In 2014, 22-year-old Lisanne Froon and 21-year-old Kris Kremers decided to travel from their homeland in the Netherlands to the lush tropics of Panama to volunteer at a local school. Inspired to travel together and do some good, the duo arrived in Panama excited to immerse themselves in the local culture for six weeks.
The Original Plan Got off to a Shaky Start
When they arrived on March 14, 2014, they learned that they were too early to begin their program. Kris described the miscommunication in her diary as “rude and not at all friendly.” She continued, "Tomorrow they will try and get ahold of the [head teacher]... This was a real disappointment.”
The ladies decided to make the most of their early arrival and planned to go for a hike. At the time, they were staying with a local family with a pet dog named Azul, and they took the pooch with them. Although the pair had a hike planned for the next day, they decided to see what they could do on their own. This decision would be a fatal one.
Only the Dog Returned
The girls decided to explore the area surrounding Baru Volcano on their own; the three-mile stretch of land is usually easy to explore. A few tourists have got lost in the area over the years, but almost always managed to find their way home on their own.
Deciding that the trail would be a good warm-up for their planned hike the following day, Lisanne and Kris packed a single backpack and started on the Pianista Trail at around 11 am. The dog, Azul, was hot on their heels, excited about the adventure, but he would return to his family alone.
The Initial Concern Was Touch and Go
The host family knew that the girls planned to do the hike, and expected to see them back within five or six hours. When they never returned, the family knew that something was off. They contacted Lisanne’s mother in the Netherlands, asking if she had heard from her daughter - which she hadn’t.
Although skeptical, the host family determined that the girls were simply out having fun somewhere. After all, they were on vacation. So, they never reported them missing to the police.
Panic Started Rising About the Missing Tourists
The next morning, Lisanne and Kris were still missing and people started to panic about their well-being. First, the tour guide for their planned hike arrived, but the girls failed to show up. Then, they missed a usual check-in call with their families. After two days of the girls being missing, the host family contacted authorities.
A small area search party was organized and their route was mapped. The only contact made was with a local innkeeper who remembered them asking for directions - and he advised them to take a taxi back to town. When no progress was made, both of the girls’ families flew to Panama along with Dutch special units. After 10 days of searching and offering a reward of $30,000, they still had nothing.
Nerves Increased As Days Passed
Days followed without any results. Helicopters searched from the sky and groundsmen trooped through the forested area, but all efforts proved fruitless. Even once the Dutch families arrived in Panama and increased the search efforts, the location of the girls remained a mystery.
As days passed and bled into weeks, different theories started to emerge. With no sign of the girls (dead or alive) on the mountain, people started to whisper that they were a victim of crime in the town. After ten days of intensive searching, the efforts eventually scaled down. Even so, the hunt continued for ten weeks when a hopeful discovery was made.
Local Tribeswoman Made a Sensational Discovery
Weeks passed with no sign of the girls, and not a clue suggesting what could’ve happened to them. Then, ten weeks after their disappearance, a local woman from the Ngäbe tribe discovered a strange blue backpack along the bank of a river more than 90 miles from the host family’s home.
The native woman turned the backpack into the police. Inside, authorities discovered a pair of sunglasses, money, two bras, Lisanne’s passport, a water bottle, two cell phones, and a camera. The digital items, in particular, would share valuable insight into the mystery moments. But rather than provide any answers, the items raised more questions.
The Girls Were in an Emergency Situation
When police took a closer look at the cellphones, puzzle pieces started to fall into place. The call records showed that both girls had called 112, the emergency number for the Netherlands. They also repeatedly dialed 911, the emergency number for Panama. The first emergency call was made a few hours after they left for the hike. Unfortunately, the bad signal in the forest prevented any of these calls from going through. There was only one that managed to connect - but it dropped two seconds later.
Eventually, Kris’s phone locked after someone tried to enter the wrong PIN several times, and then the phones dropped off of the grid entirely. The last time that either phone was registered as being online was on April 11. Based on these records, police determined that at least one of the girls had managed to survive for five days after going missing.
The Camera Exposed a Few More Sinister Clues
The phones had revealed critical information to help authorities form a timeline on what happened in the forest. Also in the backpack was a camera, and it was equally as valuable - if not more. The girls had captured more than 100 photographs on the camera. The shots started off as normal tourist pictures, filled with smiles and posed positions, but quickly transformed into sinister and bizarre pictures.
There was even a shot of Kris’s concerned face around the time of placing the emergency calls. Toward the end of the library, random objects were captured on the device, such as a stick with plastic, canyons, and a bridge. What did these pictures mean?
Experts Share Their Opinion on the Photographs
Of the many photographs on the camera, at least 90 were taken after April 8 starting at 1 am. At one point, a series of flash photographs were taken with two-minute intervals, none of which seemed to show a specific image. Experts have studied the photographs and presented various theories about what could’ve happened.
Some believe that the clear shots were taken with steady hands as a way of marking their trail. Others believe that the camera flash was used as a light source or to scare away wild animals. More dramatic experts speculate that neither Kris nor Lisanne took the photographs and that the shots were captured by someone who had abducted the women. To date, all of these photographs have been shared only with select individuals.
The Images Are Leaked by the Press
The majority of the pictures have remained within limited access circles. The family of the girls specifically requested that the photographs be kept away from the public eye as the images expose the girls in a vulnerable state.
