08/10/2021 17:07
Clarín.com
International
Updated 08/10/2021 17:07
The remains of
Esther Dingley
, a 37-year-old British hiker who disappeared in November 2020, were found by her boyfriend,
Dan Colegate
, near the place where remains of the woman's skull were discovered about two weeks ago, in the
Pyrenees,
the mountain range that separates France and Spain.
After the search was suspended at the beginning of the year, on July 1, 2021, members of the Gendarmerie and personnel from the Air Unit and the Mountain Group of the Civil Guard of Benasque (Huesca) had resumed the raking without success.
The last time Dingley was contacted alive
was on November 22, 2020, when he was climbing solo at
Pico de la Salvaguardia,
in the Huesca Pyrenees.
“Yesterday, on the afternoon of August 9,
Esther Dingley's body and team
were found together in the Pyrenees, near where a cranial bone was discovered two weeks ago.
The discovery was made by Esther's partner, Daniel Colegate, after
tireless
search
efforts
for him since his disappearance, ”the advocacy organization
LBT Global said
in a statement.
Dingley was studying at Oxford University, where he met Colgate.
The find was in an area of
very difficult access
, so it is possible that a special operation with helicopters will be needed to recover the remains. The area known as
Port Glere
was also the site where part of the skull was found. The skull was taken to the lab for analysis and it was quickly confirmed that the DNA belonged to the missing Briton, but pathologists are still running tests on the bone fragment in an attempt to establish the cause of death.
“At this stage, an accident is the most likely hypothesis, given the location and other early indications.
A
full investigation
is underway to
confirm the details surrounding this tragedy, ”explains
LBT Global
, an organization dedicated to supporting families of missing persons.
Colegate, who
was 80 miles away
on a French farm, raised the alarm several days later when she failed to show up at the agreed time.
The pair were on a backpacking tour of Europe and Dingley was on the final hike of a month-long solo expedition when he disappeared.
Daniel Colgate and Esther Dingley were touring Europe on an adventure trip.
The two met in 2003 when they were students at
Oxford University
and later moved to Durham in the UK.
And in 2014, after his health problem, the two of them began a life of adventure in Europe, where they had been doing long walks and bike rides.
Until Dingley's disappearance, Colegate had been writing books about her travels, while she
reflected all her experiences in a blog.
Despite the baffling of the first unsuccessful searches after the disappearance, Colegate never lowered his arms: he
walked the trails and mountains in the Pyrenees incessantly
hoping to find clues that would lead him to his wife.
Colgate's insistence prompted authorities to resume the search in early July.
Although
hypotheses of a possible kidnapping were considered
, the discovery first of the skull and now of the body discarded this idea.
According to local media, investigators point out that
the woman suffered an accident
in the middle of her last excursion in November and may have fallen off a cliff hitting various parts of her body.
However, the mystery continues.