just seen this...
EXCLUSIVE: In a heartbreaking first newspaper interview since the 37-year-old Oxford graduate vanished, Dan Colegate described her disappearance as 'excruciating'
www.mirror.co.uk
Where to start?
On their facebook page Dan said " Now that this is a formal police investigation I've been asked to let any future updates and comments come out via formal channels, which makes complete sense to me. "
So what has changed that he has now given some sort of interview to the DM and no mention of it on LBT Global.
I'm going to ignore that a lot of it is about him, how he feels, etc and leave that to others (with more expertise in the matter) to explore.
Where, then, is the 23 page dossier that " he hopes will help uncover what happened", it's not going to do much if it is secret!
He says " But the more we travelled, the less the physical adventures mattered as much as the fact we were DOING IT TOGETHER and living in the moment. " I don't buy the "doing our own thing" type of argument in the sense of her going out alone. It's not as if she went on a "girls weekend". She had been away 4 weeks, abandoned her duty of housesitting and leaving it to Dan, not very teamwork that. IMO all was not well.
He says his research has 3 possibilites: an accident, that Esther went missing on purpose, or that someone else harmed her; then later he completely discounts that she went missing on purpose.
He is determined that she isn't on the mountain and since he discounted the "on purpose" theory that only leaves 3rd party involvement, is he trying to tell us something?
He said: “I’d be focused on the task of searching, then the reality of why I was in the mountains would hit me and my legs would literally buckle.” So he is up there on his own (remember he didn't want to walk with the rescuers) and then collapses, no exactly ideal whilst another search and resuce is going on.
As he walked the trail he spotted hunters and fears Esther may have come into contact with an armed stranger. So he is saying that whilst the SAR were involved hunters were also up there? during lockdown, covid and a rescue attempt. I am not really pro hunting but I doubt they bump into you and shoot you! ah yes and leave no blood, no trace.
The comment from her mother looks like the old original one, so her mother and father aren't saying anything!
The last texts/messages
looks very contradictory to me. Previously the last "conversation" was from the pic ( "Esther specified her route from the summit we spoke on" from the LBT media release) now it appears that some texts were sent from the pic and then they "spoke" 35 minutes later around 16:00 which is the time we have previously been told she was at the pic. Sounds like the story is evolving to me.
Esther was supposed to be an experience hiker yet she is alleged to have sent " Hoping Refuge Venasque has a winter room. Keep you posted when can. Love you xxx ". She could have checked this on their site before setting off, I don't call that "experienced"
Dan claims the refuge has no sign in book, their site says it has but in any case how does he know the SAR didn't take it away?
He never mentions any phone battery problem!
And just to recap, where is this dossier?
maybe Dan's waiting to see what's said before altering "said dossier"
www.thesun.co.uk
www.lbt.global
