Missing Blogger Esther Dingley #2

[OEJ]

Sometimes I get the feeling Dan is on this forum. Just a feeling.

I think that's a good example of what I'm describing. You're so wrapped up in one point of view that you're ready to believe that anyone who disagrees with you is being dishonest.

 

[SummerSky]

Another common theme is DC always encouraging ED to push her boundaries, I wouldn't be surprised if he had" challenged" her to climb that mountain

He's a 100% women hater.

Interesting how his mother is never mentioned in any news. Always his daddy.

Esther had to be his mommy and mommies do not leave. If you leave you die.

Another common theme is DC always encouraging ED to push her boundaries, I wouldn't be surprised if he had" challenged" her to climb that mountain

He'd planned it all. Made life so awful she had to go solo hiking. Waited for the perfect time just before snow starts. I just pray the French cops he humiliated are going to break him.

 

[LaurieLaurie]

If the bones were moved and brought back they would know pretty quickly from there position and what they find on them.. Different dirt etc.

 

[Superdude]

Many relationships are troubled. Very very very few end in murder. I came to dislike my ex-husband, and we separated. He has since died, of entirely natural causes - does our history make me a suspect in his death?! I do believe both Dan and Esther were troubled; after all, she wanted to continue their nomadic life rather than return to a more settled existence, and perhaps even some regular employment? I think she had difficulties not necessarily related to Dan, and on her last hike she did not behave or prepare like a reasonable adult. I have read comments that she mistook her fitness for experience - I'll try to find a link for these!

The gaslighting is coming from people who seriously think forensic investigators would be fooled by a body killed (inside a tent, according to some posters) and taken elsewhere for months, then the remains taken to a mountainous area and distributed in an inaccessible spot, with most of Esther's belongings scattered nearby. Like, what?!

 

[Superdude]

Hilarious reading back through this thread. I see most people are having fun with the theory that Dan pushed her off the cliff.
Yes, Dan was a fruitcake. So was she. They were made for each other. But come on. There's one huge thing wrong with this theory: the world just isn't that interesting. It would the crime of the century. The assumptions involved are beyond fiction. Sure, anything is possible, but the probability of this theory barely registers on the scale.
Wondering why some of her gear is missing? It will be hidden somewhere down below. When on an up-down hike it makes sense to hide stuff you don't need in bushes or among rocks, to be picked up on the way down. I do that all the time. What's the point carrying it all up and down again?

What's wrong with the obvious, Occam-approved solution that she went up to the ridge for a photo (or a signal) and fell off due to an overzealous stretch during a momentary lapse of situational awareness? Disappointingly dull, I know.

I agree with a lot of this; Dan is an oddball but so was Esther - seven dogs when their only permanent home was a camper van?! And her preparations for the hike weren't good, especially with the winter weather setting in. An accident IS a dull theory, but still the most likely.

 

[SummerSky]

⁹
I see what you mean about microscopic bacteria, but have they carried out that level of forensics on the body/bones? If they havent suspected a change of scene of the body then they may not have a reason to carry out those tests

I'm sure they suspect a change of scene but aren't publicising their suspicions. They are in a hot seat because Esther died in a tourist area...

Also, in recent years (since 2017) France has been under huge public pressure to fix their procedures regarding missing people.

They had/have a law that says if an adult goes missing they have the right to vanish, so police used to not bother much with missing adults.

Since the mountain psychopath's activity was discovered (he killed several people) there's been a huge outcry in the media to fix the situation.

About 53,000 people go missing in France each year - I checked stats this morning.

 

[SummerSky]

I'm convinced it's all been staged. If you wrote the story in fiction no one would believe it.
I read about DC's fundraiser today and was interested to note that he said he was hoping to raise £5000 He then added that it is just a few more pounds than ED had managed to raise last year. He had no need to say that, its like he has to go one better even though E isn't here anymore. It seemed like a veiled attempt to diminish E's achievements and draw attention to his own

Yes on the one-upmanship. And he's using GoFundMe so who's to say he hands over exactly what he receives.

 

[The_Investigator]

No vultures.

Unheard of with a dead body in the wilderness.

The lack of vultures is a huge clue. And dogs not scenting her.

Just been perminately banned from webslewths…doh !

 

[SummerSky]

Yep, how do people know if it's going to the right place...

So how come we can all notice the stuff that just dosen't seem to add up... but yet he's not being questioned/treated like a suspect etc or are they laying it low like not letting him know so as to not do a runner etc.

Pollyanna gave the answer. If the French cops had been aggro with him from the start he'd not have brought the bones... he's like a snake that you have to manipulate carefully.

