Found Deceased Spain - Esther Dingley, from UK, missing in the Pyrenees, November 2020 #2

[Grouse]

" Interesting that you mention Arreau. It is only about a 40mins, 20 mile journey by car from Luchon.

<snipped for focus>

I only included it in the list for completeness as others have said they think the farmhouse is there. I don't. I think it's in the region of Gers to the west of Toulouse, as reported in MSM.

 

[stmarysmead]

stmarysmead, I think this is the FB posting (with video) you are referring to? Log into Facebook

Thank you so much. Interesting that as experienced as she is, she sets off on this day with no money, phone, water and just an orange....and gets lost....though she was sure she knew the way. She mentions another time this happened when solo as well.

She speaks in such an innocent way of a philosophy of trusting that what she needs, “will be provided.” That day, in a populated area...she does find people who allay her fears by offering assistance. She asks for food...as she did right before she disappeared...but she was lucky this time, and food was provided. Also water. And phone assistance as well.

Interesting too...that she thought Dan would have been worried...but he wasn’t. He thought she was just having a nice time...as they both point to her forgotten cell phone. Sounds like Dan is not easily “worried” and might explain the delay in calling authorities.

 

[stmarysmead]

Suppose Esther set off that day and once again, did not have provisions for what would be an overnight trek. She continues, trusting her luck will provide an answer.

She asks at least one couple we know for fruit. They have nothing to offer and sadly, they believe that there was no one behind them that she would encounter on the way to the peak.

So she reaches the peak, takes a selfie. Does she know there is no water or food at the Refuge? If she does, maybe she decides to head back the way she came. Does she decide, although late in the day, to head to one of the roads Dan mentioned? She must realize that this time, her chance of being assisted by kind strangers is very impacted by the time of year, time of day, and Covid.

I think a change of plan is very likely.

 

[ZaZara]

Suppose Esther set off that day and once again, did not have provisions for what would be an overnight trek. She continues, trusting her luck will provide an answer.

She asks at least one couple we know for fruit. They have nothing to offer and sadly, they believe that there was no one behind them that she would encounter on the way to the peak.

So she reaches the peak, takes a selfie. Does she know there is no water or food at the Refuge? If she does, maybe she decides to head back the way she came. Does she decide, although late in the day, to head to one of the roads Dan mentioned? She must realize that this time, her chance of being assisted by kind strangers is very impacted by the time of year, time of day, and Covid.

I think a change of plan is very likely.

According to MSM, Esther went on this last trip well-prepared.
She spoke about her preparations with both Dan and her father.

IMO there is no reason to assume that she did not know the Refuge was unattended, nor that she counted on others to provide food and water.

PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

 

[stmarysmead]

According to MSM, Esther went on this last trip well-prepared.
She spoke about her preparations with both Dan and her father.

IMO there is no reason to assume that she did not know the Refuge was unattended, nor that she counted on others to provide food and water.

PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

I hope that they are correct. But she did ask for fruit...similar pattern. And the authorities claim there is no sign that she visited the refuge.

 

[Grouse]

One of the things that occurs to me regarding the apparent confusion/ contradiction whether LE (and by extension Esther’s family) think Esther had an accident in the mountains somewhere or isn’t up there, may be because we have 2 entirely different sets of authorities in 2 different countries.

Yes I thought there seemed to be a difference in the way the two LE sides were coming across.

ETA: I have no idea what’s up with the formatting of half my post into italics.

as per BBM further up - my theory is you caught the CTRL key just before the "i" in "isn't". MOO .

 

[stmarysmead]

According to MSM, Esther went on this last trip well-prepared.
She spoke about her preparations with both Dan and her father.

IMO there is no reason to assume that she did not know the Refuge was unattended, nor that she counted on others to provide food and water.

PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines.

This article also points out the following:

“ According to experts, there are not many places where it’s possible to fall more than a few metres.

Sergeant Ramos said his team has also searched areas off the main routes and small crevices and cavities in the rock face.”

Dan and her Father speak of her preparations BEFORE the hike began. She was now at the end of a long period away. Was money for food and fresh supplies short...thinking of the chia seed incident? We don’t know how well supplied she was when she set off that day.

 

[Hatty]

Suppose Esther set off that day and once again, did not have provisions for what would be an overnight trek. She continues, trusting her luck will provide an answer.

She asks at least one couple we know for fruit. They have nothing to offer and sadly, they believe that there was no one behind them that she would encounter on the way to the peak.

