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

[Tortoise]

I’m not sure it’s particularly significant that Esther wrote about being her disappointment about turning back that particular day.

I’ve spent quite a lot of time reading back through their blog (the website, as well as FB & IG) and it seeming very much in keeping with other things she or they both have written in the past.

They both seem very introspective and seem to spend a lot of time analyzing “feelings”, emotions, how their minds “work”, and their relationship.

The one thing that gives me pause about the mention of turning back & the tiny part of her that had wanted to ‘push on’, is that could have affected a subsequent decision, on the 22nd - say - and perhaps she “pushed on” this time when perhaps she should have turned back...

*Speculation*, JMO, etc etc.

I think any and every expression is useful if we are trying to gather information about a potential frame of mind. We surely don't know how fragile (or not) that is in this case.

Esther had formerly been diagnosed with depression. That is probably not a mild case, in my opinion. If we consider that an activity makes someone the happiest they have ever been I think it's only prudent to wonder or speculate as to whether the prospect of returning to future lock downs or even being confined to an area, had the potential to swing the other way. It's perhaps not insignificant that she left France just as it went into second lockdown.

I wouldn't dismiss anything at this stage. I'm not alluding necessarily to a plan to stay on the road - I think frame and balance of mind could be an important consideration.

It is a fact that lockdowns have had a very detrimental affect on mental health.

MOO

 

[Sjm_qc]

I think any and every expression is useful if we are trying to gather information about a potential frame of mind. We surely don't know how fragile (or not) that is in this case.

Esther had formerly been diagnosed with depression. That is probably not a mild case, in my opinion. If we consider that an activity makes someone the happiest they have ever been I think it's only prudent to wonder or speculate as to whether the prospect of returning to future lock downs or even being confined to an area, had the potential to swing the other way. It's perhaps not insignificant that she left France just as it went into second lockdown.

I wouldn't dismiss anything at this stage. I'm not alluding necessarily to a plan to stay on the road - I think frame and balance of mind could be an important consideration.

It is a fact that lockdowns have had a very detrimental affect on mental health.

MOO

I didn’t mean to dismiss your thoughts, I was adding my “take” - which I should have stated more clearly.

Esther also has a previous diagnosis of ME/CFS, which - reading between some lines - has perhaps in the past led to her pushing too hard on occasions.

MOO, too.

 

[patCee]

I didn’t mean to dismiss your thoughts, I was adding my “take” - which I should have stated more clearly.

Esther also has a previous diagnosis of ME/CFS, which - reading between some lines - has perhaps in the past led to her pushing too hard on occasions.

MOO, too.

If I remember correctly she also phoned her father on the last day she communicated. I wonder if she rang him regularly, or whether that call could indicate she was feeling lower in her mood, turning to a parent for comfort/reassurance.

 

[patCee]

If I remember correctly she also phoned her father on the last day she communicated. I wonder if she rang him regularly, or whether that call could indicate she was feeling lower in her mood, turning to a parent for comfort/reassurance.

PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines. Reports she spoke to her father before setting off to the mountain and shared her preparations.

 

[Inverloch]

Esther also has a previous diagnosis of ME/CFS, which - reading between some lines - has perhaps in the past led to her pushing too hard on occasions.

MOO, too.

It's interesting. Often, people with CFS tend to be very wary of pushing themselves too hard in case they trigger a relapse, but perhaps she had been well for some time, so this was no longer a concern.

 

[patCee]

PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines. Reports she spoke to her father before setting off to the mountain and shared her preparations.

Just to add a mountain refuge manager said she seemed in good spirits when there, and "very happy and relaxed"
'We are living a nightmare': family of missing British hiker Esther Dingley fears she was kidnapped

 

[Kaykedi]

I'll find it - may take a minute. In the mean time, I came across this, about the mystery man:

“I had the option of staying at a great cabin, even had a mattress, but it was only 2pm, or going down with my fellow hiker and getting a lift,” she said.

“He’d take me further up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge or back to the camper.”
​

When I read statements from officials that she could not be abducted while hiking a mountain, with jokes about fitting her into a rucksak, I am reminded of Meredith Emerson who was abducted hiking with her dog on Blood Mountain. Anything is possible - since the mystery man knew her plans, may have discouraged her from sharing his name and has not come forward.

"According to the publication, a source said it is believed the missing hiker was dropped where her van was found at Benasque on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees.

“This man would have had conversations with her and may know what she planned,” the source said.

“They may have arranged to meet and hike another route. It is imperative that we find him.”​

'Terrifying development' as missing hiker's last selfie revealed

" ... her distraught partner they are now convinced she is not on the mountain."
...

The couple met while studying at Wadham College, Oxford but went travelling six years ago in a camper van after both suffering depression brought on by humdrum jobs.

They meant to tour Europe for one year but stayed on and recently began producing a travel blog with pictures of their adventures - and adopted five stray dogs.

