THE LOST GIRLS OF PANAMA (SEASON FINALE, PART 2)

In our three-part season finale miniseries, we explore cases of travellers who go missing while abroad. 

In April 2014, Dutch tourists Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon set out on a hike just outside Boquete, Panama—a scenic, well-traveled trail that should have taken only a few hours. They were never seen again.

What followed was a desperate search that ended in a series of chilling discoveries: a backpack found deep in the jungle, their phones showing repeated, failed emergency calls, and a camera containing dozens of unsettling nighttime photos taken days after they disappeared.

Authorities ultimately ruled the case a tragic accident. But lingering questions—and disturbing details—have led many to suspect something far more sinister.

In part two of our finale miniseries, we break down the timeline, the evidence, and the competing theories behind one of the most haunting disappearances in recent memory. As this case proved, sometimes the truth is harder to find than the missing.

Anyone with more information about this case is asked to call the non-emergency number of the Boquete Police at 507-720-1222.

RESOURCES:

"Found dead in Panama: New clues on 2014 cold case" (Knox Pages Article)

"Missing In The Jungle, Camera Found With Eerie Pics: What Happened to Kris Kremers & Lisanne Froon?" (Mile Higher Podcast)

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Hey everyone, welcome back to Crime Family. I'm your co-host AJ, and I'm here with my two sisters and co-hosts Katie and Lisa. And this week we are going to be doing part two of our three-part season finale mini-series. So we are doing three episodes about different cases, and they are cases that are that include tourists who go missing while abroad. So these are kind of cases that have always sort of interested me, like, you know, tourists who disappear and very interesting. And last week we did the Mariam Barter case, and this week Lisa will be doing a separate case that's not related to that one, and I'm excited to get into it.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

