Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020

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Sjm_qc said:
Yes, several. Including some very high profile cases.

ETA: I can also think of a few where a missing person turns up safe later even in cases where nothing nefarious happened but families, WSers, LE were convinced of or suspected foul play.
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Yes, we do remember a case like that @Sjm_qc. Hooks up. Nice to see you! :)
 
Lilibet said:
Yes, we do remember a case like that @Sjm_qc. Hooks up. Nice to see you! :)
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:). Nice to see you too!

(For others reading along: “Hooks Up” as featured in my sig and referred to by Lilibet, comes from a missing person case years back which had a very happy ending, after months of desperate sleuthing and untold hours spent on all sorts of theories, speculations, red herrings and minutious poring over every single tiny detail, which -in the end- were irrelevant).
 
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Sjm_qc said:
Thank you very much for finding this!

Even with my not great Spanish skills, I can see exactly how there could be a “lost in translation” moment as suggested by @Grouse, as well as seeing why the Mail may have this edited out.
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Possibly the reason they removed it. Or maybe they had just got it wrong - if they are quoting Mr Ballarin literally in the article, I would say his English seems pretty fluent.
 
Grouse said:
Possibly the reason they removed it. Or maybe they had just got it wrong - if they are quoting Mr Ballarin literally in the article, I would say his English seems pretty fluent.
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It’s also possible that the “lost in translation” aspect comes from whoever “interviewed” Senor Ballarin to get the quote, or whoever translated his quote/remarks.

I’m going to see if I can find anything in the Spanish press from him; don’t hold your breath, it’ll take a while ;).
 
Kaykedi said:
Thank you guys for the link to the Press Reader article. So, is the mystery hiker who gave Esther a lift Mr Ballarin?
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Well, as far as I can see, the pulled “quote” from Sr Ballarin says he gave her a lift on the 21st.

Mystery Hiker’s lift was supposedly 19th, according to other reports/social media.

Anything is possible, IMO, when reading or relying on UK redtop reporting. They’re not particularly well known for accuracy... :(.
 
Here's another link with info re Antonio Ballarin, but interestingly they are only reporting his comment re falling into a lake, nothing being said about him giving her a lift on the 21st.
I am not doubting the other reports, just find it interesting that the crucial info has been omitted here.



A local hiker who saw Esther on the day before she started her trek has suggested she could have fallen into a lake.

Antonio Ballarin, 70, said: “The water in those lakes is quite deep and not transparent at all in a lot of parts. She could have slipped and lost her footing and ended in the water. I doubt they will have sent divers into the lakes.

“Once you lose your footing and start falling down the mountains here, there’s nothing to stop you.”


Missing Durham hiker's boyfriend interviewed as witness after disappearance
 
Sjm_qc said:
Well, as far as I can see, the pulled “quote” from Sr Ballarin says he gave her a lift on the 21st.

Mystery Hiker’s lift was supposedly 19th, according to other reports/social media.

Anything is possible, IMO, when reading or relying on UK redtop reporting. They’re not particularly well known for accuracy... :(.
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Yes, looking at Esther's FB entry, :
"She wrote: 'It was the first time I'd seen anyone else for almost two days and as this kind fellow hiker took some photos the weather blew in...
'I had the option of staying at a great caban, even had a mattress, but it was only 2pm or going down with my fellow hiker and getting a lift.
'He'd take me further up the valley so I could continue my planned tour to another refuge, or back to the camper."

She says he would take her down and then further UP the valley (which does not exactly tie in with Ballarin's wording about a lift going higher in the mountain - although I guess depends how you interpret it!) but wouldn't she have referred to something like ' a lovely fellow hiker with his grandson' or at least alluded to there being two of them. Also, as has been said, the dates don't match..

Is it strange that she met two fellow hikers who offered / gave her lifts though? I dont know as I'm not at all familiar with the mountain hiking environment..
 
I'm trying to also look through Spanish news sites to find reference to Ballarin - it doesnt help that there is a high profile sports person called Antonio Ballarin.

Anyway - did find something which is not really of much use but:
Benasque: La misteriosa desaparición de la montañera Esther Maria Dingley (antena3.com)
La última vez que fue vista vestía una camiseta de manga corta, mallas negras y botas de montaña.

Basically translates as: The last time she was seen she was wearing a short sleeved shirt, black leggings (tights) and mountain boots
 
Esther’s final post on the Ester & Dan fb page has several photos attached. On one there is clearly a person in the bottom right corner wearing a cap looking like they are taking a picture on their phone, there is also a figure at the top of mountain in the distance. The next photo shows this figure is wearing a red coat/jacket and dark coloured trousers, standing hand on hip at the top of the mountain. Both of these people need to be identified and questioned. I wonder if they’ve come forward yet?
 
Why do I just feel like the 19th was really the last time anyone physically heard from Esther. The 19th sticks out to me because it’s the date she posted about the hiker, the post also details her doubts about the conditions she’s been hiking in.

The refuges she’s been staying at to me look extremely basic and barely habitable. I wouldn’t want to sleep on any of the mattresses. The rooms look cold, dirty and not secure imo, I’m not experienced with mountain hiking accommodation though, maybe it’s not unusual. I can’t imagine why she would rather stay in some of those places than her camper. Once it got dark I bet it was a scary place to be even for an experienced hiker.
 
Blondiexoxo said:
Why do I just feel like the 19th was really the last time anyone physically heard from Esther. The 19th sticks out to me because it’s the date she posted about the hiker, the post also details her doubts about the conditions she’s been hiking in.

The refuges she’s been staying at to me look extremely basic and barely habitable. I wouldn’t want to sleep on any of the mattresses. The rooms look cold, dirty and not secure imo, I’m not experienced with mountain hiking accommodation though, maybe it’s not unusual. I can’t imagine why she would rather stay in some of those places than her camper. Once it got dark I bet it was a scary place to be even for an experienced hiker.
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She spoke to her dad after the 19th, probably on the morning of 22nd, or the night before.

'She told him she was preparing for her last hike before heading home to Dan,' says her aunt. 'She'd got all the right clothes and equipment and she knew where she was going. She was looking forward to it.'

Hunt for missing British hiker in the Pyrenees could be called off 'until spring' | Daily Mail Online
 
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