Esther Dingley ‘died immediately after slipping in worn climbing boots and plunging 100ft’

British hiker Esther Dingley died immediately after falling 100ft from a rocky ledge, an post-mortem has concluded.  

The 37-year-old suffered a number of bone fractures within the fall, which was ‘100 per cent an accident’, a supply on the prosecutor’s workplace mentioned. 

‘The ultimate report will likely be compiled, however successfully the case will likely be seen as closed.’

Particulars of the post-mortem have been despatched to the French prosecutor investigating her demise and Esther’s boyfriend Dan Colgate who discovered her physique earlier this week.  

French investigators earlier mentioned Esther fell to her demise after shedding her footing on a rocky ledge close to to the two,300ft summit of the Pic de la Glere which straddles the French-Spanish border.   

Esther went lacking on November 22 whereas solo climbing within the Pyrenees. She was reported lacking by Colegate on November 24, only a day earlier than her journey was resulting from finish, sparking a large manhunt.

The search was suspended in December resulting from deteriorating climate however resumed within the Spring and human stays, later confirmed to be a chunk of Esther’s cranium, have been discovered final month.    

In an unique interview with MailOnline the Public prosecutor in control of the investigation Christophe Amunzateguy recommended Dingley had misplaced her footing as she was sporting a pair of worn climbing boots that failed to offer her any grip on the rocky path. 

Dingley was sporting a pair of worn La Sportiva climbing footwear, reasonably than a Kahtoola Microspikes traction system that she had together with her. 

The spikes are marketed because the ‘gold commonplace’ crampon-style add-ons for mountains ‘in frozen circumstances’. 

Mr Amunzateguy mentioned the footwear have been worn after months of use, and ‘clearly the soles have been a bit clean’. 

He admitted the occasions resulting in the Dingley’s demise would possibly by no means be recognized. 

He mentioned: ‘The precise and exact circumstances of the demise we’ll by no means know, an individual who falls, and the situation of the physique, make the investigation very sophisticated.’ 

The prosecutor mentioned all of the proof thus far gathered by his forensic groups factors to  an unintentional demise.

He’s ready for the outcomes of an post-mortem earlier than making public his findings.

‘The unintentional idea is now greater than robust as a result of the physique was discovered instantly under a sort of rocky peak,’ he mentioned.

‘We believed that Esther would have fallen as a result of alongside this wall, we discovered objects that belonged to her and so they ended up on the backside.

‘We estimate the autumn at about twenty and even thirty meters.’ 

Gadgets from her rucksack, together with her cellphone have been discovered scattered on a rocky ledge unfold near stays of her physique that have been found earlier this week by Colegate. 

Pathologists within the French metropolis of Toulouse have carried out an post-mortem on the stays that have been positioned about 437 yards (400m) from the highest of the Pic de la Glere, a preferred spot for hikers who stroll alongside the French-Spanish border.

Final month fragments of bone from Dingley’s have been discovered a brief distance away additional down the mountain at an space often known as Porte de Glere.

Investigators consider a bear or wolf had dragged the cranium to its resting place.

A DNA pattern supplied by her household was capable of match the fragment discovered to that of the hiker.

Mr Amunzateguy, the general public prosecutor for Saint-Gaudens – mentioned the stays have been badly decomposed and regardless of the efforts of pathologists it won’t be doable to find out a precise explanation for demise.

He mentioned: ‘This post-mortem is to substantiate, with the stays of the physique that we might discover, if there was a fall and what might be the precise causes of demise.

‘The physique is badly decomposed, and the snow has aggravated the decomposition of the physique.’

The prosecutor revealed objects that had been discovered near her physique included her cell phone. 

He mentioned the cellphone had been examined and had but not given up any clues to the ultimate moments of the skilled hiker.

‘We’ll see what we are able to do with it, however we already know what the final calls have been,’ he mentioned.

‘We are going to proceed the investigations, however I repeat, we’re nonetheless specializing in an accident.’

Forensic groups haven’t but positioned her ultra-lightweight yellow tent.  

The prosecutor mentioned Mr Colegate had spent weeks looking out the world as soon as the snow melted across the excessive peaks.

‘Dan Colegate had undertaken to seek for himself, and he informed us the place the physique was on Monday afternoon,’ mentioned the prosecutor.

‘He contacted the gendarmerie as he had direct numbers as a result of he collaborated within the investigation.’