So a woman from a local indigenous tribe in the small village of Alto Romero in Panama was washing her clothes in the Serpent River on a hot day in June of 2014 when she noticed something up ahead. It was wedged between some driftwood and rocks at the river bank. And as she got closer to inspect, she realized it was a blue backpack. It immediately grabbed her attention for a couple reasons. One of them being the backpack seemed clean and dry even though it was rainy season in Panama. And another reason was because of the search that had been going on for weeks that the whole village knew about. Inside the backpack, among other items, she saw an insurance card, and when she saw the name on the card, she recognized it immediately. Lysand Foon. Her and her husband took the backpack to the home of a local cattle rancher who contacted the local authorities on their behalf. Finally, after 10 weeks of fruitless searching, the first piece of evidence had been found in a case that was becoming more and more worrisome. But what no one knew is that this backpack would only add more questions to the mystery, not answers, to the case of two missing tourists who had disappeared without trace over two months ago. So this is the case of the lost woman of Panama. So for weeks, two Dutch girls, 22 Lizanne Foon and 21-year-old Chris Kremers, had been planning a trip of a lifetime. They were going to go to Costa Rica for a few weeks and do some volunteer work and learn some Spanish. Lizanne, who had never been out of Europe, was dealing with self-confidence issues and was yearning to do something outside her comfort zone and felt this trip would be just the thing she needed. Her parents were secretly worried about their only daughter traveling that far without them, but they kept their concerns to themselves. She was a smart, responsible adult who never gave her parents any cause for concern, and she loved the outdoors and nature, so they thought this would be perfect for her. And it wasn't like she would be traveling completely alone. Her close friend Chris would be joining her. Twenty-one-year-old Chris Kremers had more travel experience than Lazanne. She had gone on a trip to Peru previously with family, and since then had become enarmored with South America and had been wanting to go back. The two girls met four years prior while working at the same restaurant and had recently moved into an apartment together. So a few weeks before they were to set off, their accommodations at volunteer plants in Costa Rica fell through, and it's never explained what really happened. It just plans fell through. So Lazanne's parents were secretly relieved that the daughter, like what they thought the daughter wouldn't be going anywhere, but the relief didn't last for long because Lazanne announced she was still going on the trip. The destination had just changed. So this time they were now gonna go to Panama. So the two girls had the same vision. They didn't want just an old vacation. I mean, they did plan to relax on the beach and and enjoy time off, but they also wanted to do some volunteer work and take Spanish lessons. So they planned to spend two weeks in the coastal town of Boca del Tora exploring the beaches and, like I said, take Spanish lessons. And then from there, they would go on to the mountain region of Boqueta. Some people say Boquetta, other people say Boquet. Um I'm gonna say Boqueta because more of the people were saying it like that. They would immerse themselves in the local culture and language and yeah, do volunteer work at a local daycare center. So on March 15th, 2014, uh Lazanne says her goodbyes to her parents at the airport, and she hugs them for what would be the last time, and her mother squeezes her tight and tells her to make the most of it. And right before she turns out of sight, she turns around and gives one final wave to her family before disappearing. The trip started out great. Once the jet lag wore off, they spent the first bit of the trip enjoying the Caribbean lifestyle. Um they took Spanish lessons, they visited various islands, and they hung out with fellow travelers. They snorkeled, they ate amazing local food, and they seemed to be having the time of their lives. Um, at one point, Chris does get some sort of flu stomach bug, but despite that, they that doesn't slow them down. So when it came time for the girls to leave Boco del Tora, they were very upset. They had fallen in love with this little slice of paradise, and they were very upset to leave. Um, but they were excited for the next light of the trip. So on March 29th, the girls arrived in the mountain town of Bukeda. So it is located in the western province of Jericho, and it's just 60 kilometers from the Costa Rica border. Buketa is like nestled in the highlands along the Caldera River, and it's a popular destination for people who love to hike. There are trails with waterfalls, there's exotic animals, and they it's known to have the best taste in coffee, and there's lots of coffee plantations, there's lots of rock climbing formations, and there's less less scenery all around. It is 1200 meters above sea level, so this provides the town with a cooler climate, and it's Boqueras sits at the base of the volcano Baru, the highest point in Panama, which rises to 3,475 meters above sea level. So, because of the cool temperatures, it is a popular destination for tourists who are looking for outdoor adventure. So Chris and Lazanne had made plans to stay with a local host family who rented out rooms to international guests, and the owner of this home, her name is Miriam. Lizann and Chris both say in the journals that were discovered later that they had started to feel overwhelmed with the culture shock of everything. And they had written in their journals that night that they had wanted to go home and they were naive to think that they could handle this. Um, however, after a good night's sleep, the girls seemed to be feeling better. So they spent that first day exploring the town and they wanted to go check out um the daycare center they had reached a volunteer at. So the volunteer is supposed to begin on March 31st. So when they arrived to begin their volunteer, they were met with a rude welcome. They said the staff was not ready for them to begin for whatever reason and were told that there was no use for them until the following week. So I'm not sure if like Lizanne and Chris got their day mixed up or the daycare center got the week mixed up, um, but they were just not ready. They weren't supposed to start until the following week. So the girls were put off by the rudeness of the staff, um, and they were eager to like move on from it, and they they just they knew they didn't want to return back there. They weren't even gonna go back the next week to volunteer at all. So they went to the Spanish school to discuss other volunteer options. And this is when they found one that appealed to them, and they were told they could begin in a few days. So unexpectedly, they have a few days off uh before they start the new volunteer position. So it's on the morning of April 2nd, a local tour guy named Feliciano shows up at this meeting spot that he had arranged with the girls the day before. The girls had wanted him to take them to a local farm. There's so many like beautiful farms around the area. As he stood waiting for the two women, another girl, a German girl named Eileen, who worked at the Spanish school, arrived. She had actually made plans with the girls as well to join them on the hike. So it's Feliciano and Eileen waiting for the girls, but the minutes went by and the girls don't show up. So Feliciano knew the girls were staying with the host family, just