Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon arrived in Panama on March 15 2014. The two students, who were in their early twenties, had travelled together from the Netherlands and were hoping to spend their time in the Central American country volunteering with children. However, a few short weeks after arriving, the pair would go on a hike in the jungle that would sadly be their last.
Prior to the voluntary work, the pair had a few weeks to explore the country. They toured the country for two weeks before arriving in the town they were set to volunteer with the children in. With a couple of days to spare still, the two friends decided they would embark on a hike. On April 1 Kremers and Froon set off on the El Pianista Trail which would take them through the Panama jungle.
Some sources claim that the two girls took the owner of a local restaurant’s dog with them and that people grew concerned when said dog returned without the girls. The next morning Kremers and Froon also missed their appointment with a local tour guide. It was becoming blatantly obvious something terrible had happened and searches began almost immediately.
What happened to Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon?
What happened to the two students from the Netherlands remained a mystery for more than two months. On June 14, a backpack belonging to Lisanne Froon was discovered by a riverbank. Among other things in the bag, a camera and both of the girls’ phones were found in good condition inside.
The phone records showed that someone had dialled 112, (the international emergency number), from Kremers’ phone at 4:39 pm, just six hours after they had left for their hike. From then on, both phones would intermittently try to call the number but neither would get through due to lack of reception where they were.
The phones would be periodically switched off and on again, presumably to save battery. Froon’s phone died around 5:00 am and Kremers’ was reportedly switched on multiple times but no calls were made, the pin was either never entered or entered wrong every time.
The only other piece of evidence to help investigators discover what happened was the camera. On the eighth day of the girls being missing Froon’s PowerShot camera showed 99 photos had been taken.
The photos, most of which have been shared online, don’t make a whole lot of sense. Pictures of the dark night sky and pictures of trees and rocks make up most of this disturbing album. However, there are some more peculiar things such as a red bag tied to a twig, some papers on the ground, and even the back of someone’s head (theorized to be Kris Kremers).
What does it all mean?
The most common theory is that the girls were using the camera as a source of light or perhaps to send some sort of SOS signal by using the flash. Others have suggested a third party may have been present and taken the photos, perhaps they also had something to do with the girls’ disappearance.
In the weeks that followed the backpack discovery 33 bones would be discovered along the river with matching DNA for both girls. Unfortunately none of the evidence sheds any light on how the two students met their untimely end. Some have suggested a jaguar in the area could have attacked them while others believe another human could have been responsible. Others believe that one or both sustained an injury making it impossible to get back without aid.
