Mum of missing British hiker will take DNA test to see if remains are daughters

The mum of a missing British backpacker is set to give a DNA sample to police after a human skull was found in the Pyrenees.

Esther Dingley disappeared eight months ago, and is yet to be found despite extensive searches for her.

But the discovery of a human skull by hikers on Thursday has prompted a fresh investigation.

Her mum Ria Bryant, who moved to the region to help the search for Esther, said she has been asked to provide a DNA sample as well as her daughter's dental records.

The 74-year-old told The Times that none of her daughter's belongings, such as her tent or rucksack, have been found.

She said: “It’s upsetting that it’s not clear and definitive.”

Esther messaged partner Dan Colegate shortly before she vanished in November (Image: Facebook)

As well as a skull, another unidentified bone was found close to the French border with Spain.

The remains have been sent to Toulouse for analysis.

Ms Bryant said: “The dentist is sending a scan of Esther’s teeth. We have to send it to the consulate in Bordeaux.”

French police chief Jean Marc Bordinaro said: "We cannot say anything at the moment because the discovery of the bones is too recent and they must be properly analysed.

"We will not have a result for several days and possibly several weeks."

Puerto de la Glera - Port de la Glere in France - is close to the 8,796ft Pico Salvaguardia summit where Oxford graduate Esther last made contact with her partner Dan Colegate at around 4pm on November 22 last year.

Esther Dingley with boyfriend Dan Colegate, who said he believes she was deliberately harmed

Esther’s partner claimed in a recent BBC interview he “could no longer agree” with the idea she had suffered an accident.

He said: “The search has been so prolonged and so intense, that as far as I’m concerned the probability of an accident is now less than the probability of a criminal act.”

Spanish and French police had previously both said they had found no evidence of any foul play.

Spanish police confirmed last month they had resumed their search for Esther after the winter snow thawed.

Sergeant Jorge Lopez Ramos said at the time snow on the French side of the summit near the border was still making it impossible to restart the search there.

He also predicted summer was the “most likely time of the year” officials would get information that could help them determine what had happened to Esther, saying: “That’s when most people are walking in the mountains.

“At the end of the day 1,000 eyes see more than eight, the summer is when more people leave the well-trodden paths for whatever reason and we’ve got a good chance of seeing some change to a situation which at the moment is the same as it was last year when the search was called off.

“The number of hikers in the area starts to increase towards the end of June but July and August are the two months when there is most people.”

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