 

[Queen Vic]

Another common theme is DC always encouraging ED to push her boundaries, I wouldn't be surprised if he had" challenged" her to climb that mountain

 

[flopsymopsy]

Knowing more now about the anger, I still think he did it AND that he “found” her to explain dna. I don’t think it was intentional, I think he got angry, pushed her, and she fell. I think he’s a narcissist who doesn’t think his “mistake” should ruin his life or that he deserves punishment for the awful thing that happened, and so he is acting how he is to try and avert interest and continue his life

I will not change my mind on his involvement, but can’t figure out if it was intentional or not

 

[The_Investigator]

Apart from the smiley Sauvegarde photos on her last days, Esther looked draggy and miserable the last month, and she seemed so in her tête à tête in the mountain hut with the stranger who fed her. She looks intimidated and withdrawn in many mountain selfies where she appears with Dan. There's always that fake "faces leaned into each other pseudo intimacy" that you get with selfies. I wish we had more eyewitness statements from their Alpine trip about what she was like, but I guess she didn't get to mingle. How nice she had a chance to do this at the last.
Begging for fruit and other food may indeed have been a desperate way to connect when other avenues were closed to her. And, yes, a plea for help and nurture in so many ways.

Oh that’s so sad,… I had a friend who had nothing but lovey couples photos on their walls, the perfect family!… always smiling on cue, no one could see the bruises on her back. She told me he used to kick and punch her in her back in the night. Luckily he died at 48 years old, …. years on she still jumps at the slightest thing and is always asking me for reassurance when me meet up on the tinniest thing, like a 5 year old,..

 

[PeggyHenry]

Many wonder why DC took three days to report her missing. But if the relationship was in difficulty and there was a separation then this may have played a part. He may have thought she was keeping quiet and not wanting to be communicative.. however this doesn’t add up if there were no relationship problems, as DC says. So many contradictory factors.. no wonder some cannot believe it was a straightforward accident.
It does appear that, when he can, DC likes to control the narrative to an alarming degree.

 

[Superdude]

Once again, try not to assume you know more than the police.

That's ... hilarious, given the claims and assumptions made on here recently!

 

[The_Investigator]

So true ito her doing positive things and connecting with people.

Wow... Esther was learning to climb with 2 guys? Where did you learn this?

That would have triggered Dan big time.

It was in the month,.. first week I think of when she was away.. she has pictures on blog or Instagram,.. think it was a couple of the people from the group she met in the first week,… Dan probably only knew she climbed, may not have looked closely at who was in the pictures,.. but it looked like only guys to me ! Lol… I always thought she was meeting one of these on the Pic on the 22nd and he was accompanying her on that last hike and they decided to climb the pic de glare ,.. so did he push her? Or she fell? Or they were rolling around in the snow all passionate and who knows? Say for him to just disappear what ever happened,… as she didn’t tell anyone she was meeting him,…

 

[SummerSky]

Very interesting theory. Do you think she died on the night of the 22nd, or maybe on the 23rd? His Whatsapp signal at 4pm on the 22nd puts him in his French house. Plus using his credit card. He must have had free hours in-between though. I just can't figure out how he got from France to her, and when, during lockdown, whilst keeping things tracking him in France, unless it was all meticulously premeditated, which I personally don't think it was. Did he even have a car? If anything, I think it was an accident (in rage) on his part, and (as someone said above) he doesn't feel he deserves to have his life ruined by it.

I'm not sure where the whatsapp and credit card claims come from. If they had any truth his PR ally LBT would have announced it.

Think through the logistics. You can leave your phone at home logged into WA & it would display activity. Location? What if you use a VPN? What if you access WA from a web browser on a burner phone?

Everything occurred in France. The housesit is 1hr away from Sauvegarde after a 4hr hike up. Unless using a car... in which case more like 2hrs total.

Card? You can buy something on a burner phone & nobody would know where you were.

Also as you say, you could also do that stuff in daytime then travel there at night... which seems likely to me! Reasons:
- nobody sees you
- missing tent. It seems logical that he killed her while she was inside the tent because it insulates death odour etc. Zip & go.
- he knew where she was heading. She had told him. Porte de la Glere has a nearby road. She'd be sleeping in a bright yellow tent. Easy to locate if he surprised her.
- he probably told her in the video call to meet him at Porte de la Glere that night.

I think it occurred 22nd evening or 23rd early hours because I think she was inside the tent sleeping or staying warm. Open to other options but you can see my reasons.

Transport:

Car or bike. The housesit owner had known them for several years. One could imagine them leaving a car for his use. But bike is possible too.

 

[Pollyanna263]

True that. What grown up needs a fellow grown up to set up their mobile phone? It's basic stuff

Unless the fellow grown up always takes charge of everything and tells you what is going to happen, until you’re so used to just agreeing and not questioning that you hand it over to them.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

I agree with you @PineappleQueen19. After 9 months of analyzing the cacophony of public facts, we have each likely assigned probabilities as to why Esther sadly died last November. For me, they are murder at 10%, accident at 30% and suicide at 60%. In fact, my suicide theory has strengthened recently. While new to Tattle, I've read every post here from #1 in Thread #1 and been entrenched with analyzing data on WS since early December.