minutes just minutes from the Spanish school. So he and Eileen walked to the house, which is about 10 minutes away, thinking Chris and Lazanne might have mixed up the schedule. So when they arrived, no one appeared to be home and the curtains in the girls' bedroom were shut. So Feliciano calls the homeowner Miriam, and she has no idea where the girls were. She said they still had been in bed the previous evening and she hadn't seen them that morning, and she had left breakfast out before going to work. So with Miriam's position uh permission, Feliciano goes inside the house. So the the girls' room is tidy, the beds didn't appear to have been slept in, some belongings, like phone chargers, are left out while the rest of the luggage was packed away. So it looks like they hadn't planned to be gone long. So Feliciano and Aline assume the girls had simply changed the plans and just forgot to inform everyone. So they just continue on the way and they do that. They go to the farm themselves. By evening, the breakfast remains untouched, and then by sundown, Chris and Lazanne still hadn't returned, and no one had heard from them. So it's this night that they get reported missing. So it's the middle of the night in the in the Netherlands when Lazanne's mother gets the phone call every parent fears. The daughters had fallen had failed to return to their logging for the night. So right away, Lazanne's parents call the emergency number for the travel agency that had set up the trip for the girls. And the woman at the agency tries to reassure Lazanne's mom that the girls had probably gone out for the night, but they would be back soon. But when they discovered the girls hadn't slept at the host family's house the night before either, their stomachs dropped even further when they realized their daughter ha has been missing for over 24 hours. So, like, Miriam had said they were sleeping when I went home when I left the night before, but maybe now they're thinking, like, maybe they weren't even there at all shock. They had been sleeping in the bed, in the bedroom, because it was quiet. But so they're thinking they had been missing for two nights now. By Thursday, April 3rd, word of the disappearances had spread throughout the small town of GoCat. So the locals were very quick to step in. They were eager to help search for the missing girls. But there was one major problem. No one knew where to begin. Like Chris and Lizanne had told no one their plans. They hadn't left a note, they hadn't mentioned a destination, there was nothing to indicate where they had gone. And worse still, although they had taken the phones with them, neither device had a Panamanian STIM card installed, which no one could call them. So they had just been using Wi-Fi to stay in contact with the families. Um, so when investigators checked the mobile records, there was no useful location data. There was no signal, no calls, nothing to indicate where they might be. But a clue did come from the Spanish school. So the internet search history at the Spanish school revealed that Chris and Lazanne had been looking up information about the Pianista Trail. So this trail is located just a 10-minute drive outside of town and is well known among tourists. And it offers hikers the chance to climb to the top of the continental divide with sweeping views over the surrounding ramp forest. So the Pianista Summit is a popular steep and often muddy hiking trail. It is about 8.5 kilometers to and from, and it is known for its cloud forest. It looks like at one point the clouds are so low, it literally looks like you're walking through the clouds. And the hike takes hikers through a steep ascent through farmland and jungle. And it typically takes about three to four hours. And it is considered a moderate, difficult hike and features a 600-meter elevation gain. And it is a bias to turn back once you reach the summit because the trail beyond it is unmaintained and poorly marked and considered dangerous. And it is recommended that tourists take an expert guard with them. And most tourists do take a guide with them, but some people do decide to do it alone. So after learning this piece of information, Feliciano reveals that he had previously offered to take them to the Pinisa Trail, but the girls had declined. So combined with this, like everything combined, they suggest they may have decided to attempt the hike alone. So in the days that follow, multiple witnesses come forward claiming they had seen two women matching the description of Chris Kremers and Lizanne Foon heading towards the trail on April 1st. But none of these sightings could be confirmed 100% because, you know, Chris Kramer's and Lisa Food were both, they were white, slender, and had hair ranging from strawberry blonde to light brown, and it was features that made them resemble many other young European backpackers in the area. Adding to this uncertainty, no one could agree on what they had been wearing. Witness descriptions vary, so it made identification difficult. One witness reported seeing the pair waiting for a taxi in town at around 1.45 p.m. And this seemed like a promising lead because a taxi driver did come forward claiming he had picked up two women matching the description and dropped them off near a hostel shortly before 2 o'clock p.m. So the hostel was located about a 20-minute walk from the Peanista Trail. And according to the hostel owner, the girls had asked about hiking the trail, but later changed their minds, saying they planned to return to town instead. However, another sighting complicates this timeline. So a restaurant employee working along the main road near the trail claimed he saw two women matching the description heading up the path sometime between 3 o'clock and 3.30. The restaurant's dog, that um, he's known for following hikers on their hikes, so he reportedly went with them as he did with all the tourists. But the employee says that the dog went with the girls up the trail, but eventually the dog returned by itself. Another local woman said she saw Chris and Lazanne heading up the mountain at around 4.15 p.m. And she was concerned because they didn't seem properly prepared and it was getting a little late to start the hike, and she was like, didn't want you guys to go too late. It's gonna be dark while you're there. So she warned them in Spanish not to continue alone, but they didn't seem to understand what she was saying. So shortly after all this, volunteer search teams began combing the peonista trail, but no trace of the woman could be found. So the trail is bordered by like dense forest, rainforest, but it's designed for with tourists in mind. So they make the trail difficult to accidentally stray from the main path. So the surrounding vegetation is extremely thick and it's often nearly impossible to push through it. So anyone who left the trail would have struggled to travel far, especially without proper clothing or equipment. So most hikers, when they reach the summit, they return the same way they came. They don't go around the summit into that like unknown, dangerous territory. So if the girls had been injured or become unwell during the hike, it would be reasonable to assume they would have stayed where they were and have waited for help rather than venturing further into the jungle. So the trail is maintained and monitored by park rangers, and it's used regularly, not only by tourists, but also by local, by locals and members of the indigenous communities living in on the far side of the continental divide. However, the official tourist route does not strictly end at the summit. Like you can go around it and down other paths that are well used. Beyond that, beyond it is