Missing Blogger Esther Dingley

[Queen Vic]

Thank you so much! I'm seeing a lot here that I am experiencing and am only just piecing it all together! My mind is blown. I'll check out the sources you posted. Thanks again

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I don't think he murdered her, but I think he knows that the state of their relationship and the way things were between them were directly responsible for her being out there on her own in winter with inadequate footwear and perhaps not taking as much care as she would have normally done if she was in a better state of mind. That's why he is so over the top having to proclaim their perfect 'soul-mate' love. There would be no need to do that if it were true - he does protest too much I think! And now that he knows that Esther is unable to refute his claims, of course he can say whatever he likes now. I think the final phone call was not a happy one which is why its contents weren't made public in The Dossier when all of her other private messages were. But of course he can now say it was all about how much she loved him etc.

Another reason why I don't think he did it, is his statement in the dossier seems like parts of it were written as a message directly to her - he thought it was possible that she had left him and wanted her to come back. So he talks about how she always does the right thing, references the ups and downs of their relationship etc.

In short I don't think he murdered her, but I also think they weren't together anymore, and he did not deal with that well. But now he doesn't have to deal with it, as no-one can prove that what he says is not the reality of the situation.

I've been thinking a lot about this explanation and whereas before I was certain he had harmed her physically now I'm not so sure. There are still some aspects I cannot get past such as him 'finding' the body. I cannot think of any other case whereby a body has been found by a loved one after the official searching has taken place. I suspect that if it had happened in the UK then our authorities would be taking a very different view to that of the french/spanish police.
The news today that he has led a tribute to the authorities calling them heroes made me want to throw up. If they didn't find the body and he considers them heroes then what does he consider himself to be, seen as how he " succeeded' where they had failed. How vainglorious can one person be
The bit you mention about him speaking directly to ED in the dossier I thought sounded more like a eulogy
The other aspects that intrigue me include why was he 'searching" for her alone- surely they had hiking mates familiar with the terrain and you'd think they'd have volunteered to help just like countless people do when a person goes missing. I suspect that it was crucial for him not to be accompanied and that he may well have declined offers of help.
I'd love to know what her family think of him often in these cases they either adore them or dislike them intensely

 

[Agent Krycek]

Makes perfect sense and would explain a lot of his behaviour for sure but what about the missing items? How do we explain That?

Well the 'missing items' are only missing as Colegate says they are - we don't know for sure what she was carrying I don't think..

Laura the hiker she travelled with briefly told the police Esther only had a lettuce leaf & some seeds to eat one day. For dinner I think.

Laura shared her dinner with Esther.

Esther had a habit of asking strangers for fruit during her hikes too which they reported very odd.

She also ate a mostly raw food plant based diet, but still worried about over eating

 

[SummerSky]

Not to be too sarcastic but it looks they ate nourishing meals when "the king" accompanied her on hikes.

Yet when solo she had a princely lettuce leaf dinner.

I suspect he controlled the finances.

 

[Little Fluffy Clouds]

I agree. Are these the narcissist of the world would you say? As they always need their ego stroked.

And zero empathy.

I love Jon Ronson "The Psychopath Test". Interesting and easy read, if that floats your boat.

 

[Pollyanna263]

I suspect he controlled the finances.

And her perception of herself, along with her thoughts on how she should look

 

[Basicbasic]

And her perception of herself, along with her thoughts on how she should look

How utterly utterly sad for Esther.

 

[PineappleQueen19]

Who lets their partner go on a big hike like that with worn down boots? Like I get she’s an adult, can’t force boots on someone etc etc. But still… you wouldn’t right? You would insist on new boots because you love & care about them and are invested in their safety. Even if they are stubborn you make it a non negotiable because it is literally the difference between life and death.

And when she was missing didn’t he claim she had all the right gear? And now it turns out she was wearing unsuitable, worn out boots. Hmmm.

eta: also her wearing old worn out boots fits the suggestion of him controlling finances. Hmmm.

 

[Pollyanna263]

Who lets their partner go on a big hike like that with worn down boots? Like I get she’s an adult, can’t force boots on someone etc etc. But still… you wouldn’t right? You would insist on new boots because you love & care about them and are invested in their safety. Even if they are stubborn you make it a non negotiable because it is literally the difference between life and death.

