a day walk to scope out the area before setting off properly on 22nd.

 

[Kike76]

A few pages ago in this several people mentioned again that she went up Pic de Sauvegarde on both 19th and 22nd. I posted about this earlier but would point out the evidence she was up there on 19th is absent. She said on 19th she was up a 2550m mountain. That is not Sauvegarde which has a higher peak elevation.

Searching the local mountains I spotted Agujas de Perramo is 2550m on the north side of the valley up from Benasque (less far than Sauvegarde) and I think it was up this that she got caught out by poor weather and came down with someone and got a lift back to Benasque.

I hypothesise after her poor weather encounter in 19th she hung around in Benasque recovering and refuelling before heading back up the valley from Benasque on 22nd and he fact she was seen starting up Sauvgarde late in the day indicates she had hiked up from Benasque

It would also make less sense for her to go up Sauvegarde twice (why tick that off the list twice ?)

 

[PeggyHenry]

Hi Edimath
I’m sorry but I m not able to see red cap... I followed your link. I will try again but I’m not seeing anything like that! Which side of photo?

 

[EDImath]

Hi Edimath
I’m sorry but I m not able to see red cap... I followed your link. I will try again but I’m not seeing anything like that! Which side of photo?

Sorry my link was not good it’s photo 3 of the rainbow images front middle left - here’s a snapshot

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I am new here, so first off hi ‍

something has been playing on my mind and that is this photo Login • Instagram

it’s attached to the Instagram post about making the right decision and turning back taking a lift with the mystery hiker, when the rainbow appeared..

anyway, you will notice in the foreground what looks like the top of a red cap.

I’ve been trying to see a connection with other hikers and other photos and who this cap could belong to.

Tonight I spotted on D&Es Facebook page.. that Dan has a similar cap. He’s seen wearing it in pictures taken and posted between 4th October and 30th of September, as is Esther.

Does anyone else see this.. the Instagram post linked above couldn’t have been a selfie I don’t think as the top of the cap looks far from the camera but maybe...

Welcome!

My word you have a keen eye... it's taken me a while but do you mean this pic (original pic and zoomed in).

 

[EDImath]

That one yes...?

 

[CoverMeCagney]

A few pages ago in this several people mentioned again that she went up Pic de Sauvegarde on both 19th and 22nd. I posted about this earlier but would point out the evidence she was up there on 19th is absent. She said on 19th she was up a 2550m mountain. That is not Sauvegarde which has a higher peak elevation.

Searching the local mountains I spotted Agujas de Perramo is 2550m on the north side of the valley up from Benasque (less far than Sauvegarde) and I think it was up this that she got caught out by poor weather and came down with someone and got a lift back to Benasque.

I hypothesise after her poor weather encounter in 19th she hung around in Benasque recovering and refuelling before heading back up the valley from Benasque on 22nd and he fact she was seen starting up Sauvgarde late in the day indicates she had hiked up from Benasque

It would also make less sense for her to go up Sauvegarde twice (why tick that off the list twice ?)

She posted photos of herself at the top of Sauvegard on Saturday 21st, on Instagram.

19th - can't recall where she climbed but that was the day the hiker gave her a lift down
20th - we don't know what she was doing
21st - lift up to the trail head with Ballarin. Climbed Sauvegard. Unclear where she slept that night.
22nd - Started trail again, climbed Sauvegard again, vanished.

 

[PeggyHenry]

Thanks! I see something red which I guess could be the top of a cap. So the cap would be in the distance and the photo cuts off the person wearing it.... will try checkout Facebook

 

[Ruthbullock]

That one yes...?

I can see it as well, never would have spotted it though- it is very clear and unnatural to the photo. I’m not sure it’s a hat, but it could well be as I have absolutely no idea what else it could be.

 

[Kike76]

To reinforce my earlier point that she was not up Sauvegarde on 19th, one of her posted photos of a refuge on that day is definitely of Cabaña de Literola. There are online photos of the place that match her photo ( she presumably photographed this on her way up or down that day). That is not very near Sauvegarde.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

To reinforce my earlier point that she was not up Sauvegarde on 19th, one of her posted photos of a refuge on that day is definitely of Cabaña de Literola. There are online photos of the place that match her photo ( she presumably photographed this on her way up or down that day). That is not very near Sauvegarde.

I don't think anyone has said she was up Sauvegarde on 19th, have they?

We know she wasn't there until 21st.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

I think the "cap" is in fact a road sign or something, as she said "and then as we drove off this magnificent rainbow appeared"

 

[EDImath]

I think the "cap" is in fact a road sign or something, as she said "and then as we drove off this magnificent rainbow appeared"

Ah..possibly

 

[PeggyHenry]

I think the "cap" is in fact a road sign or something, as she said "and then as we drove off this magnificent rainbow appeared"[

I think you’re right.. it’s shape is too precise to be a cap .. too perfect.. so probably a road sign or something similar. I would never have spotted it though!!