In a soul-searching interview in April this year, both admitted they both had emotional issues that needed resolving.

They said in the joint interview: “We’ve learned travelling doesn’t really solve any problems, it just changes them - the biggest challenges have been emotional.​

Mystery man who gave hiker lift 3 days before she vanished hunted by cops

I haven't read Esther's post, but, this comment

"He'd take me further up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge or back to the camper".

Is Esther saying the mystery fellow hiker gave her a lift more than once?

 

[Auntie_Seagull]

I haven't read Esther's post, but, this comment

"He'd take me further up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge or back to the camper".

Is Esther saying the mystery fellow hiker gave her a lift more than once?

No, it sounds more like he gave her an alternative: she could go with him up the valley or down to Benasque where her camper was.

 

[Kaykedi]

No, it sounds more like he gave her an alternative: she could go with him up the valley or down to Benasque where her camper was.

Thank you

 

[otto]

I haven't read Esther's post, but, this comment

"He'd take me further up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge or back to the camper".

Is Esther saying the mystery fellow hiker gave her a lift more than once?

The way I understood it is that she had an opportunity to get a ride to her vehicle, and that is what she did, and she had an opportunity to get a lift up the valley with that same mystery friend.

She may have fallen off the mountain - that happens too often to very experienced climbers. At this time, in my opinion, it seems like all options are on the table: accident, violence, suicide. All three mean that she is not returning home. The big question is why the mystery friend is silent.

 

[Kaykedi]

The way I understood it is that she had an opportunity to get a ride to her vehicle, and that is what she did, and she had an opportunity to get a lift up the valley with that same mystery friend.

She may have fallen off the mountain - that happens too often to very experienced climbers. At this time, in my opinion, it seems like all options are on the table: accident, violence, suicide. All three mean that she is not returning home. The big question is why the mystery friend is silent.

Thank you otto. I wonder why the mystery hiker hasn't come forward. Could be he's hiking and hasn't seen the publicity surrounding him/Esther's disappearance? I'm hoping that is the case and that he isn't avoiding coming forward

 

[MrsWatson]

Either the mystery friend knows a whole lot about where Esther is, or he's not checking the news.

I also wonder, is this mystery friend perhaps someone she (or they) had encountered before and she way being coy about it? And if so, were his intentions good?

Probably all silly speculation. Both she and her partner seemed very devoted to making their relationship a success.

All MOO.

 

[otto]

It's not unusual for tourists to make mistakes about the dangers in backcountry hiking.

"Jose María Ciria, a hotelier in Benasque, said: "Walking from here is very dangerous. There is snow on the mountains and ice. It seems an atrocious idea at this time of year."​

Missing British hiker’s boyfriend joins search in Pyrenees as hopes fade of finding her alive

 

[otto]

Thank you otto. I wonder why the mystery hiker hasn't come forward. Could be he's hiking and hasn't seen the publicity surrounding him/Esther's disappearance? I'm hoping that is the case and that he isn't avoiding coming forward

It's been two weeks with drones, helicopters, announcements, news so it would be difficult to be unaware of the searches in the area.

 

[Kaykedi]

Either the mystery friend knows a whole lot about where Esther is, or he's not checking the news.

I also wonder, is this mystery friend perhaps someone she (or they) had encountered before and she way being coy about it? And if so, were his intentions good?

Probably all silly speculation. Both she and her partner seemed very devoted to making their relationship a success.

All MOO.

Interesting point. I'm always suspicious of a man offering to help a lone female that he doesn't know (obviously not in every circumstance), but, I have to be honest, it does make me sit up & pay attention

 

[Bickles]

Pictured: Missing British hiker Esther Dingley's Fiat camper van | Daily Mail Online

So the camper van is being searched by forensic officers.

 

[otto]

Pictured: Missing British hiker Esther Dingley's Fiat camper van | Daily Mail Online

So the camper van is being searched by forensic officers.

From the link - posting the map with dates. I've been confused about the dates. I thought the mystery photographer was Nov 19, but this map suggests that he was with her on Nov 22, the same day that she was seen alone by the couple who were descending the summit.

Is it correct that her last contact with anyone was when she was with the mystery photographer where she decided to go with him to get a lift?

 

[MrsWatson]

Is this the first they are doing a forensic search of the campervan? I hope I am interpreting this wrong.

 

[otto]

Is this the first they are doing a forensic search of the campervan? I hope I am interpreting this wrong.

It seems like a process of elimination. The first assumption was that she had an accident on the mountain. That seems unlikely now - unless she slid into a deep lake. Next is to assume that she came down the mountain safely and something happened before she could let her partner know that she was safely at the van.

 

[Kaykedi]

Is this the first they are doing a forensic search of the campervan? I hope I am interpreting this wrong.

I think it is MrsWatson. Unbelievable