So she reaches the peak, takes a selfie. Does she know there is no water or food at the Refuge? If she does, maybe she decides to head back the way she came. Does she decide, although late in the day, to head to one of the roads Dan mentioned? She must realize that this time, her chance of being assisted by kind strangers is very impacted by the time of year, time of day, and Covid.

I think a change of plan is very likely.

Indeed, and her nature in trusting strangers makes her extremely vulnerable IMO, so if she did change her plan and head to a road, well who knows who she could have hitched a ride with....

 

[stmarysmead]

In one of the articles, it says that Esther was so enjoying the experience, that she kept extending her time away. I’m wondering if Dan and Esther use just cash or if she carried a credit card? If she left home with a certain amount of cash, it may just have covered estimated expenses for the original time planned away. Now at the end of the trip, still wanting to be on the mountains she loved, money for fresh food supplies might have been very tight. ( discussion over price of chia seeds.)

 

[stmarysmead]

Indeed, and her nature in trusting strangers makes her extremely vulnerable IMO, so if she did change her plan and head to a road, well who knows who she could have hitched a ride with....

My fear as well.

 

[ZaZara]

This article also points out the following:

“ According to experts, there are not many places where it’s possible to fall more than a few metres.

Sergeant Ramos said his team has also searched areas off the main routes and small crevices and cavities in the rock face.”

Dan and her Father speak of her preparations BEFORE the hike began. She was now at the end of a long period away. Was money for food and fresh supplies short...thinking of the chia seed incident? We don’t know how well supplied she was when she set off that day.

I watched the video again. At the end, Esther is very clear in her intentions:

She will help others the next time, similar to the support she has received when she needed it.

At no point in time did she leave on the bicycle trip of a few hours last May with the intention to receive the help and food of strangers. She is sharing her joy that it happened that way and her joy that she was able to ask help for herself, and receive help from others.
For her, this was clearly a learning experience, and not a part of her personality.

Sometimes, people only learn half of the lesson, namely that you can do whatever because others will sort it out for you. That is not according to the spirit of the mountains. You cannot expect others to carry your food for you, you blankets, your water. It is a bonus when others help you, and many will do so if they feel your need is genuine. It isn't genuine when you plan on it beforehand.

Esther did get the message and its meaning: I will help others like I was helped.

 

[stmarysmead]

I watched the video again. At the end, Esther is very clear in her intentions:

She will help others the next time, similar to the support she has received when she needed it.

At no point in time did she leave on the bicycle trip of a few hours last May with the intention to receive the help and food of strangers. She is sharing her joy that it happened that way and her joy that she was able to ask help for herself, and receive help from others.
For her, this was clearly a learning experience, and not a part of her personality.

Sometimes, people only learn half of the lesson, namely that you can do whatever because others will sort it out for you. That is not according to the spirit of the mountains. You cannot expect others to carry your food for you, you blankets, your water. It is a bonus when others help you, and many will do so if they feel your need is genuine. It isn't genuine when you plan on it beforehand.

Esther did get the message and its meaning: I will help others like I was helped.

Very true. But we are all human...and no matter what lessons we learn or philosophies we embrace...in a difficult situation, we can often rely on whatever worked for us before.

She kept extending her time away. She argued in the grocery store about the cost of seeds. She started her last trip...late. She asked for fruit. The people she asked doubted there was anyone com8ng down behind them.

She reached the peak. What if she was very hungry? There is no sign of her at the Refuge, which she would know had no food or water. So what would be her options that late in the day?

Of course, this is all supposition. But it fits with a few of the confirmed details we do know.

 

[Deleted member 277705]

DC seems an intelligent, competent & confident person in total control and is comfortable presenting to camera. He must be beside himself not being able to speak out personally on behalf of his beloved soul mate. I can see a career in television and radio. I think he is a natural.

 

[Kaykedi]

DC seems an intelligent, competent & confident person in total control and is comfortable presenting to camera. He must be beside himself not being able to speak out personally on behalf of his beloved soul mate. I can see a career in television and radio. I think he is a natural.

He's certainly a really confident and clear public speaker

 

[RickshawFan]

I think you can add to that DC's view that an accident is less likely due to her extensive experience; her friend's comment that as she is extremely strong and fit, unlikely to fall;

Snipped for focus.

Let's not lose sight of the fact that these points are made about pretty much every hiker who goes missing.

