I would say the complete opposite is true for the reasons @Superdude has already mentioned.
- Status
New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
He does seem like a jerk but I'm leaning slightly towards accident unless we learn any more information.
Hard as it is to stomach the French cop used the word murder.
That's a first.
The police have been very careful to cagily say they were open to all possibilities ever since this occurred.
But only now do we see this word murder pop up from their discussion.
It's all too staged from my view.
Scripted.
Bones suddenly arrive in sight of Spanish hikers when that area was scoured by experts after snow cleared - and they found nothing.
Do you think Dan has superior skills to mountain rescue/search teams?
I don't.
I think a lot of us think things about the McCanns that are probably unprintable.
So how could he have concealed her body, and hidden it? 
The bones could have been moved by an animal. And a much closer search in the area, including inaccessible places, revealed her body.
I don't like the sound of Dan, but that doesn't make him a murderer.
The bones could have been moved by an animal. And a much closer search in the area, including inaccessible places, revealed her body.
I don't like the sound of Dan, but that doesn't make him a murderer.
At the and of this article..https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/esther-dingley-missing-hiker-boyfriend-search-q7dfx3l95
Ok so I saw the news that her boyfriend found her body and I was like that’s a bit strange. So glad to find this wee thread!
As I've said previously I think Mr. Colegate comes over as a person with a lot of red flags, that doesn't make him a murderer but the couple's personal circumstances that we know about and the circumstances of the case certainly don't rule him out either. One article I have read though does rule out Mr. Colegate saying that the Police have checked his whereabouts via his phone and other sources - is that true ? I thought that others have said that the Police have not investigated him or cleared him at this point ?
The first thing I would ask is how is it that the body is found near the partial skull bone and yet the police couldn't find it before one man does ? They have all the technology and canines and yet are beaten by one man. If she is not in an extremely difficult to see spot it suggests Police incompetence but otherwise it begs the question how Mr. Colegate found her ?
If I was the murderer (I'm not, honest !) I would want to find the body, it contaminates the scene so that any evidence that one was present at any point can be claimed to have occurred during the discovery.
It seems to me that accident/suicide/murder by persons known/unknown are all still on the table but I highly doubt they will come up with anything other than 'accident' unless Ms. Dingley left a note.
The first thing I would ask is how is it that the body is found near the partial skull bone and yet the police couldn't find it before one man does ? They have all the technology and canines and yet are beaten by one man. If she is not in an extremely difficult to see spot it suggests Police incompetence but otherwise it begs the question how Mr. Colegate found her ?
If I was the murderer (I'm not, honest !) I would want to find the body, it contaminates the scene so that any evidence that one was present at any point can be claimed to have occurred during the discovery.
It seems to me that accident/suicide/murder by persons known/unknown are all still on the table but I highly doubt they will come up with anything other than 'accident' unless Ms. Dingley left a note.
Search & Rescue stopped looking for Esther a long time ago. They have limited resources and their aim is to find people alive which there is no way she would have been after a few days in those conditions.
True. Yet statistically he's the most likely suspect.So how could he have concealed her body, and hidden it?
The bones could have been moved by an animal. And a much closer search in the area, including inaccessible places, revealed her body.
I don't like the sound of Dan, but that doesn't make him a murderer.
His behaviour seems to have made her flee & keep fleeing (extended her hike three or four times).
She didn't want to come home.
She was evasive & appeasing & troubled about the relationship (Laura told the cops).
He wrote a book stating they loathed each other.
He was close by.
He's been busy in the area for weeks.
Etc.
They restarted their search when snow cleared about a month ago.
He might have been visiting it and got caught. I’m sorry if this is offensive.
Same for me. It’s not a case of ‘not liking the sound of him’ or anything like that. I find it utterly bizarre given everything we know about him and how he’s behaving that anyone can be totally convinced he’s had nothing to do with it. I wish it weren’t so, but I have no doubt unfortunately.
I agree. My worry is it's such a complex case, involving a foreign citizen and seems to straddle two countries that neither of the police forces will investigate as thoroughly as they need to. In my opinion, that's why he chose that spot too.
Oh, I'm not totally convinced, but an accident is more likely. Also, I assume the police will have confirmed where he was at the time, and whether he could have travelled to Esther.
There are so many bodies in the mountains, many undiscovered, where a simple fall becomes a death - especially in cold weather with insufficient supplies.
There are so many bodies in the mountains, many undiscovered, where a simple fall becomes a death - especially in cold weather with insufficient supplies.
Thanks for posting that photo, I couldn't find it.
I really, truly hope the police get to the bottom of what happens, there does seem to be a lot more to it.
I think believers vs doubters will always be a thing because idealists reject viewing romantic partners (and often parent-child scenarios eg Mccanns) as containing so much evil.