um a rough and unmarked passage that continues onward, branching into a network of informal trails, and that's primarily used by the indigenous groups that live nearby. So this is where the situation becomes even more uncertain because if Chris and Lizanne had mistakenly continued past the main viewpoint, they could easily have become disoriented, especially if they misjudged how much daylight they had left. So what begins is a manageable path, eventually transitions into increasingly rugged terrain where the trail becomes harder to distinguish and far less clearly defined. So Feliciano, um, he has guarded numerous hikers on this route. He's an expert on this specific route, and he has family that owns land on the far side of the Continental Divide. So he tells reporters he does not believe it's easy to simply lose the trail without noticing. In his opinion, he says the more realistic danger was not becoming immediately lost, but continuing onward while losing awareness of time and distance. Under those circumstances, he explains that hikers could unintentionally push deeper into remote terrain and quickly face serious risks such as dehydration, exhaustion, and exposure to the elements. So, I mean, if they were not wearing suitable clothing or carrying proper gear, the drop in temperature after dark could have made hypothermia a serious danger. So, and Lazanne was known to have asthma and have been dealing with the lingering cough. So those symptoms may have been aggravated by higher altitude and exposure to the changing mountain conditions, with the risk likely increasing as the rainy season set in. So they're coming right in during rainy season is about to begin, and it's um in in Panama. So despite extensive searches on the far side of the summit, no sign was fought was found of either Lazanne or Chris. And this absence led investigators to consider whether the pair may have completed the hike safely and then disappeared later. But a separate account complicates that theory, because a local businessman claims he saw two women, matching their description, coming down from the mountain on the evening of April 1st. He said they appeared exhausted and irritated and asked him how to get back to Bouquet. He advised them to take a taxi, but he did not see if they actually did take a taxi or what direction they went afterwards. So back in the Netherlands, Lizanne and Chris's parents, they're kind of locked in like a desperate race against time, from thousands of miles away, they reported their daughters missing to Panamanian authorities. They reached out to Interpol and they launched a Facebook page pleading with the public for any scrap of information. As the search efforts gathered pace, the families succumbed to hope. They helped told themselves the girls would reappear at any moment, tired perhaps, but safe, with a simple explanation for the disappearance. But as the fourth day dawned, that hope began to fracture and anxiety deepened into dread. So Panama's National Civil Protection Unit, Cineproc, took command of the operation, ordering volunteer search parties to stand down. Investigators now worked under a chilling assumption the girls were lost somewhere in the wilderness. Maps were drawn, and every trail, every path the pair might have taken was scrutinized. In total, 25 routes were identified across and around Baru Volcano National Park, including the dense terrains found in the Pianista Trail. So rescue teams moved in and Cineproc specialists, alongside 35 national police officers, spread out across the unforgiven landscape, beginning a search that was quickly becoming a race against the unknown. So sniffer dogs were deployed, the presence offering a fragile sense of hope that a trail might still be found, but just as the search reached a critical point, the weather shifted. After days of dry, clear skies, heavy rain began to fall and it was relentless and unforgiving. Trails that may have once been passable were soon transformed into thick, slippery channels of mud. And first paths disappeared beneath the rain, and it became dangerous, and the roots became unstable, and it threatened anyone who tried to follow them. So scattered along the trails, they come across these abandoned huts, and these are huts that would have afforded shelter for anyone that was lost. So each one was searched carefully, but there was no trace that the girls had ever been in any of them. So hopes begin to waver, and members of the families do travel to Panama to join the search in person. And desperate to keep the effort alive, they offer a $2,500 reward, urging indigenous communities on the far side of the Continental Divide to continue looking. But the days drag on with no breakthroughs, no sightings, and no answers. And a lot of people question the strategy of Cineproc. And they're arguing that there's the search the search has become too narrow. And they're tell they're trying to tell them to expand beyond the volcano national park to consider the possibility that the women have made it off the peonies to trail. And they're saying, you know, if if they actually did make it off the trail, you're wasting valuable time and wasting resources searching it in the wrong place. So by April 14th, two weeks had passed without a single breakthrough. If Chris and Lazanne were still somewhere in the wilderness, their chances of survival were now fading fast. So at this point, they've been in the jungle for two weeks. So the intensive search effort was gradually scaled back, and the case was handed over to the public ministry of Panama. So authorities of Panama and the Netherlands began working together, pursuing leads, sharing information, and supporting the families as the investigation entered a new phase. But the days stretched on in silence with no answers and no new evidence. And once this happened, the narrative kind of began to shift a bit. The belief that the girls were simply lost in the jungle that started to fade, and it in its place, um, another darker possibility took hold and one that was more troubling for everybody. They think Tristan Lazanne may not have been alone out in the jungle at all. So the possibility of this, and besides. Being out there with them had been there from the beginning, but the police and investigators worked on the theory that they had just gotten lost or injured. But as the days passed with no evidence to support any other explanation, that theory of foul play gained traction. So it was hard to imagine that for like Lazanne's family and friends, it was hard to imagine that they would willingly venture beyond the summit of the Pianista Trail into the far more treacherous terrain on the other side. These were well these were intelligent, well-prepared women, aware of their limits and unequipped for an extended stay in the wilderness. And also like they were nervous, like they they before they even started, like as soon as they got to Boketta, they were kind of overwhelmed and wanted to go home. It didn't seem like they they were the type to just kind of venture off by themselves in unknown wilderness, in my opinion. Um so it was hard to imagine if they would just reach the summit that decide to go around into this into the jungle that has no clear path or something by themselves with no guide. So there's actually uh a lawyer that the Christmas family hired later on actually tells um a news um a newspaper that after he went to Panama himself and walked the exact route they would have taken, and he believes they would never have chosen to continue into such unforgiving conditions. He added that if one of them had been injured, it stood to reason the other could have retraced their steps back to safety.