 

[ZaZara]

Disparition d'Esther Dingley dans les Pyrénées - "Dans 99,9 % des cas, c'est un accident" - Sud Radio

RADIO

Disappearance of Esther Dingley in the Pyrenees - "In 99.9% of cases, the disappearance is the result of an accident"

Particularly well known in Great Britain, the great sportswoman used to film her hikes and share her photo experiences on her social networks. However, since Sunday 22nd November, there has been no more news and the theory of the accident is highly likely for the time being. This is not the first disappearance in the Pyrenees sector, rescuers estimate that it will take three to five years to find the body in case of a death.

The mystery remains around the disappearance of Esther Dingley. It has been over three weeks now since this British blogger suddenly disappeared during a hike in the Pyrenees, in the Bagnères-de-Luchon sector. Accident, bad encounter or even a bear attack? Many hypotheses are circulating, especially in the media across the Channel where the face of Esther Dingley, 37, is well known. Today, the hopes of finding her alive are slim, and it is indeed the thesis of accidental death which seems to be the most likely one.

In spite of important searches with the help of helicopters, drones and dogs, the body of the young woman remains untraceable. But for Patrick Lagleize, president of the Pyrenees Guides Company and former mountain rescuer, the hypothesis of the accident is hardly in doubt.

"99.9 % of the cases are accidents. If we don't find the body, it's because we haven't been able to find the psychological path that led her somewhere"

However, for relatives, this explanation is sometimes difficult to accept. Didier Gallot, for example, remains missing in the Hautes-Pyrénées, three years after his last signs of life during a hike. And his brother, Alain, and his family have imagined everything. While it is unfortunately not rare that the remains take a very long time to be discovered, mourning is impossible for the relatives, as this testimony of Alain Gallot, who lost his brother, illustrates.

"It's difficult to grieve, without a body, it's very difficult. In our family, a number of us remain convinced that he is still alive somewhere else. Others tell themselves that he wanted to disappear and no longer give any sign of life, and others tell themselves that he disappeared in the mountains in an area that was not the one he was supposed to be in. Not having an explanation is very painful. We all talk about it together because nothing has resolved for any of us."

Patrick Lagleize remains confident that Esther Dingley's body will one day be found. "In the glaciers of the Alps, the people who disappear are at the bottom of the glacier and reappear when the glacier goes down, that may take twenty to thirty years. In the Pyrenees, we end up finding the body within five years because there is someone who happens to be passing by there.

In 2012, the remains of a young man were discovered by chance, in the area of Luchon, more than three years after his disappearance.


BBM

 

[patCee]

Snipped for focus.

Let's not lose sight of the fact that these points are made about pretty much every hiker who goes m/issing.

Yes I remember getting help for a child in trouble in rough water at the seaside. The parents were oblivious and then shocked saying, but he's such a good swimmer, he won his gold medal at the local baths. Like the water there are always unforeseen elements to manage in the mountains, as in many environments, to tax our own foresight and physical prowess.

 

[RedHaus]

This article has so many details that we've been waiting to learn for so long. It is so painful to know how long Gerry suffered. I prayed that whatever happened to her had been quick, and was so sure she had slipped and hit her head. The one good thing to come from Gerry's journal and letters is absolute confirmation that her husband had nothing to do with her disappearance. I never for a moment thought he did, but there were people making hideous accusations on social media. It must have been heartwrenching for him.

‘When you find my body’: The last days of Gerry Largay - The Boston Globe

 

[RedHaus]

I find myself reflecting on Gerry Largay, the Apalachian Trail hiker who disappeared from the trail in Maine, USA where I lived at the time. It was sad and tragic as the case unfolded. Two years later someone came across her remains in her sleeping bag by her tent, with a journal documenting the 19 days she survived after getting lost.

I found a WS thread about the case and quoted, above, the final post from anglemom who knew Largay. Her words are quite poignant to the ED case, especially as it pertains to the incessant focus by the media and public that Largay's husband of 40 years was responsible for her disappearance. I had even thought that was the only answer at one point.

The Boston Globe article (below) about the case, that anglemom included in her post, is stunning in its heartfelt detail. Its also stunning how plausible it is that the same story is unfolding for ED. It just breaks my heart, and scares me so that Esther Dingley may be in the same predicament as Gerry Largay.

Just thought I should share this.

‘When you find my body’: The last days of Gerry Largay - The Boston Globe

 

[Rhomal]

Oh my goodness. How horrendously sad. I’m in floods at this.