That said, I have two scenarios rumbling around in my mind, based on the facts we have so far. The second, mind you, has a bunch of speculation thanks to what you all have been discussing here on Tattle - many similar thoughts I only shared privately since they were unspeakable on WS.

1. Suicide with Post Mortem Fall: Esther found a secluded niche on the rocky French side of the pic de le glere ridge ("dipped into France"), and quietly passed away by her chosen method, perhaps presuming she might never be found and could finally rest in peace. But with overwintering, snow and ice melt, scavenging animals, body decomposition, wind, shifting or falling rocks and sediment, Esther's body and kit fell post mortem. This NIH article tells me forensics may (or may not) be able to decipher if this happened: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6474516/

2. Suicide with Post Mortem Tampering: Dan found Esther early in his search process and determined she committed suicide (see scenario #1). Perhaps he found her before the BBC breakfast interview (hence the past tense statements and dossier eulogy) or perhaps before he reported her missing if he had first gone to the area to look for her (hence his direction to search an anti-clockwise loop). When he found her, Dan did not report because that would destroy their 'brand', his future revenue opportunity, and perhaps even negate a life insurance claim. So he methodically concocted a plan and carefully staged Esther's death to be an accident (possibly removing any evidence of suicide such as a note and empty pill bottle, changed clothing if bloodied, removed micro-spikes, etc.). Dan then pushed Esther's remains and her stuff down the slope (likely soon after he found her) to mimic a fall. He then controlled the narrative incessantly with the assistance of LBT Global, including how easy the hike was and Esther's vast experience and preparation (possibly for life insurance purposes). When the time was 'right', Dan moved a piece of Esther's skull and two animal bones he'd found to near a port de le glere trail to stage an animal scavenging scene and initiate the 'random' discovery Esther had perished. Once the skull was confirmed to be Esther's, Dan finally more thoroughly searches the port and pic de la glere area (where, BTW, Esther said she'd be 23/11) and the hero finds her.

This is very well considered, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Welcome to Tattle. There’s a lot I agree with. The removal of a note in order to take control is a very interesting possibility.

As as separate point (ie nothing in your post @MourningDove ), it’s not a weakness to end or want to end your life, I resent that association. We have no idea the demons a person is battling minute by minute of every day and it’s not weakness to want it over. There’s only so much a person can take. It’s a fallacy that a so-called ‘strong’ person wouldn’t end their life.

Despair can set in very quickly no matter how upbeat a person may seem. It can go in cycles as well. Add a potential situation of a long term abusive (coercive control and/or otherwise) partner you are trying to leave, with the layers of keeping their secrets, the guilt, shame, low confidence… it doesn’t bear thinking about. Being a victim of coercive control is physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting apart from anything else. The exhaustion is all encompassing and you do just get to the point where you want it all to go away. Of course they want you exhausted to keep you from leaving. It’s not weakness to not see a way forward in that situation. And unfortunately sometimes people in that situation have limited capacity to think of loved ones or might even think they are doing family a kindness by taking themselves out of the equation.

The guy makes all the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. That still doesn’t make him a murderer though.

 

[palmer85]

Just been perminately banned from webslewths…doh !

I think that's a badge of honour! The actual sleuthing over there is effectively banned. It's as if you can only sleuth when someone has been charged and found guilty.

 

[Estella]

Forgive me if this sounds stupid,but she had her tent with her allegedly. Could she not have pitched it at the sign of dark fall and slept in the mountains?!

I did my duke of ed in the mourne mountains in northern ireland and we slept in the tents there.

Just curious to whether she thought she would camp in the mountains.

Yes she quite often slept in her tent in the mountains, usually in the foothills, as she mentions it on more than one occasion in her instagram posts. she wouldn't have pitched on the pic, it would be almost impossible as too exposed and too much rocky ground. Possibly she pitched somewhere around sauveguarde and Glere, but then at some point ended up at the top of pic de la Glere and 'falling' without any crampons on, even though she would most likely have put them on in a good state of mind to hike up there(?)

One other thing that is playing on my mind is the location of the skull bone. It was found UPHILL (I believe) of the rest of her body. Now, I'm no expert but from what I have observed of animals carrying loads, they prefer to use gravity to aid them, so if the skull was where the rest of the body was, which would be logical, then any likely movement of that skull would be DOWNHILL, not uphill to the pic

The way I read 'Maybe I can see you!! Such a clear day" is that because it is so clear, she can see many miles, I.e. 100miles away where the farmhouse Dan was staying at. Does anyone know the exact location of this farmhouse? Perhaps it is in the direction of Bagneres de Luchon or Pic Aneto which she mentions before tagging Dan. Or perhaps it is in the literal sense maybe I can see you as she knows he was coming up to a pic, or maybe it was a hypothetical question, as in 'if we make good enough progress in the next few hours/day then we will be bound to meet'.