SPEAKER_00 23:24

Do we know that they even got to the summit? No.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

At this point they don't.

SPEAKER_00 23:29

Okay. Cause I was thinking, like, you said what what time was it that they left? Like four? You said someone saw them leaving at four?

SPEAKER_01 23:37

Yeah, some some some saw some saw three at 4.15, 3.30, some some come that night coming down from the mountain. But it's never been 100% confirmed that it was at these women. Um And we don't know when they left. They could have been gone for two nights before they were noticed, and one night they don't know. They reached out they weren't there by April. April 2nd, they didn't show up for that hike to the farm.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Did they know that they did hike that mountain though at some point, or are they just assuming it was them?

SPEAKER_01 24:05

They they they face it. When the backpack gets discovered, that's when it leaks, you know.

unknown 24:11

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

And so it's like, the backpacks like in the area. Yeah, before that they weren't sure, right? Yeah, like they have no idea where they are.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Because like they don't know, because they don't know at that point, like if they had made it safely down from the mountain and went somewhere else and something like that.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

They don't even know if they even went to they don't even know if they went on the trail. That's what the people are like, why are you focusing so much on the trail? It's time to look elsewhere, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:34

Cause I was thinking too, like, if if those times that people said they saw them was right, like you said it was like a four-hour hike, and they if they left at like 3 30, like it's gonna get dark it's gonna get dark halfway through their hike. Because it gets dark at like 6 p.m.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

We think they would choose to leave. Like I would never do that myself. I would never choose to leave half when daylight's like in a hike without a guide. But you know, I just find that odd from the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Well, because yeah, like if they left at 3 30, like halfway through their hike, it's gonna be dark. So why would you do that?

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 25:05

And so I don't think they would have even made it to the summit. And if they did, they sure wouldn't have gone past the summit, like down past.

SPEAKER_01 25:11

Yeah. Mm-hmm. So I guess what I'm saying, like they wouldn't have gone around it to a place where like even like trained hikers don't even go.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Like if it doesn't make sense to these people, like they go there by that time.

