Human remains found are Esther Dingley, charity says

Ms Dingley was hiking alone when she disappeared

On November 22nd last year, Esther Dingley, 37, went missing walking along in the Pyrenees mountains near the French-Spanish. Though Dingley had been travelling with her partner since 2014, she was on a three-day lone trek when she disappeared.

A bone was discovered in the mountain range last week, which LBT Global has confirmed as being Ms Dingley’s.

“This is the tragic end we have all feared,” said LBT’s CEO Matthew Searle.

“This is devastating news for Esther’s loved ones – never before have I seen such incredible determination as that showed by Daniel in his relentless physical search of the mountains.”

In a statement, her partner Daniel Colegate and mother Ria Bryant said:

“We have all known for many months that the chance we would get to hug our beloved Esther again, to feel her warm hand in ours, to see her beautiful smile and to watch the room light up again whenever she arrived was tiny, but with this confirmation that small hope has now faded. It is devastating beyond words.

“At this stage, with just a single bone found and no sign of equipment or clothing in the immediate area (which has been closely searched again over several days), the details of what happened and where still remain unknown.

“The search and rescue teams intend to continue their search on foot and with drones, particularly trying to find some sign of Esther’s equipment to understand how this tragedy occurred.”