Hunt for missing British hiker – ‘human remains’ found

SPANISH police have discovered ‘human remains’ close to the place where British hiker Esther Dingley disappeared in the Pyrenees last November.

The hunt for the 37-year-old adventurer, who vanished near the French border, was halted because of winter snow fall but resumed in June when the annual thaw gave access to high ground.

A charity, LBT Global, which is representing Esther’s family, said it was aware of the discovery and said it was “urgently seeking clarification” but, according to police, developments could take days, or even weeks”.

Esther and partner Dan Colegate left Durham in 2014 for an ‘open ended’
campervan tour of Europe.

At the time of her disappearance, Dan was house-sitting at a French farmhouse, while the woman he described as “the love of my life”, went ‘solo’ and trekking in the Pyrenees peaks.

She last made contact on November 22 – from a place near the site the remains were found – when she sent a ‘selfie’ from the summit of Pic de Sauvegarde on the border of France and Spain; saying she was heading to the Refuge de Venasuque to spend the night.