Now a bone has been confirmed as Esther, we know now, tragically, she's dead. But beyond that nothing's changed. Dan still doesn't have any kind of alibi (the cops don't have his phone or computer); he could easily have cycled, hitched, caught a bus (which goes through the village) or had access to a vehicle. He has no coherent explanation for why he waited 3 DAYS to report her missing! He denies Esther had left him, when Esther made this clear to a walker who's now given 3 police forces a statement. He's never produced any evidence for why he was so confident she would return on 25th when he also says she'd repeatedly delayed returning. He's always denied she left in a hurry when they'd just finished a very long trip and she'd had no plan to leave that day; and she slept in a lay-by an hour from him, then drove another hour the next day and stayed at a caravan site on her own for a whole week. He's said she was super-competent in the hills and could not have got lost while the local Search and Rescue folk have made it clear that her movements on the hill made no sense and that's why they don't know where to look for a body. If she had an accident, it was obviously because she got lost and out of her depth; the background is her wandering aimlessly, beyond her abilities, to stay away from the boyfriend she'd just left (and was hounding her to come back?). The few texts Dan has released are highly selective. If she had an accident then on scree she likely survived the fall and lay dying while Dan waited 3 days to raise the alarm. OR, she didn't have an accident and a single bone has just appeared on a well-used track as if by magic.
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I think a few of your points are misleading or untrue. You seem to have read up on this case so I can't comment on the other details.
1. The statement that the walker gave to the police didn't say that she had left Dan. It said that she wasn't sure what was going to happen in their relationship. There was no definite break-up mentioned.
2. The route that Esther took was actually recommended by another hiker a few days earlier. She was following a route that had been recommended to her and not wandering around aimlessly.
WHY don't the Police have his phone or computer ??? How is that possible ? If he is not giving them these then that is beyond suspicious...
I agree with you and have for some time, the bottom line is that it seems the Police have NOT ruled him out as a suspect and at this stage I think that is remarkable.
There is still a lot of work to do. That area had been searched and Dan has been up there searching, the bones can't have been well hidden for a runner to find them so when did they arrive there? why did no-one else see them? I'm sure they'll be doing a lot of work on them, eg are there animal marks on the bones? what were the other bones from (why is there a mixture of bones)? are there traces of larger animals in the area (bears, wolves)? How strange that someone goes missing, not a single trace of them and then some (one) bone is found in the same area they were in and still not a trace of the rest of them.This appears to be the case, one assumes moved by animals of some kind - the whole thing is very sad.
Now they have to find out where and how she died - and that doesn't look like it's going to be easy...
Note: palmer85, the partial skull bone was identified as being from Ms. Dingley, that's all it seems, the others are from animals. I believe it was suspicious to the runner because it was a skull or partial skull with hair.
Remains found in Pyrenees belong to missing hiker Esther Dingley
Human remains found in the search for British hiker Esther Dingley have been confirmed as being hers.www.standard.co.uk
I don't think point 1. stands Simon, if Mr. Colegate is STILL claiming all was sweetness and light and Ms. Dingley told the walker she wasn't sure their 20 year relationship was going to survive - that is a VERY large difference.
I agree with you on point 2. that it is not quite fair that to say that she was wandering around aimlessly, but she certainly wasn't travelling with HIM and overall it doesn't look good does it ?
Apparently people in the area says it is not going to be a bear as there are not enough of them and that's not what they do, more likely to be a canine of some description or a vulture.
And yet she is sending Dan regular messages? In fact, she sent him one a few hours before she presumably had an accident after descending from the summit? It doesn't seem that there was a break-up going by her messages and keeping in touch daily. Normally, if you break up from someone then you will be out of touch for x amount of time.
I don't agree, maybe she was trying to let him down nicely - she was by all accounts a very nice person, and I don't see how we know that she died straight after that message. Apparently they had a short phone call after that message but we don't know what was said.
The truth is we don't know what happened but can you explain why the Police won't rule him out if they have his phone records and computer and witness alibis for where he was ??? The Police have directly contradicted Mr. Colegate's statement that the relationship was smooth sailing - you seem to keep avoiding all these key points.
I haven't checked all the distances but isn't it something like at least an hour drive to the base of the French Pyrenees and about 4 hours walk to get where Esther was for Dan? It just seems a bit far fetched to say that he managed to find her.
I agree that while Dan says their relationship was fine there does seem to be doubts from Esther. For many people this is nothing strange in a modern relationship.
I agree that while Dan says their relationship was fine there does seem to be doubts from Esther. For many people this is nothing strange in a modern relationship.
So I'm reading through the Wikipedia and one thing I don't understand is that they had cancelled their wedding (as I understand this was for health reasons), then there just seems to be a struggle in the relationship
But idk, I think a lot of the time when a situation like this occurs a lot of people just suspect the boyfriend/husband and anything that points to a less than ideal relationship is used to support that
Obviously, that explains why Esther would not be sure on the relationship, but also... with some objective eyes there were clearly issues. Obviously, it could also just be that he's in a bad mental state and unable to do that, plus it seems like he did want the relationship to work out
Seems reasonable that you expect your partner to return or to tell you that they're going to not return rather than just drop off the face of the earth. It's a bit weird if he tried to contact her and she didn't contact him back though, especially if it was a daily thing
But idk, I think a lot of the time when a situation like this occurs a lot of people just suspect the boyfriend/husband and anything that points to a less than ideal relationship is used to support that
And now we will never hear her version. I hope that there will be a quick decision if this is a case of pushed or slipped...
