Missing Blogger Esther Dingley #2

[BestWishes]

The theories on here are mad.

The bloke didn't do it. He literally has an alibi. His card was used in several places and you can bet your bottom dollar they have CCTV to back his whereabouts up.

From a very small amount of info, some people have decided he's controlling, she's being abused, she's running away. There is no evidence they were unhappy except for a blog relating to something that happened ten years ago when the poor sod nearly died. It must have been an absolutely horrific time for both of them.

The pseudo psychology on here is beyond. There seems to be a lot of projecting.
The circumstances are very sad but realistically she had an accident. Her tent (if she had it with her) was probably ripped to shreds and has long since disintegrated.

Also forensic anthrologists are highly qualified. They would be able to tell if she died from anything other than an accident or if the bones had been moved.

The gendarmes said from the beginning that the relationship was not as Dan describes, that there were problems. They made clear you can’t trust Colgate’s statements. I believe the police. They don’t usually say stuff like that. It makes me look closely at everything he says and doesn’t say. That wasn’t the only time they did that.
Maybe a forensic person is not able to tell if Dan moved the skull with hair and placed it next to the trail. Maybe that’s difficult.
There is something very wrong with Colegate. You can tell from the way he treats Esther in videos. He made a statement about finding the remains that was all about him. Nothing about Esther. Narcissist.

 

[TwooTwooTwitTwitTwoo]

I agree.



Yes, it seems a bit insulting to the French investigators to me all these suggestions about moving bones and staging it, like they'd be too stupid to be able to detect that.

To be honest I think it's clear to anyone with any sort of forensic or criminological qualifications that this was just to tragic accident.

 

[BestWishes]

This is why they don't like folks on search efforts. I know this keeps getting forgotten, but SAR could have found Esther's remains a lot earlier if it hadn't been for Dan. Perhaps they'd even have found her last December before snow set in. You see, he contaminated the trail. Plus, he insisted that Esther went in a certain direction (that he seems to have made up, since Esther clearly says she was going first to the area where she was found).
So, here's how SAR works, and why the police were so annoyed that Dan insisted on doing his own searching.
SAR is for trained personnel only.

 

[AlanB]

Fascinating thread. The dynamic is so different on here from the rest of Tattle. Is it this fraught on Websleuths too?

Here’s a question that I’be not been able to find the answer to online and I was hoping you guys might know the answer…

Did Dan spot her remains from a distance and alert the authorities? Or did he physically get close enough to them where he could access them and her belongings?

The reason I ask is that I assumed it was the former and he’d spotted her body in a ravine or something below that was inaccessible without climbing equipment. However, some posters seem to be suggesting he moved the body or he found it so he could explain the presence of his DNA on it.

Mr. Colegate spotted the remains from a distance and informed the Police.

The fact that the Police gave Mr. Colegate the freedom to trek around on his own before the body was found means that theoretically there is a possibility that he could have been up there tampering with the scene - but as far as I am aware there is no evidence that he did.

 

[Justpassinginterest]

Agree

Agree with you @MorningDove. Got a bit tired of this now, karma will out,… 🥸 and we can be rest assured we did our best to get to the bottom of it. And have.

I've watched this for a few months too. Most striking recent recent thing to me is that Dan and the family seem to be evading a UK coroners inquiry by saying Esther will be cremated in France. I imagine the UK authorities are nervous about that. Key longer term detail, to me, is that the cops in France seem never had access to Dan's electronics, but simply relied on him to send them examples of comms. Doesn't amount to anything, that. They were only 2 hours drive apart. He can't possibly be ruled out on these bases of being there when she died. Red flags - no-one saw him for 3 days, his lack of transport claim has never been investigated, she disappeared on the day of the BBC report and he found her body on the very day the cops said they were suspicious because no body. UK cops holding up release of body, is my guess.

Quote from earlier post ‘categorically been proven than Dan would be logistically unable to murder Esther without hiring help or a hitman’
I don’t think so…. I really don’t think so!! Positively not!!

