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

[patCee]

The report re the van also comments that DC's father has now joined him. So he now has some personal care and support rather than wandering around by himself. I wonder whose looking after the dogs.

 

[patCee]

I have looked way back through her posts and she frequently has unnamed "locals" or "new friends" who show her something or help her out, no names.

If someone offers to take a picture of someone else, using that other person's camera, it is rare indeed to see an exchange of pictures. Both DH and I have taken countless pictures of others while they were on vacation and not once has anyone wanted a picture of us (why would they?) Nor would we pose for it nor would we give our names.

I see absolutely no pictures of random travelers on the E-D FB page. It's dogs, scenery and themselves. In fact, the only person I can see who is mentioned besides ED and DC is someone who is involved in the release or writing of Esther's children's books.
It's a big privacy of course. I sometimes feel uncomfortable being included in strangers photos when in a public place. Never sure what that person intends to do with them.

I don't find it odd at all that there's no picture or name of some hiker who took a picture of Esther.

 

[patCee]

This was meant to be an answer to 10ofRods but didn't go through. Have sometimes wondered what happened when I see blank posts, now I know.

 

[10ofRods]

The only way to fix posts is to edit them (there's no delete button here).

Anyway, I think people are right that it's likely Dan in the camper van.

I assume the van was already examined forensically, although no idea if local authorities have ready access to DNA analysis or whether they have to wait. If the DNA in the van includes a stranger or strangers, that would be big. Is that the reason that LE think Esther isn't up on the mountain?

I wonder if there was evidence in the van that she'd come back down.

Also, I've been wondering what device she typically used for all her many posts. Seems to me she was probably cutting and pasting all those hashtags. Presumably, it was all done on her phone, with a cellular data plan.

 

[PeggyHenry]

According to this report in the Daily Mirror, Dan had been cleared to collect the van after the Guardia Civil found no clues in it. So yes, it does seem likely he would be using it as a base whilst he searched.

Family of Brit hiker missing in Pyrenees fear she may have been kidnapped - Mirror Online

 

[Auntie_Seagull]

I assume the van was already examined forensically, although no idea if local authorities have ready access to DNA analysis or whether they have to wait. If the DNA in the van includes a stranger or strangers, that would be big.

That depends on what kind DNA it would be and in what amounts. Tiny amounts of touch DNA would be a result of secondary transfer, most probably.

I wonder if there was evidence in the van that she'd come back down.

I think it would be hard to tell as she did not share that living space with anyone. We know she was in the van November 19, so finding out if the traces were left then or three days later won't be exactly easy.

 

[Coach]

Missing British hiker's life 'not as idyllic as social media suggests'

 

[Grouse]

The caravan is clearly NOT in the car park in the photo that the dog walker took

<snipped for focus>

If you look closely it is. In the photo of the van you can see a two toned building behind, the top half is light coloured rendering and the bottom is stone. It's the same building as in the car park photo, but the van is parked by the end of the building not in front (ie to the right or left of the building as it appears in the car park photo).

 

[Auntie_Seagull]

<snipped for focus>

If you look closely it is. In the photo of the van you can see a two toned building behind, the top half is light coloured rendering and the bottom is stone. It's the same building as in the car park, but the van is parked by the end of the building not in front (ie to the right or left of the building as it appears in the car park photo).

It isn't the same building. Most of buildings in Benasque are similar in style, two-toned, with stone bottom. And all of the parking lot is paved with concrete.

 

[Grouse]

It isn't the same building. Most of buildings in Benasque are similar in style, two-toned, with stone bottom. And all of the parking lot is paved with concrete.

The parking lot in front is tarmac yes, but I looked on google street view and the area to the right of that building (ie end on to the building as per the photo of the van) is most definitely grass.

Edit: also if you scroll to the right on street view you can just see the end of the building with 2 windows one above the other in the centre, exactly as per the photo of the van

 

[otto]

Looking at this picture, that route does appear treacherous to me.

It sure does! I didn't realize there was such a significant change in elevation. Thank you.

 

[Deleted member 277705]

“Forensic officer seen in campervan of missing person, 10 days after she was last seen” or EXCLUSIVE “New twist in case of missing Briton Esther Dingley as dog walker says she saw someone asleep in hiker's camper van - ten days AFTER she vanished in the Pyrenees”....now, if you are the editor of a newspaper, which headline are you going to run ?