It's not about intelligence. It threatens a world view and an identity.
There's another Mccann situation now with Summer Wells. Same thing transpiring.
Pineapple raised a very acute point earlier that went over my head until I reread the PR-led news article.
Dan was leading the charge of "it's a murder" long ago yet now that the body is found suddenly he & PR charity go against the police and start claiming it's an accident.
Incredibly odd behaviour.
Last edited:
When did Mr. Colegate hire the PR Company ? I find this absolutely bonkers - if I had a loved one lost on a mountain the LAST thing I would do is spend my time looking for a PR Company to hire !
Somebody mentioned Ian Huntley and they are right, it does have similarities, Huntley imposed himself on every part of the investigation just like this.
I want to see any evidence that the Police have said Mr. Colegate is in the clear - because otherwise I don’t see how he is not a ‘person of interest’.
Somebody mentioned Ian Huntley and they are right, it does have similarities, Huntley imposed himself on every part of the investigation just like this.
I want to see any evidence that the Police have said Mr. Colegate is in the clear - because otherwise I don’t see how he is not a ‘person of interest’.
To be fair sometimes it’s a way to protect yourself from media intrusion. PR companies might approach people to offer their services, when that person is literally being deluged from media and press from around the world. Unless you’ve been the victim of press intrusion it’s difficult to understand quite how vile and underhand they can be. They will ‘doorstep‘ you relentlessly, your friends, colleagues, anyone who might know you. Journalists can be horrendous in their pursuit of a story and sometimes to direct everything via a PR agency is an effective way of getting them to stop all the dishonest tit they try to pull on inexperienced people, as once they know you are represented they will often stop all the underhand tit because they know they won’t get away with it. I have a little experience in this area via an old PR job and I’ve ‘protected’ individuals by representing them if that makes sense. Often a PR companies objective is to keep individuals OUT of something (often completely innocent people!) as much as it is getting publicity so from that perspective I understand him
, and her parents, having instructed them.
That said, this guy is guilty as sin in my eyes lol.....I just meant to add some context really. Not everyone who instructs a PR firm has something to hide! Often they’re just your run of the mill person - who has no experience of having the media all over them like a bleeping rash for months on end - and just need help and advice.
I worked with an 18 yr old and his family once. The boy had had sex with his teacher when he was younger, but by the time it all came into the press via her teaching regularity body, he was an adult and the media were bleeping awful, hounding him and his family to try and get him to ‘tell their side of their story’. They were desperate for ‘horny boy had sex with sexy older teacher’ story, but that really hadn’t been the case (he had in fact been quite a vulnerable young lad with his own personal issues), but they had their angle and they were offering him all sorts of cash for a story and quotes etc.
Unfortunately I had to break it to them that despite the journalists promises, he had no guarantees over the headline or the subsequent angle of the piece. No-one would come out of it looking pretty, and he would be even less likely to move on and have a successful future. He wanted to move on and although tempted by the cash, didn’t want to ruin his life by having his name out there in print, but they wouldn’t take no for an answer and they were offering some decent sum as at one stage. Once we were appointed they directed all enquires to us and hey presto we knew exactly the language to use with the journalists (and what parts of their own journalistic code to hold them to account for!).They backed the duck off once they were threatened with us approaching their own regulatory body for their breaches of their own bloody ethics with a family that didn’t know any better.
Last edited:
This is the report of what the police are saying - so while it might be Dan (or another murderer I guess) it looks like an accident is higher on their list.
"the public prosecutor at Saint Gaudens where the search operation has been run, said Dingley’s body had been found high in the mountain, leading credence to the hypothesis that her death had been an accident.
“It’s not the kind of place you just come across. It is high in the mountains and difficult to access,” he said. “I have just spoken to the gendarmes who are carrying out the investigation and they tell me that their inquiries lead them to believe strongly, even almost exclusively, that it was an accident.”"
Like I say, I don't know but I do feel an accident is more likely, and while controlling partners do murder, it's not always - I just hate to jump to conclusions, where someone might always be suspected no matter what the evidence shows.
"the public prosecutor at Saint Gaudens where the search operation has been run, said Dingley’s body had been found high in the mountain, leading credence to the hypothesis that her death had been an accident.
“It’s not the kind of place you just come across. It is high in the mountains and difficult to access,” he said. “I have just spoken to the gendarmes who are carrying out the investigation and they tell me that their inquiries lead them to believe strongly, even almost exclusively, that it was an accident.”"
Like I say, I don't know but I do feel an accident is more likely, and while controlling partners do murder, it's not always - I just hate to jump to conclusions, where someone might always be suspected no matter what the evidence shows.
- Status