And when she was missing didn’t he claim she had all the right gear? And now it turns out she was wearing unsuitable, worn out boots. Hmmm.

eta: also her wearing old worn out boots fits the suggestion of him controlling finances. Hmmm.

She had crampons with her but wasn’t wearing them. I find that very strange considering the path she was on.

 

[Superdude]

Her boots were new in September 2020, apparently. But worn down with the hiking she had done since then. She was foolish not to wear better footwear.

 

[SummerSky]

Her boots were new in September 2020, apparently. But worn down with the hiking she had done since then. She was foolish not to wear better footwear.

Esther wasn't a foolish woman. She was intelligent and an experienced hiker.

This is why we don't believe the narrative. Her corpse was most likely staged.

 

[Superdude]

She needed to ask another hiker for fruit, she was ascending late in the day, and she didn't know if the refuge had a winter room. Despite her fitness, she was not well prepared for the conditions at that time of year.

 

[SummerSky]

She needed to ask another hiker for fruit, she was ascending late in the day, and she didn't know if the refuge had a winter room. Despite her fitness, she was not well prepared for the conditions at that time of year.

That is true.

But logically if you're carrying crampons you'd wear them up a tricky cliff. Plus it lightens the load.

But beyond that I trust Federico, Rickshaw, Mel & Otto's opinions as mountaineering experts - they see no reason she'd go up Pic de Glere at all. Most or all said they wouldn't.

I watch them struggling to fit the staged crime scene to logic and hit a dead wall.

An expert's opinion from WS after viewing photos:

"Pic de la Glere really is a hideous pile of rock though and surely only a masochist would bother with it."

 

[SvenS]

Great drone shot here of the Pic du Salvaguardia, looking towards the Glere pass (you can see the clouds spilling down the pass to the Spanish side). Two things strike me watching this, I think it's possible she did not see the Refuge Venasque on her first ascent of the peak, as it could have been obscured by clouds. Also, the route west from the peak looks really steep and challenging. I can't imagine you would begin to tackle that so late in the day.

 

[LaurieLaurie]

Why wouldn’t she be carrying enough food to last her?

 

[SvenS]

Here's an account of a scramble up the north scree of Pic de la Glere. The route is possible, but they say an ice axe is essential.

http://ekladata.com/v5oFxI3yhir-QyCyY7dQXQbgRO8.jpg

 

[Savannah_xx]

Not to be too sarcastic but it looks they ate nourishing meals when "the king" accompanied her on hikes.

Yet when solo she had a princely lettuce leaf dinner.

I suspect he controlled the finances.

Good shout. Probably right. About her thinking about how she should look, to me she was pretty enough. No doubt it was DC making her feel insecure about her looks.

 

[SvenS]

Why wouldn’t she be carrying enough food to last her?

I wondered that, but according to the reports, she only asked for fruit. It could be she had plenty of food, but lacked fresh fruit - which is quite bulky and heavy to carry. Fruit is also relatively expensive, perhaps she was running low on funds (as evidenced by the haggling in the shop over a discount) and was just being frugal.

 

[Savannah_xx]

She needed to ask another hiker for fruit, she was ascending late in the day, and she didn't know if the refuge had a winter room. Despite her fitness, she was not well prepared for the conditions at that time of year.

But maybe that fits in with DC controlling the finances?? As someone said, when he joined her they had dinners fit for a king in comparison to when by herself, just some seeds and 1 lettuce leaf

I just don't know how it would take a whole 8 months later to find her in the place they checked before

 

[Estella]

New to thread, but have been following for a while and have read the entire thread.one thing that I dont think hasn't been explored enough is the idea that she did come down from the mountain. What evidence is there that she didnt return to her van and/or Dan, or someone else. Then the body transported to the Pic de la Glere, seemingly the most treachurous part of the area ED was hiking to make it look like she fell.

 

[Lanie]

The thing is no one knows what happened from her last call/ post until she was found.

Hopefully her phone will have tracked her movements enough to explain.