SPEAKER_01 25:21

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

But I guess we don't know for sure that it was dark. Like they could have went in the morning and people just don't know.

SPEAKER_01 25:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:28

Because those sightings might not have been them.

SPEAKER_01 25:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:32

Yeah. So anyway, rather right now, like, they don't even know if they're on that trail. They they don't even know. They had no idea where they're at. And there's no clothing, nothing is found. They're just they're just going off that internet search and they looked up the penis to trail. So that's why they're he they they're looking there.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

I feel like they wouldn't have been there. I just feel like it's crazy. Like, you think how far could they have ventured off that no one's a few years? Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

And like there's helicopters and even like all the like local tour guides, experts, all the indigenous communities that live in those in the jungle were helping out, they would have found them they think. At some point.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

I just feel like how far would one person venture? I mean, I guess you get disoriented. You think you're walking back the same way, but you're actually going further.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

But I mean, there's only so many trails. And like if you if you're lost, you're not just gonna like go off trail into like thick jungle. And then I feel like if the indigenous communities who obviously know the mountains super well, would have checked all those trails, right? So it's not like they're lost somewhere in a random spot. Because there's no there's no reason why you'd go off a trail.

SPEAKER_01 26:37

Yeah, and so the authorities were just uh just focusing on that one trail, even when the locals were saying, like, it's trying to look somewhere else, I feel. And just did not listen, they're still looking on that trail. So and so at this point that they have nothing to go. They're just looking that that's through that jungle over and over again. So there's an investigative journalist named Peter R. Devise. He speaks to a Dutch current affairs program and he acknowledges that it was plausible one of the women could have slipped and fallen into a ravine. An accident that might explain why they were so difficult to locate. But both of them, he suggests that it's very less it's far less likely that both of them fell into a ravine. It's yeah, that's very unlikely that they both got injured. Um, which I don't think is that unlikely, but he does. This investigative journalist argues that investigators have to seriously consider the possibility that a third party is involved. So at this point, the search begins to shift. It's it shifts away from a rescue search and towards a criminal investigation. So there's three theories that emerge um right away. So the first is that Chris and Lazanne had encountered someone on the Pianista Trail, and someone forced them deeper into the jungle and down the other side of the mountain. There had been reports of robberies along the trail before, and it wasn't unthinkable that something more sinister had happened at in this time. I will say that like I looked it up and it's like this is the biggest, like no one has really like it's not known for a lot of people to go missing or or hurt on this trail, and it's very uncommon. So this was like the the this was the biggest case of this happening there. So it's not like it's a dangerous trail, really. It had didn't have a reputation of being um anything bad happening on it a lot. So there had been robberies along the trail, but it wasn't uh it wasn't like some a sinister path. So the second theory was no less unsettling. It suggested that no one had forced them deeper into the jungle. They said something had gone wrong, an accident, a wrong turn, a moment of misjudgment that led them beyond the familiar path into terrain they couldn't navigate. So they think perhaps the girls had continued past the summit out of curiosity, unaware of how quickly the landscape changed, and then what began as a simple extension of their hike may have turned into confusion and then disorientation and then desperation. And then in this version of events, the jungle itself became the threat. So dense vegetation closed um, like when you go past the summit into this on like this less used, lesser used trail, um, dense vegetation closes in around you, landmarks disappear, and the trails quickly fade into nothing. And as the weather shifts, the environment grow grows increasingly hostile. Rivers swell, past vanish, and every direction starts looking the same as the last. So they a lot of people think injury could have played a role, like a single fall, a twisted ankle, or worse, leaving one unable to move, and the other one unwilling to leave her behind. And so time would have worked against them with no clear way back, limited supplies, and no means of communication, even the smallest missed could spiral into something far more serious. And in a place as vast and unforgiving as the Panamanian jungle, being lost didn't just mean being misplaced. It meant being swallowed whole. So the locals are like, it's like finding a needle in a haystack if they actually went off the trail and they're in this dense vegetation that's very, very difficult to search through. So another theory is it's suggested that Chris and Lazanne had successfully completed their hike, and that whatever happened to them occurred only after they returned to town. Rumors began to spread, and whispers that the pair could have been kidnapped for ransom, held captive, or killed by an opportunistic predator began to uh grow momentum. And then also, of course, there's more extreme theories that followed. Some believe they may have fallen victim to human traffickers, drug controls, organ harvesting networks, uh serial killer. Some people think they meant they met with like they ran into cannibal up cannibals in the jungle. Um, of course, there's no evidence to support any of these claims, though. So with no answers and no clear direction, the possibilities are endless. Like they really, they really had no idea where to look, what had happened, nothing. So refusing to take any chances, the family pre- the families press forward and they're treating that now the families decided to treat the case as a criminal investigation. So they begin distributing flyers and putting up life-size banners bearing their daughters' faces across Bouquet, hoping that someone that somewhere someone knew something. And then not they're determined not to rely solely on officials. Their families decided to take matters into their own hands. So they hired a private investigator and established an organization called the Foundation to find Lazanne and Chris to support the ongoing search, and appeals were made to the public, asking for donations to help sustain their efforts as time stretched on. So at a formal press conference, Lazanne's father, Peter, delivered a message filled with both resolve and heartbreak. So he says, Dear Lazan and Chris, please know that we will stay here in Panama until you have been found. We will wait as long as it takes and we will not give up. Really, we won't. Have faith in us. Despite all this uncertainty, Chris's mother refuses to accept the worst. And she, to carry herself through each day, she clings to a simple, unwavering mantra. She repeats it again and again. She's alive and she will be found. She's alive and she will be found. So as hope battles with against fear, the families raise the reward for information to $30,000. And $30,000 is a substantial amount of money in Panama. It's enough to change a life. So they are determined to make sure that this if anyone knew something, they will come forward. The high reward triggers a surge of tips, but a lot of them are just noise. There's nothing really to the to the tips. And meanwhile, the people at Boketta felt the weight of the tragedy. So Boketta is a small, close-knit community, and many had come to know the girls even briefly during their short stay. So the uncertainty surrounding their disappearance cast a long shadow, and sympathy for the families ran deep. So by the sixth week, with still no solid answers, that shared grief turned into quiet action. So residents come together to organize a silent march, an expression of solidarity and a tribute to Chris and Lazanne. But even as the town stood together in silence, the case itself remained anything but still. So behind the scenes, investigators were about to uncover something that would shift the direction of the entire investigation. So it's now it's late May and the rainy season had taken hold in Bouquet, so relentless downpours swept across the region, turning the landscape into a waterlogged maze. Special rest specialist rescue dogs have flown in from the Netherlands, but the worsening conditions quickly brought their efforts to a halt. Still, the Dutch the Dutch search scene pressed on. So for eight grueling days, they pushed through the jungle, soaked, exhausted, and determined, scouring the mountains for any sign of the missing woman, but in the end, they were forced to confront the devastating reality. There was nothing to suggest that Kristen Lazanne were anywhere in the mountains. This was a crushing blow for their parents. So with every lead exhausted and no clear direction left to follow, they were left facing the question, what now? By June 4th, the K9 returns to the Netherlands, and it's now been more than two months since the girls were last seen. And still there's absolutely nothing, nothing found at all. Any trace of the girls anywhere. Not a single clue to explain what had happened to Chris and Lazanne. So if they weren't in the mountains, then where the heck were they? With no answers left to find in Panama, the families make the difficult decision to return home. And from there they hope to regroup, gather more support, and determine what steps to take next, but they wouldn't be left waiting at home for long because soon something would surface and it would change everything. So this is what brings us to the beginning of the story: the backpack that's found. So this is when the backpack is found by that woman washing some clothes. Um and where this backpack is found, it was actually a 12-hour journey north from the Pianista summit. So, but like I said in the beginning, the woman quickly turns the backpack over to authorities, and the following day, a helicopter is dispatched to retrieve it from the remote location. Despite where it had been found, the condition of the bag was was odd. There were signs of wear, there was like dirt and light, light scratches, patches of discoloration, and one of the straps was partially torn and small hole and small holes marked the fabric. But overall it remained intact. More strikingly, so did everything inside. All its contents were preserved. So it was in the rainforest for over two months in the rainy season. The backpack was not wet. Um, it seemed pretty clean. Um, and everything inside was dry. It just did not make sense to anyone. Um, so among the items you covered in the backpack were Lazanne's Samsung Galaxy phone, Chris's iPhone, a digital camera, two bras, two pairs of sunglasses, a water bottle, and $83 in cash untouched. Nothing appeared stolen, nothing obviously disturbed. So, like I said in the beginning, this has got to be actually raised more questions than answers. Lazanne had been an amateur photographer, carefully documenting their trip from the very beginning. So the camera she had that was found in the backpack was a Canon Canon PowerShot SX270HS. And it had traveled with them every step of the way. So now it had the potential to reveal what those final steps had been. So inside the camera was a 16 gigabyte memory card, and despite being exposed to the elements like rain, humidity, it was still intact and still readable. So investigators like gather around this comp uh gather around the computer as the camera just are carefully uploaded. I can just imagine like the anticipation as they're waiting for the camera to load and to see what they see. The first thing, the photos confirmed one crucial detail. So Chris and Lazanne had hiked the PNC trail on April 1st. So they had gone there. That's what it shows in the pictures. And the date. So at least we know they had but they were there at some point. But almost immediately something doesn't add up. The timeline investigators have been relying on felt from those witness statements begin to unravel because of the timestamps of these pictures. A taxi driver, like I said, he had claimed he dropped the girls off near the trailhead shortly before 2 p.m., while other witnesses reported seeing them ascend in the mountain between 3 o'clock and 4 15. But the camera told a different story. So each image obviously, you know, carries a digital timestamp. So those timestamps revealed that the hike had actually began at 11 a.m. Just like that, the established timeline, the foundation of the investigation, was thrown into doubts. From their clothing, it was clear the girls had set out for nothing more than a casual hike. There was they wore shorts, tank tops, light gear. Between them, there was only a single backpack, that blue backpack that was found. They wore hiking boots, but had no hats, no jackets, no equipment suited for a prolonged or dangerous journey. And so Lizanne captured the scenery as they moved along the ch trail while Chris walked ahead, occasionally turning back to smile for the camera. And the sun was out, the sky was clear, and in these images, the two friends look completely at ease. So you can see some of the pictures like I showed from that first day, from the April 1st. They're smiling, they have a th, they give a thumbs up, they're going over the stream. Um, nothing seems to be, they don't look um in distress or uneasy or anything. It looks perfectly normal. This one photo of uh Chris, and she's like, she's walked over the stream, and it they say that this might be the last photo taken of her. Um but you can see like it's they're smiling, they're happy, nothing seems to be wrong. So metadata from the camera revealed revealed the girls reached the summit at about 1 p.m. And the images suggest that they were alone. There's no other hikers, no other signs of dis no signs of distress. Um, but from then on, something has changed. Because the next set of photos showed that instead of turning back, the girls continued beyond the summit, descending into the dense, unfamiliar terrain on the far side of the divide away from Boquet. So they did go on the other side of this very dangerous um path.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

How do they know that? Just from the pictures.