I don't think that there is any possibility "that he managed to find her" as you say, but could not the last phone call have arranged a rendezvous if he wasn't getting the answers he wanted ? If the Police come out and say he has an alibi and is not a suspect then that's fine, he wouldn't be the first innocent controlling partner and certainly not the last - but the Police are clearly NOT doing that, in fact in my view they are hinting at the opposite of that.
Dan comes across to me as a tense and possibly controlling person. One of those people that are intelligent but think they are a genius. Self absorbed and a self-styled 'thinker'. Add all of that to the years of incontinence and you have a man that is possibly very angry with his lot in life.
Been confirmed on BBC website, sadly the bones are Esthers. My heart goes out to her and her family.
Something somebody else brought up to add to that, on the books of their adventures HE is always the sole author, she doesn't get a share of that. If all your travels are about the two of you don't you think it strange that she doesn't get any credit at all for the books ?
I'm sorry to say your wrong on both counts, Simonsays.
1. Laura Adomaityte said the following to the media and 3 police forces:
"Esther said they were taking a break and didn't know if they were going to get back together again. When you're not 100 per cent okay with your partner, you're not going to be totally balanced emotionally". Source here (one of many).
2. Patrick Lagleize, President of the Pyrenean mountain rescue mirrored what the local police have said:
"When there is a disappearance in the mountains and the victim cannot be found, then it is because we cannot match them with their planned itinerary. It is then necessary to count on luck to find traces of the person, often several months, even several years later. We cannot find the victims in the mountains if we do not understand the logic of their path". Source here (one of many).
3. Esther's last and only statement by text about her route to Dan, Dan says, was:
"Still in the same area. Tomorrow heading for Port de le Glere or something spelt like that. Might dip into France. Hoping Refuge Venasque has a winter room. Keep you posted when can".
Because these ideas for her route are mutually contradictory, it is not possible for rescue services to make sense of them. ED had gone up the same top on two successive days. One group thought it odd that she was ascending so late in the day. You refer to a walker who mentioned a possible route to Esther. In fact, it was a 71 year old man who gave her a lift along the road when she hitched to the hill. It is a fact that Dan did not know her route. The temp that evening was -2 degrees and she did not know if the refuge she 'may' sleep at was open. She did not have a proper tent (no fly sheet). She posted an image of her sleeping arrangements - in the picture she had used the tent as a blanket and had not pitched it. You say she made frequent contact with Dan - this is exactly why it is so strange that he took 3 days to raise the alarm that Esther had gone missing in sub-zero conditions in the Pyrenees mountains.
See, the 'keep you posted when can thing' does imply that the communication may have been blotchy at times even if it was daily
Plus, assuming the environment is full of mountains I really cannot imagine cellular signal would be too good, especially in snowy conditions
I imagine he may have been concerned, but if he did not know her route that well and it was totally possible that she was fine the next bet is to wait for her to show up as planned?
Also, if they travel frequently there is that to add to the context. If I go missing it's a lot more concerning than someone who should have some experience with this sort of stuff
It hasn't been, to date, anything other than a missing person inquiry so the cops don't have power to demand kit. The NY Times reported the PR group supporting Dan as follows: "An investigation remains ongoing, the group said, although it did not specify which authorities were involved". Source here.
In other words, the cops haven't yet decided if it is sufficiently suspicious to merit a criminal investigation. UK cops in particular will need to investigate per the coroners inquiry which will follow the repatriation of Ethers's body to UK. NB: Cops will be interested in why Dan does not appear to be being honest about the nature of the relationship, Esther's abrupt departure to a lay-by and her then staying away for a month. They will also want to know why he was so confident ED would return on 25th, to the point where he left it 3 days to report her missing. Another NB: if Esther had an accident, it is perfectly possible she was alive for a considerable period of time.
if she had an accident in -2 degrees then, ask around, it is not competent for DC and ED not to have been crystal clear about her route. Waiting 3 days to report a climber lost in sub zero Pyrenees isn't a 'second-best bet' - it would be life threateningly idiotic. If it was totally possible she was fine then it was also totally possible that she was dying on the hill. Which, it turns out, she was.See, the 'keep you posted when can thing' does imply that the communication may have been blotchy at times even if it was daily
Plus, assuming the environment is full of mountains I really cannot imagine cellular signal would be too good, especially in snowy conditions
I imagine he may have been concerned, but if he did not know her route that well and it was totally possible that she was fine the next bet is to wait for her to show up as planned?
Also, if they travel frequently there is that to add to the context. If I go missing it's a lot more concerning than someone who should have some experience with this sort of stuff
Esther was missing in sub-zero temperateres, last known to be at height in the Pyrenees mountains. That Dan didn't know her route is bad enough; that he waited 3 days to report her missing is - on its face - idiotic, not a 'second-best bet'. It is perfectly possible she died because of that delay. Imagine this response by a seasoned hillwalker to the cops. '1. I didn't think to ask her route. 2. Then I was worried that she hadn't contacted me and was in sub-zero temperatures in the Pyrenees, and may have had an accident, but left it 3 days before reporting my fears.' You can either allow that Dan is experienced and sensible, or that he was incredibly stupid and lack any safety awareness - but you can't can't allow both. There may, of course, be other underpinning reasoning for Dan's words and actions altogether.See, the 'keep you posted when can thing' does imply that the communication may have been blotchy at times even if it was daily
Plus, assuming the environment is full of mountains I really cannot imagine cellular signal would be too good, especially in snowy conditions
I imagine he may have been concerned, but if he did not know her route that well and it was totally possible that she was fine the next bet is to wait for her to show up as planned?
Also, if they travel frequently there is that to add to the context. If I go missing it's a lot more concerning than someone who should have some experience with this sort of stuff
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