British hiker found dead in Pyrenees mountains after four-day search

A 70-year-old British hiker has been found dead in the Pyrenees mountains four days after disappearing.

The man, who was from London, went missing on Monday. He was discovered in the mountain range by a rescue team on Thursday at around 1pm, the Spanish Guardia Civil said.

Mountain rescue specialists said he was discovered near the Aspe peak in the western Pyrenees, in the north-east of Spain.

The man was located by three members of the search-and-rescue team who contacted an air unit, which transferred him to a nearby mountain refuge, the Guardia Civil said.

At about 6pm on Monday, Interpol’s Manchester office contacted Spanish authorities with the coordinates of an electronic bracelet the man was wearing. It is understood that French police mountain rescue experts also participated in the operation to find the hiker.

The man is understood to have been walking between the Lizara and Candanchú mountain refuges. In footage shared by the Guardia Civil, a search helicopter was seen hovering over rocky, arid terrain.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities.”

In 2021, the body of Esther Dingley, 37, was found in the Pyrenees after she was missing for nearly seven months. A French prosecutor investigating her disappearance said she had fallen 30 metres (98ft) to her death while traversing the Pyrenees alone, and ruled her death accidental.

Her last communication was a selfie she took on the summit of Pic de Sauvegarde, sent to her partner, Daniel Colegate, in November 2020.

Authorities believed Dingley, who was an experienced hiker, slipped and fell down a sheer slope close to the 2,300ft peak of the Port de la Glère.

Colegate led the effort to find her. After her body was discovered, Colegate and Dingley’s mother, Ria Bryant, said: “We have all known for many months that the chance we would get to hug our beloved Esther again, to feel her warm hand in ours, to see her beautiful smile and to watch the room light up again whenever she arrived was tiny, but with this confirmation that small hope has now faded. It is devastating beyond words.”