Esther Dingley: British woman still missing in Pyrenees

'The problem is that we are in lockdown here so there aren't that many hikers on the paths’

Esther Dingley with two of her dogs (Esther Dingley/Facebook)

An experienced hiker from Britain has been missing in the Pyrenees for more than a week.

Esther Dingley, 37, was expected to return from her solo trek on Wednesday but has not been seen or heard from since Sunday 22 November.

Ms Dingley and her partner of 18 years, Dan Colegate, have been on a camper van tour of Europe since 2014.

When Mr Colegate nearly died of an infection, and the pair were both suffering from depression, they decided to leave their life in Durham and travel around Europe.

Ms Dingley is an experienced hiker who has been on solo walking treks before. The last contact she made was when she messaged Mr Colegate a picture of her on top of Pic de Sauvegarde on the France-Spain border on 22 November.

French authorities have confirmed that six search teams have been out looking for her. This included a helicopter on the Spanish side of the mountains. Another helicopter on the French side is expected to go out on Monday.

According to the mountain gendarmerie in Bagneres-de-Luchon, witnesses saw Ms Dingley on Pic de Sauvegarde last Sunday.

A spokesperson said: "The problem is that we are in lockdown here so there aren't that many hikers on the paths.

"Nobody has come forward with any information about her."

The weather has remained fair, and search-and-rescue teams are expected to look in the more inaccessible areas today.

Mr Colegate said his partner, Ms Dingley, had walked from Benasque in Spain on Saturday and had planned to spend Sunday night at Refuge de Venasque in France.

Ms Dingley was travelling in the couple’s campervan while her partner stayed in the Gascony area of France on a farm. They were spending a month apart, Mr Colegate saying that their last conversation was about "how excited we were to see each other as this was her last trip before driving back".

The couple had been sharing their travels online, Mr Colegate wrote on Saturday: ”I’m broken. Shattered to report that my beloved Esther, the person who taught me how to feel, is missing.”