she informed him of her plan to look for property in Mallorca and avoid contact for a time. She left England in October, writing to her publisher on 8 November to advise of her temporary address in Mallorca and to query a taxation issue with her royalty payments for Alone in the Sky. In November 1982, Batten, staying at a hotel in Mallorca, was bitten by a dog. Batten refused medical treatment but the wound became infected and she developed a pulmonary abscess. She died alone in her hotel room on 22 November from complications from the dog bite. There was some confusion as to her identity and she was not buried until 22 January 1983. She was interred in a communal pauper's grave under her middle name, Gardner, with 150 other people. Officials in Palma Majorca erred in not informing her family or the New Zealand Government. While her family and acquaintances were used to her being regularly out of touch, over time there was increasing concern as to Batten's welfare. The letter that she had written to her publisher was the last anyone had heard from her as she had sent no further correspondence. Uncollected mail was building up at her poste restante and there had been no transactions on her bank account. In 1984, prompted by Pooley who had had no contact from Batten for some time, the New Zealand High Commission in London began a search for her but to no avail. Batten's reclusive nature and distant relationships hindered progress. By February 1987 official efforts to locate her had ceased. It was not until the following September that journalist Ian Mackersey discovered her fate as part of his research into a television documentary on her life. Batten's death and the circumstances of its discovery were widely reported. When her estate was probated, it was valued at nearly £100,000 (). As Batten's remains were buried in a communal grave in Palma, it was impractical to repatriate them to New Zealand as per her wishes. In 1988, a bronze plaque with a depiction of Batten and text in English and Spanish was placed at the grave site. Legacy Batten is considered to be New Zealand's most notable aviator and a superior pilot compared to her contemporaries Amy Johnson and Amelia Earhart, particularly with respect to her navigation skills. She is remembered in a number of ways in New