Unfortunately, both a Panama-based TV program and a Dutch production accidentally leaked some of the photographs, giving people the opportunity to add their own speculative theories. One image, in particular, appeared to show an injury on the back of Kris’s head, possibly with blood mottled in her hair.
Could Kris Have Sustained An Injury?
Most of the photographs on the camera were strange and confusing, raising more questions than before. While the photograph of Kris’s hair was abstract, it inspired the opinion that Kris had been injured.
It’s unclear whether the picture has captured the back or front of her head, but it did offer a clue to the condition of their health. It also suggests what could’ve inspired the initial emergency calls. No one is really certain why Lisanne chose to take a picture of Kris’s hair, and dark skeptics believe it was to capture how she died. But authorities were about to make another discovery...
More Belongings Are Discovered
The discovery of the backpack was a major breakthrough in the case, and the search picked up again with renewed enthusiasm. This time, in the area where the backpack was found. The majority of the search was conducted along the Serpent River near the village of Alto Romero. The destination was further from the trail than initially suspected, and people suspected that the tourists either got lost or changed course.
When searching in the new area, about a half-mile from the location of the backpack, police found something truly bizarre. Along the water’s edge, Kris’s clothing was found neatly folded and placed on top of a rock. Nearby, authorities made another, heartbreaking discovery.
A Severed Foot Led Searchers to the Bodies
By now, there was little hope that the girls had survived, but there was no proof of their death. When the search party found Kris’s clothes neatly folded, there was a glimmer of hope, but it was quickly shattered with the discovery of a nearby boot with a human foot still inside.
The tragic finding quickly led to the rest of the human remains, and investigators uncovered up to 33 skeletal fragments as well as bits of skin. DNA testing proved that the remains belonged to Kris Kremer and Lisanne Froome. Investigators now had the daunting task of determining a manner of death. With such fragmented scattered remains, the job would prove to be more difficult than they realized.
The State of the Remains Raised Questions
Overall, investigators discovered a pelvic bone and 33 other pieces of human bone. However, there was no indication of how the girls died. The only evidence of injury was broken foot bones, however, it’s unlikely that a broken foot led to death.
After looking closer at the bones, it was determined that there was no obvious damage (other than the broken foot). However, it was concerning that some of Kris’s bones appeared to be bleached. While Lisanne’s bones still had flesh attached, Kris’s bones were clean. As the weather conditions couldn’t have caused the condition, people believe that it was done with chemicals, later determined to be phosphorous or lime. The practice was common among the Mexican cartel to get rid of evidence. Could the girls have been victims of a violent crime?
Suspects on Police Radar
Once the bodies were found, police had to determine whether there was foul play involved, or whether the hikers died from injuries obtained in the forest. A larger investigation led to the interview of potential suspects, including two Dutch men and the host family.
First, police investigated the host family. They found that all of the girls’ belongings were still at the house, but didn’t find anything else amiss. Police then realized that Kris and Lisanne had met up with two young men before they went missing. The pair had shared brunch with two Dutch men on their final day before going missing - but nothing ever came from these clues.
The Death Was Determined to Be an Accident
The case dragged on for almost a year as investigators studied the evidence and the various findings. In the end, they determined that the girls had suffered from an accident while exploring along the trail. They then got lost and died near the river. Based on the photographs and attempts at reaching emergency services, authorities suspect that Kris suffered an injury and that the pair got lost in the dark. Lisanne tried to escape the forest but didn’t get far.
As the pair died nearby the river, their remains were dispersed and quickly decomposed. Finally, the families had answers - but would the official theory suffice? People following the case started to get angry as the case was assigned to a national civil protection agency, instead of the criminal technicians.
Panama Authorities Came Under Fire
While the Panama authorities presented a theory, there was a lot of criticism about how the investigators handled the case. A reporter for the Panama paper La Estrelladescribed the case as a mess. She claimed that there was no chain of custody for the evidence, and nothing came of the 30 fingerprints found on the backpack.
The reporter also expressed concern about discrepancies with the electronic evidence. For example, the condition of the devices didn’t align with the expectations based on where they were found. Rather than water-clogged cellphones and damaged cameras, the electronics were found in decent condition. Police also failed to dig deeper into an image that was deleted off of the camera. The Kremer’s family lawyer, Enrique Arrocha, also expressed concern. He claimed that there was no proper forensic investigation at the crime scene and that key body parts are still missing.
Could There Have Been a Cover-Up?
The mishandling of evidence and subsequent conspiracy theories were difficult to ignore. Eventually, people started to whisper about a potential cover-up. Some believe that indigenous people from the area killed and ate the tourists before handing over the evidence as a gesture of cooperation.
Others speculate that Kris and Lisanne found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time and crossed paths with the cartels or organ traffickers, explaining why their body parts were so dispersed. Regardless of what really happened, people seem certain that authorities in Panama are intentionally keeping quiet, hoping to avoid a negative impact on tourism.
The Mysterious Happenings in the Forest Remain Unknown
Since Kris and Lisanne went missing and their fragmented remains were found, another 24 tourists have gone missing in the area (or turned up dead). The lack of answers and speculative theories have inspired investigators to revisit the case. Could there be a serial killer in the area?
The investigation has spread further than the authorities in Panama, and internet groups are getting involved too. While the official cause of death may be recorded as accidental death, many believe that the case remains unsolved - and continue to investigate for the sake of justice.