He had a 3 day window. If he had access to a car then it was only a 2 hour journey. What have cops done to rule a car out? They've certainly not canvassed every site and person (including weekenders from all over France/EU with old cars at their homes) within a short cycle-ride radius of gite. He also had a touring bike and routinely cycled for hours on it, according to his blog; so why not all the way to her? And the only 'electronic' info the cops have seen is what he's sent them. Finally, Dan's trying hard to avoid a UK coroner's inquiry by not repatriating Esther's body. I wouldn't be surprised if the delay now is due to UK/France/Spain/interpol cooperation. What they need is a decent reason to demand Dan's electronics and check out his story properly. Maybe they're close to getting it?

 

[AlanB]

Thanks for the archive colouredlines .

I have to say I find those links unconvincing, we know Ms. Dingley and Mr. Colegate put out a rose-tinted view of their lives generally (as most people do) and the Police confirmed. I think it highly unlikely that she would be candid to an Aunt and a male friend of theirs.

I think the discussion with Laura Adomaityte in an unguarded moment on the trip is far stronger and fits in with her curious actions i.e. leaving the house-sit so quickly and then sleeping just an hour away from the house-sit(!) - which she then followed up by CONTINUALLY delaying the ending of her trip.
We also know that she was unhappy about Mr. Colegate's plans to end their travelling - she seemed to be at a critical point as this was the very last trip before she would have to go home.

All in all I think the evidence points to the relationship being in serious trouble.

 

[Agent Krycek]

I think it's because Tattle is almost the only place on the web where people can freely discuss Esther's disappearance. Youtubers aren't really doing anything on the tragedy (vs huge interest in Summer Wells), Twitter is quiet. Tattle is really it.

Yes I agree, I also think there are a fair few 'refugees' from Websleuths here who were driven from the Esther Dingle discussion threads there by over zealous moderation and some prolific posters' need to try and control the narrative there - where DC cannot be spoken of as anything other than a hero. I do think DC reads these forums, as parts of his dossier read as a point-by-point answer to things raised on earlier Esther Dingle Websleuths threads when the discussion there was a lot more free.

 

[Superdude]

There was a lockdown, and no unnecessary travel - so a strong likelihood of being stopped by police. So I can't see him hitching. On the way to murder his girlfriend? Not much of a plan.

 

[Pollyanna263]

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.

Also surely the positioning of them would show if that’s where she had died, or if they had been placed. If the spot was difficult to access, I would imagine it’d be very hard to place them there exactly as they needed to be.

 

[LaurieLaurie]

Why do people on here call him Mr. Colegate like he’s important? He’s a prick.

 

[AlanB]

Objectively, is that really a fact?

I'm trying to be as clear as I can about what's known to be true, and what subjective conclusions people may draw from that. Do we know for a fact that DC made ED get rid of her/their dogs against her will?

I can't prove it, but a number of people have been talking about it on WebSleuths and some of them were following her social media accounts well before this tragedy occurred - maybe they are all lying but I doubt it. It has also been claimed that there has been some "sanitising" going on of those social media accounts recently too. As someone who only came to their journey after her disappearance I can't say for sure.

What I can say for sure is that there is a ton of evidence including a witness right before her death and comments from the Police saying the relationship was in trouble, this is also supported by a ton of circumstantial evidence - and yet Mr. Colegate dismisses it all as lies !
The arrogance of that is a huge red flag...

 

[BestWishes]

I only trust the opinions of Esther's mother, the police and her friends about her mental strength.

Mental strength is not at all incompatible with suicide. In Esther's case, perhaps strength led her to it.

Hi @SummerSky. Here are three poems written by DC and posted on his IG account at different dates (see reference). These were posted here on Tattle early on by Johara, if I recall correctly. They all scream NPD to me. And I think the poem you are referencing in your post is the 2nd one.

View attachment 730216

Total NPD. Mind-blowingly hackneyed, too.
Craven.... that's where my mind goes with his obsession for the "crave" word.

Dan? Happy?

Take another look at his personal Instagram. Everyone missed the post where he says (paraphrasing): when you are gone I miss you. When you are near I can't wait for you to leave."

This is textbook narcissistic personality disorder. It is not about him being an ahole. People are very ignorant. NPD is severe abuse.

I no longer log into instagram so can't screenshot.

