Partner of missing British hiker dismisses theory she set up her own disappearance

Esther Dingley , 37, last spoke to her partner Dan Colegate via Whatsapp

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The partner of British hiker and blogger Esther Dingley, who vanished in the Pyrenees last month, has dismissed a theory she could have orchestrated her own disappearance in order to continue her nomadic lifestyle.

Ms Dingley, 37, had gone off on a month-long tour of the Pyrenees alone as her partner Dan Colegate decided to take a break after six years roaming Europe in a campervan.

She went hiking alone at the end of October and was last seen on November 22 on top of the Pic de Sauvegarde. After weeks of searches by both Spanish and French authorities in the mountains were halted due to heavy snow, police said they were now focusing on a theory that she may have gone missing deliberately.

“We can confirm that there is no indication whatsoever of any breakdown in Dan and Esther’s relationship. There is no sign of any wishes to seek a new life," the family’s spokesperson, Matthew Searle, told the Sunday Mirror in response to the speculations.

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

"Esther Dingley wanted to continue with her current way of life, journey in a campervan and sporting activities including hiking, whilst Daniel Colegate seems a little tired of this nomadic life," captain Jean-Marc Bordinaro of France’s Gendarmerie de Saint-Gaudens said. "Did Esther Dingley want to go off on her own to live her life and organise her own disappearance? There is nothing enabling us to eliminate this working theory," he added.

French police also claimed there were “tensions” in the relationship and that their life was not as “happy as pictures on social media suggest.” There have been no new leads in the case since two witnesses were interviewed last week. The search is not expected to start again until the Sprint when the snow melts.