I think she's either fallen and is hidden by rock or she is buried near a cabin. She could have been led into the forest by some sex offender pretending to be offering her a lift though.
While it is unusual for SAR to continue to search and LE says they haven’t ruled out foul play stands out, I think it’s also unusual for a next of kin to immediately jump to foul play and persistently stay on that track, and quite publicly.
I just have a feeling that LE is responding to this situation rather than thinking foul play is likely in any meaningful way.
We are talking high mountains here. The layer of soil is very thin there, with hard rock underneath. Digging a grave is next to impossible.
That’s exactly why, a while back, I thought she might have gone to Maladeta. DC says she had crampons with her (I doubt this, but have no factual basis), and you could see a trail across the glacier from the Pic de S. However, I moved away from the idea.I don’t think she was suicidal, I think she wandered over to a steeper area and, between poor footing, windy weather, and a backpack that didn’t fit quite right and could have overbalanced her, she fell and injured herself badly enough that she couldn’t rescue herself.
I don’t think she want to Maladeta, it’s way too steep and one needs ice climbing gear.
Agreed. I just think this is noteworthy. IMO you don’t see this much in “missing hiker found deceased” cases. There clearly really is something going on here.The police have made the point publicly that foul play is not ruled out at this stage. Thinking back to other cases of people who have been lost or missing in mountains.. when and if they are located, is it usual to make this point publicly? For the police to do this I believe they have a real reason driving them on. My feeling from the first time I read about Esther was that Foul play played some part. In the latter months I get the feeling there was a sort of cat and mouse scenario going on. An accident will always be a possibility and maybe we won’t get to know for sure… but the police certainly aren’t accepting that this was an accident just yet
The aspect in your second to last paragraph (sorry, I can’t snip) is EXACTLY what I think is noteworthy. It’s not the usual practice at all. There’s no compelling reason to come up with whys and wherefores unless there’s something else happening.LE cannot rule out foul play because there is no evidence to rule out foul play. That does not imply that foul play is likely.
The only things that are certain is that the piece of skull belongs to Esther Dingley, and this means that Esther Dingley is dead. Also, the piece of skull wasn't in that location when it was searched at the beginning of July.
Spanish LE / SAR have been very consistent in their approach:
They would continue the search when they had the time - which they did.
They expected hikers would help locate evidence, and that happened.
Now that a new search area has been identified by the find of the bones, and involvement of wildlife is suspected in moving these bones, of course they are in a hurry to locate remains of Esther and her belongings, before the same wildlife destroys everything.
Let's hope they find more, and also keep in mind that this may NOT be the case and that this piece of skull remains the only part found.
Yes. It's certainly the case that LE, SAR and prosecutors office would not use up scarce resources on the sentimental basis of humouring a family member. NB: if assets are being used to search for a dead person, they're not at the same time available to find the living. The strong view of experienced SAR folk there, and experienced people here at WS, is that an accident is perfectly possible or even likely. Many people go missing in this way each year. On that basis, the police would normally let the hills yield the body as and when. That the investigation has been kicked up a gear, allowing a prosecutor to demand data and other equipment, could only be justified by data points suggesting that foul play may realistically be in play.The police have made the point publicly that foul play is not ruled out at this stage. Thinking back to other cases of people who have been lost or missing in mountains.. when and if they are located, is it usual to make this point publicly? For the police to do this I believe they have a real reason driving them on. My feeling from the first time I read about Esther was that Foul play played some part. In the latter months I get the feeling there was a sort of cat and mouse scenario going on. An accident will always be a possibility and maybe we won’t get to know for sure… but the police certainly aren’t accepting that this was an accident just yet
if assets are being used to search for a dead person, they're not at the same time available to find the living.
I think DC has kind of backed them into a corner in a way - he has been so vocal in the press and social media about foul play that even though it is extremely unlikely, they can't definitively rule it out so they must be seen to investigate this scenario.Yes. It's certainly the case that LE, SAR and prosecutors office would not use up scarce resources on the sentimental basis of humouring a family member. NB: if assets are being used to search for a dead person, they're not at the same time available to find the living. The strong view of experienced SAR folk there, and experienced people here at WS, is that an accident is perfectly possible or even likely. Many people go missing in this way each year. On that basis, the police would normally let the hills yield the body as and when. That the investigation has been kicked up a gear, allowing a prosecutor to demand data and other equipment, could only be justified by data points suggesting that foul play may realistically be in play.
How do I leave this site? It's not on the menu.
Snipped for focusLE cannot rule out foul play because there is no evidence to rule out foul play. That does not imply that foul play is likely.
While it is unusual for SAR to continue to search and LE says they haven’t ruled out foul play stands out, I think it’s also unusual for a next of kin to immediately jump to foul play and persistently stay on that track, and quite publicly.
I just have a feeling that LE is responding to this situation rather than thinking foul play is likely in any meaningful way.
I think DC has kind of backed them into a corner in a way - he has been so vocal in the press and social media about foul play that even though it is extremely unlikely, they can't definitively rule it out so they must be seen to investigate this scenario.
I'd say the final climb at Angels Landing at Zion is a lot more dangerous than anything in this area.I thought I'd assemble a few different LE responses to "missing hiker found deceased at bottom of cliff", to reduce variables and study normal conditions for LE to pursue an investigation other than identifying remains. A criminal investigation? VERY unusual; they'd have to have some kind of tip.
Keep in mind, that the location being looked (P de la G) at is an extremely steep slope, cliffy in places, which explains my selections.
These are in the US, but I'm guessing you could find similar for Western Europe. I know one of these deceased hikers.
Hiker found dead at bottom of cliff at Red River Gorge
Hiker found dead near cliff trail at Zion National Park – Mylocalradio.com
Missing hiker found dead down cliff
Hiker who died on Mount Katahdin summit identified as Maryland man
Man, woman found dead at bottom of cliff in San Pedro
Then there's this:
Newlywed Bride Pushes Husband Off Cliff 8 Days After Their Wedding
I'd say the final climb at Angels Landing at Zion is a lot more dangerous than anything in this area.