Police searching for British hiker said they can’t rule out a ‘voluntary disappearance’

The 37-year-old last made contact on November 22 when she sent a selfie from the Pic de Sauvegarde mountain  

Credit: Facebook

Police searching for Esther Dingley, the British hiker who vanished in the Pyrenees last month, said they could not rule out that she had organised her own "voluntary disappearance" in order to continue her nomadic lifestyle, according to reports.

The comments came a day after reports that someone was spotted sleeping in the hiker’s campervan 10 days after she vanished.

Police in France and Spain have had to call off searches of mountains where she was last seen three weeks ago due to heavy snow.

Ms Dingley, 37, had gone off on a month-long tour of the Pyrenees without her partner, Daniel Colegate, who had decided to take a break from their nomadic life after six years roaming Europe in a campervan. The Oxford graduates had given up their high-flying academic careers for a life on the road.

She went hiking alone at the end of October and was last seen on November 22.

Missing British hiker

Mr Colegate, 38, has been interviewed by police three times by officers collecting background information about her. He is not considered a suspect.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Captain Bordinaro said that police were keeping all lines of inquiry open. “It could have been an accident, it could have been voluntary disappearance or a criminal act. We just don’t know so are pursuing all of these lines for now,” he said.

Captain Bordinaro said that Mr Colegate was “starting to get tired of this life in a campervan”.

“He wanted to rest somewhere and live in another way but she was still really mad about sport and hiking and didn’t want to stop moving around,” he said. “That said, they had no intention of separating. The idea was each had their own space then they met up.”

The search has been called off due to snow and will not start again probably until the Spring when the snow melts, he said, “unless we have specific information about her whereabouts”.

He said the French and Spanish police were in regular contact but had no new leads. 

Dan Colegate, 38, and Esther Dingley, 37

Credit: Facebook

The mystery over her disappearance appeared to take a curious turn on Thursday after a dog walker spotted a figure lying on the back seat of Ms Dingley’s British-registered Fiat Chausson campervan.

Ms Dingley, a fitness enthusiast, had parked the vehicle to go hiking up the Pyrenees some time after November 16.

"I thought that was very strange so I took a photo with my phone. And when I got home I called the Guardia Civil," the woman told MailOnline.

Spanish police on Friday ruled out the van sighting, claiming it was a plain-clothed forensic officer – working late at night without protective clothing and driving an unmarked vehicle.