Yes, classic NPD. Very severe in his case. It leaks out of every pore.
Learn more about narcissistic personality disorder at: Signs of Narcissistic Abuse and Did this happen to you? These are sample videos; both narcissism specialists have a LOT of videos.

 

[Savannah_xx]

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

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.

 

[Agent Krycek]

In his instagram bio, he also says 'lives with a partner' which reads quite cold as in A partner rather than 'my partner' or her name, and considering he has tagged the @EstherandDan insta account, he hasn't tagged her own account @healthyadventureswithlove. Perhaps this is nothing out of the ordinary for him, or perhaps it was thought through. Why would he not want to say her name or post (obvious*) photos of her in his account? Although he did refer to the account estheranddan, so I suppose she isn't completely left out there.

*I say obvious, as in you can identify Esther from them. There are approx 3 photos of her in his account but they are all from quite a distance and she is facing away from the camera, so you can only see her back.

If you read the ‘about us’ section on their blog she talks about him a lot in her description but he doesn’t really mention her in his. It’s really telling.
He also takes credit for all their books too. The more we uncover about this man, the more chilling it is that someone like that can hide in plain sight.

TheInvestigator such a shame you got banned from WS, there are a couple of posters there that are trying to control the narrative in DC’s favour over there for some unknown reason. I’m on there under a different name and learned a lot from your posts!

 

[Estella]

Yes, the no vultures thing and lack of scent for dogs... If this is something that definitely would have been picked up if she had been on the mountain then she cant have been on the mountain. How certain are we about these vultures? If she died on the 21st then is it possible that they circled then and maybe on 22nd and 23rd, but it wasnt until 25th that she was reported as missing?

This is an interesting article https://www.strangeoutdoors.com/mysterious-stories-blog/tag/Pic+de+Sauvegarde+esther+dingley It mentions that the man who met her at pic Sauvegard has NOT come forward. There is a man in one of her instagram photos, in the background, wearing a red top. The "fellow hiker". Did anyone come forward? See screen shot of instagram photo on 19th November, man on rocks in background

 

[AlanB]

…
There is no evidence they were unhappy except for a blog relating to something that happened ten years ago when the poor sod nearly died.
…

I tend to agree with most of what you are saying (i.e. it is highly unlikely that Mr. Colegate is involved in her death) but the statement above is just factually inaccurate - there is a ton of evidence that not only was the relationship dysfunctional but it was highly possible that it was coming to an end - including a witness who has stated as much shortly before her death !

 

[LaurieLaurie]

They will know if she died where she was found, it’s basic forensics.

Spoiler: Warning

An old school friend died recently and his body was moved by his friends, they knew very quickly that he hadn’t died where he was found

 

[Cheapseats]

This is part of the meaning to "dead inside".

He did say of Esther when she was first missing

"She taught me how to feel"

I thought then it was an odd statement to make.

 

[BestWishes]

You can't see the difference ???

In one somebody is drawing a general conclusion based on talking to a stranger, most people put on their best face in such a situation.

In the other just a few days before her death she is being EXTREMELY frank and direct about her relationship that has existed all her adult life. That is on a completely different level.

I am amazed that I am having to explain this to you...

Yes, it does seem quite astonishing that you have to elucidate the obvious.

Clearly, someone is trying to "control the narrative" on this forum, as on others. Thank gosh, there are perceptive and experienced posters on here who won't put up with being manipulated.

 

[Steve Cree Fan Too]

I really can’t see anyone transporting bones about ! But you never know. I think she died up there and was concealed. The person responsible would then have time to decide what to do.. just leave the body concealed or take further action. In order to move on then the perpetrator would need the body to be found or else they will always remain a suspect. So eventually the body is exposed so that it can be declared an accident and the person can move on with a clean slate. It’s quite clever of him to in initially say that there must’ve been a third party involved. Then search and search and locate the body .. then declare it was an accident after all. Makes him look innocent.. “look it can’t have been me or else why would I have asked you to investigate it as a murder. That would bereally stupid of me “.

I can't see anyone transporting bones about like that and then reassembling them up on the mountain with all the equipment and the shoes etc in such a way that would fool forensic teams