SPEAKER_01 39:14

Yeah, like the locals looked at it and said, like, Lalu Globes and Expus looked down, like, yeah, that's that's they but they came down the other way. They didn't go back. Like normally they advise you to, you know?

SPEAKER_00 39:24

So why would they do that? Like it's just kind of weird because you were with the way you described them before, how they were like felt overwhelmed, they didn't know if this was for them. Like, so it didn't seem like they were the ones who were then the next day take a risk and like it's that's what's a weird weird. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:42

Yeah. And I think about on vacation, there's nothing less there's nothing like less relaxing or like enjoyable than being fucking lost in the woods on a mountain in the dark. Like it doesn't, it's just like why why go be that adventurous? Like, it doesn't make sense.

SPEAKER_01 39:58

Yeah. But I would definitely take a guide with an expert with me for sure. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, it's just it's it's odd. I don't know, it doesn't seem from what I gathered from how the girls like how they were and stuff, like it doesn't seem like something they would they would do willingly. So one image taken shortly after showed Chris stock stepping across a narrow stream moving further downhill. So experts later identified this location as less than an hour beyond the summit. So already they're in the wrong direction. And that's that's a photo I sent to you. She's on the other side of the stream, going downstream. And that's just like they're going the wrong way back. That's not the way back. Why they chose to continue down this path remains unknown. Some observers would later point to subtle changes, suggesting that Chris's expression no longer carried the same carefree ease in earlier photos. I mean, I I couldn't see that when I looked at the photos. She looks, I mean, I don't know, how could you really know if you don't really know someone? Like she looks the same, she's smiling. Like, I don't know. But it's supposed this is a small detail, but now in hindsight it feels significant. And then there's nothing after that. At that moment, the camera falls silent, and then for eight days, not a single photo is taken. Then on April 8th, at 1.29 a.m., the camera comes back to life. And the dead of the night, deep within the jungle, the camera begins taking photos again. And over the course of nearly three hours, around 90 images were captured. And almost all of them showed nothing but darkness. Like it's just strange. Some were taken just seconds apart, others were spaced out by minutes, and only one image revealed anything clearly recognizable. It showed the back of a person's head, long strands of strawberry blonde tail filling the frame. And investigators believe it was Chris because she had the identical hair. Um, and a lot of people say, like, in the photo, you can a lot of people say if they look at it closer, they can see blood on her head at the bottom left. I I couldn't. I I also didn't have the tools to enhance it like other people have. I couldn't see any blood, but it's obviously I b it's Chris for sure. If she that's if that's her. But I don't know. Do you guys see blood? I don't. They were using the flash to look at like she had a card in her head, so they were gonna flash to see it, they could see how bad it was or something. That's why there was back of her head. Um, but I couldn't see blood. I couldn't see it. It just it was the back of Chris Chris's head for some reason. So that's the only photo that shows anything recognizable, but the rest of the photos is just blackness, but for um for the first little bit. And then in an effort to uncover more, investigators enhanced the images and they adjust brightness, resized frames, and they pulled details from the shadows. Slowly fragments of the scene began to emerge. So there's tiny bright specks scattered across several photos that suggest rainfall. So if you look at some of those photos, you see like um specks, like it like it looks when you're taking a picture when it's raining at night. Um, so this these photos suggest rainfall consistent with the weather records for that night. Um, so the jungle had just been dark and had been wet, it had been very wet. So shapes begin to take form in these pictures. There's trees, there's dense foliage, there's moss covered raw rocks, and large boulders looming out of the darkness. And then there's one image with a strange detail stands out. For some reason, it just reminds me of like the Blair Witch Project for some reason. I don't know why. But it's like there's a twig propped against a rock face with pieces of red plastic attached, placed there deliberately, almost like a marker or a signal. Like it's just aw, do you see that one?

SPEAKER_00 43:24

What is that?

SPEAKER_01 43:25

Isn't it weird? I don't know. Oh yeah, that's creepy looking. It is creepy, right? Um, so I think it was like a twig, right? Yeah, attached to like red, two red things, like tied, like someone would put it together. Yeah, placed together.

SPEAKER_02 43:41

I think like, yeah, someone's trying to mark where they were or mark a trail or something.