A police supply in Bagneres de Lucon, the place the search groups have been based mostly, mentioned 38-year-old Mr Colegate had by no means been thought-about a suspect.

Police chief Jean Marc Bordinaro mentioned Mr Colegate had been finest positioned to search for his girlfriend as he was aware of her climbing talents and had ‘paced up and down the world’ in his private search.

French search groups had used drones and a helicopter of their search which started after November 22 when Ms Dingley was reported lacking by her boyfriend.

Heavy snowfall within the space had hidden the physique for months and was not considered seen from the air.

Mr Colegate had concentrated his search near the place the fragments have been discovered by different hikers in July.

The prosecutor mentioned he needed to ship up a helicopter to right away to help within the search however was unable to take action because it was already concerned in one other mountain rescue.

Describing the occasions after the physique was positioned, he mentioned: ‘The search part moved on Tuesday morning with a helicopter as a result of the world is tough to entry.

‘We needed to go there on Monday night, however all our helicopters have been already engaged for rescue. 

‘When the investigators arrived on the scene, they found the physique in a reasonably superior state of decomposition.

‘The physique may be very broken, however we discovered her private results, the backpack, the footwear, water container and the cellphone that was on her.’ 

The Oxford graduate had got down to hike alone from the Porte de la Glere to the Port de Venasque, a trek which follows the border between France and Spain.

She parked the couple’s campervan in a parking lot in Benasque, Spain, on November 21 and began the solo hike from the Spanish city of Benasque to Pic de Sauvegarde, a mountaintop within the Pyrenees.

Her final contact with anybody was when she despatched Mr Colegate a selfie from the Pic de Sauvegarde mountain on November 22.

She was seen by a number of witnesses together with an Olympic Spanish skier asking for some fruit climbing on the trail main as much as the summit.

From there she deliberate to stroll between Port de la Gléré and Port de Venasque – a route of some eight miles – earlier than climbing again down from the mountains.

She turned her cellphone off after that to save lots of the battery and was planning to spend that evening on the Refuge de Venasque in France, which is unmanned.

In her final recognized message, despatched to Colegate on November 22, Esther wrote: ‘May dip into France. Hoping Refuge Venasque has a winter room. Maintain you posted when can. Love you xxx’

Nobody is aware of if she stayed there and nobody has reported seeing Esther alive after that.

Mr Colegate, who was staying at a farm in Gascony, France, raised the alarm on November 25, three days after he acquired her Whatsapp.

Police from Spain and France took half within the search in an space protecting nearly 700 miles.

Troopers from the Excessive Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon from Luchon in addition to native hikers and mountain guides took half within the search.

However with space blanketed by snow the search was referred to as off till Spring and hotter climate had melted the snow alongside the twisting trails.

Colegate has expressed disbelief on the idea that Esther might have died after turning into injured throughout her solo hike as she was an skilled hiker who ought to have had no downside with the route she is believed to have taken.

He wrote a 23-page report about Esther’s plans to do a round hike between Spain and France which concerned sleeping at a mountain refuge.

He mentioned in his file: ‘A person that Esther met on November 19 got here ahead to say he had particularly recommended this route via France, between Port de Venasque and Port de la Glere, to Esther when he met her. There isn’t any motive to assume that Esther didn’t stick with this plan.’

In a bit titled ‘Esther’s Deliberate Onward Route’, he recommended she reached the mountain refuge in France and slept there in a single day earlier than persevering with a hike to return to her preliminary start line in Spain.

He mentioned: ‘Her onward route would have concerned a descent northwards in direction of the Hospice de France, a flat traverse westwards across the Imperatrice Means, and a climb southwards to the border at Port de la Glere. From the border the route descends again in direction of Hospital de Benasque.

‘This route would have been properly inside Esther’s capabilities for a day hike, along with the very fact she had a tent, tenting gear and vital expertise utilizing it.

‘Distance was 16km with 1202 yards (1100m) of ascent, 5 to seven hours of climbing time. The climate remained wonderful that Monday. The route may be very apparent on the bottom and in addition from the terrain when ranging from Refuge de Venasque.

‘It is mainly inconceivable to get misplaced in good visibility right here. The whole route is a well-made and simple to comply with path. Though Esther believed and had warned household that there was poor sign within the space, actually the sign is superb on the French facet.

‘Inside half an hour of leaving the refuge, Esther ought to have been ready to make use of her cellphone for many of the remainder of the day.’

The couple, each Oxford graduates, had been travelling round Europe in a camper van for years after quitting their careers and Durham house.