 

[Grouse]

Zooming around on street view it looks like the grassy area where the van was parked is separated from that building by a fence and it does not look to be associated with it. It looks like a piece of common land (as we'd say in the UK), almost a small park, the type people take their dogs for a walk.

It's definitely not on a tarmacced area and I'm a bit puzzled as it seems at odds with reports of her being parked on a street, and the teacher said it was odd to see someone doing yoga on the street. I can appreciate things get lost in translation or if English is not her first language, but it's really not a street and wouldn't look so odd to me to see someone doing yoga there.

So I'm wondering if this was not the location Esther was based at, but maybe taken after the police had released the van back to Dan. Maybe he parked it there and stayed in it to save on hotel bills?

I'm guessing it would be against the rules to post an image off google street view but the one I have in front of me now I can even make out the darker bricks in the stonework just to the left of the top of the van that 100% confirm that is the location.

 

[Grouse]

“Forensic officer seen in campervan of missing person, 10 days after she was last seen” or EXCLUSIVE “New twist in case of missing Briton Esther Dingley as dog walker says she saw someone asleep in hiker's camper van - ten days AFTER she vanished in the Pyrenees”....now, if you are the editor of a newspaper, which headline are you going to run ?

Exactly. Or "forensic officer seen sleeping in campervan of missing person", might explain why the authorities fobbed her off

 

[10ofRods]

That depends on what kind DNA it would be and in what amounts. Tiny amounts of touch DNA would be a result of secondary transfer, most probably.

I think it would be hard to tell as she did not share that living space with anyone. We know she was in the van November 19, so finding out if the traces were left then or three days later won't be exactly easy.

Forensic examination of DNA would involve exact tagging of exactly where the DNA was found. Recent secondary transfer would be expected on the handles to the van and on devices/items used by Esther regularly.

If stranger DNA is found in places like the van's sink or other specific places, that would be big. If no stranger DNA at all is found, that's useful too.

Thing is, I have no clue whether forensic examination of a camper van in northern Spain would include this type of DNA analysis. IOW, the situation inside the van might contain so many different sources of DNA (dogs, plants, people) that it would take quite some time and perhaps an investment to get the analysis. Where I live, PCR machines are readily available to LE and it's no longer expensive to run even fragmentary DNA.

Even if the stranger DNA is secondary transfer, that's still a clue as to who Esther actually and literally came into contact with. If all she did was hand someone her phone, then the amount of touch DNA would indeed be tiny. But if she had more sustained contact with people (say in a refuge), that would be very good to have on file.

Evidence that she had come back down could include many things (including dampness of towels, age of remnants of food, and possibly soil analysis). Presumably her big through-hiking pack is also missing, which means that whenever she left the van the last time, she was planning a longer hike.

 

[Grouse]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed>

From what I've seen on some of her other pictures she does do yoga outside but maybe in less public places.

Looking at that location on street view it's not one I think I'd go for as a solo male or female, seems a bit conspicious, neither a designated area for motorhomes with any facilities (as I gather do exist in the town, but maybe at a cost) or a scenic private spot outside the town.

 

[Deathsgrandaughter]

The witness called Lucia (left) told MailOnline that she spotted the mysterious figure laying in the back of the van - ten days after Esther, 37, was last seen on November 22 and told police

Slightly OT. This caption from the DM article quoted above is my favourite thing about it. (And probably reflects the accuracy of the piece as a whole) I love how they felt the need to point out which one was the eye witness,with a choice of woman or dog, and still managed to get it wrong.

 

[miekei]

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.[/QU

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.

 

[Satchie]

The witness called Lucia (left) told MailOnline that she spotted the mysterious figure laying in the back of the van - ten days after Esther, 37, was last seen on November 22 and told police

Slightly OT. This caption from the DM article quoted above is my favourite thing about it. (And probably reflects the accuracy of the piece as a whole) I love how they felt the need to point out which out out of the woman and still managed to get it wrong

Ha! I wouldn't be surprised if the DM started quoting dogs as witnesses.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I'm guessing it would be against the rules to post an image off google street view but the one I have in front of me now I can even make out the darker bricks in the stonework just to the left of the top of the van that 100% confirm that is the location.

Not only is is not against the rules to post images (screen shots) of google street view, it's certainly encouraged so that others can see what you're describing. We only ask that you also post the link of the google street view image you're posting.