SPEAKER_01 43:46

Yeah. Not all the pictures um were revealed to the public, but they they do say that because uh also pictures of like strategically torn up garbage placed in places. Like so they people think it was like A signal or marker of some sort that they're also trying to do. So that's one that's one of the weird pictures. And then uh and then yeah, like I said, um, and another what appeared to be torn fragments of material, possibly trash, were scattered across the rocks, arranged in a way that didn't seem random. So someone had been there trying to do something, but what they were trying to do remains a mystery. And from the angle of the shots, investigators noted something unsettling. So the photos appeared to have been taken by someone positioned low to the ground, either sitting or lying down, while aiming the camera slightly upward into the darkness. Despite the conditions, many of the images were surprisingly steady and they didn't look accidental. They looked deliberate. So the surroundings offered only fragments of context. So rock surfaces, dense vegetation, and even texture of what seemed to be a riverbed, or possibly the base of a cliff, but there were no clear landmarks and nothing that could definitely pinpoint the location. Um then several images, a faint straight line cuts through the frame. Like I said, I don't have all the photos because not all of them were released. So some speculated that this faint straight line could be part of a monkey bridge, which is like a crude cable crossing that's used by indigenous communities to navigate the rivers. So if this is true, if it is one of the monkey bridges, it would place the girls miles away from the last confirmed daytime photo taken on April 1st, far deeper into the wilderness than anyone initially believed. So if they initially went traveled way further than the search team would even look for them, essentially. So Lazanne never appears in a single photograph, and Chris's face is never seen. So there's no way to know what condition either of them are in during this time.

unknown 45:35

It's weird.

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Is she even alive during this picture?

SPEAKER_01 45:39

Like that's another thing. I guess they think that they have some people think later on that she wasn't.

SPEAKER_02 45:44

I was gonna say it's so eerie when you describe it's like somebody that's like laying down on the ground or like crouching down that's taking those pictures. Like that image is just creepy. But also it makes me think like what like they're hurt and so they can't even stand up and they're kind of just like crawling around taking pictures, which is like super like crazy to think of.

SPEAKER_01 46:04

They go into the jungle anyway on a good day. It scares me. So I mean this is like the stuff of my worst nightmare.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

A picture like, yeah, like the flash is like the only source of light. It's like so ugh.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

But didn't they have but then they have phone? I mean, I guess maybe their phones are dead by this point, because I'm thinking like their phone would be a better light.

SPEAKER_01 46:22

I guess. This is like eight days later. And they and they also would have reserved the battery. Yeah, I guess. So but we'll get into the phone. Um the phone is a whole nother weird thing that we'll get into, but anyway, so those that's what the camera shows. It's just and it might be the Blair Witch Project. And someone actually says in the podcast, like, this is this compared to the Blair Witch Project. Like, it just much the worst the worst game I've ever watched in my life. So there's no way to know what condition either girls are in, because Chris's face is never seen, and Lizette never appears in a single photograph. A full week had passed between the final daytime photo of Chris crossing that stream and she looks happy, and then the setburst of nighttime images. So they had been out there for a full week with no pictures at all. Before they turn on the camera instead of taking pictures at nighttime again. That's weird too.

SPEAKER_02 47:09

Yeah, like why? You know, like why why all of a sudden, like eight days later, like, okay, now we're gonna start taking pictures and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 47:16

And also, how did they survive eight days if they were lost? Like they would have been dehydrated by then. Exactly. Like you can't go that long without water or anything.

unknown 47:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:25

And like cold at night, like where were they?

SPEAKER_01 47:27

Uh yeah, so like I said, a full week had passed between the daytime photo and then the burst of nighttime images. But in that one visible shot, like Luzanne's hair seems clean and dry, even though she'd been up there for a week. It looks perfectly like she just kind of like shampooed or something. Like it's weird. It's not madden, it's not dirty. Oh yeah, that's a good point. It's luscious. Yeah, it's luscious and washed, you know, like weird. That's that's that's best you can just let the pinpoint that like right away as something that's very.

SPEAKER_02 47:55

Yeah, it's still like shiny, it's not like rubby.

SPEAKER_01 47:57

I wouldn't I wouldn't even thought of that until they pointed it out, you know? Like, how could my hair's not all maddened dirty in the jungle lost rolling around for seven days, you know? Like, so it seemed untouched by the harsh conditions. They believe they obviously wave endured, it's out in the jungle. So, um, it's a small detail that they noticed, but it's the one that makes the mystery even more mystifying. So there's nothing in the photos, there's nothing in the backpack, not a single clue to explain what happened during that missing week of time. If they had been lost, injured, struggling to survive, what had triggered the sudden frantic activity a full week later? So when some of the images were released to the public, speculation exploded. So, of course, theories ranged from the practical to the surreal. So many compared, like I said, those eerie darkness and disoriented flashes to scenes from the Blowage Project. One explanation suggested that Lazanne may have been using the camera's flash as a light source, capturing images simply to see in the darkness. Which kind of makes sense. But this theory had its flaws. So nearly all the photos were taken from the same position. There was no sign of movement, no attempt to navigate or escape. Others believed the flash may have been used as a signal, an attempt to attract attention in the vast silent jungle. Um, but that too raised questions. There's also another scary theory that like it had been used to like kind of scare a creature away that was they could not tell what's getting close to them, like using the flash to like, I don't know, see what was coming towards them or something. So many of the d images appeared to be taken from beneath dense foilage, partially obscured by leaves and branches. If the goal had been to be seen, why weren't they remained hidden under this under the foliage? Why not move in the open if they were able to? So maybe they weren't able to. So each explanation seemed possible, but yet none of them fully fit. And of course there's others that believe the photos carried a darker meeting meaning. So they think that Chris and Lazanne knew the end was near and would document in the final moments, leaving behind some kind of message for whoever might eventually find the camera. But that theory too raised difficult questions. The camera still had battery light. It was capable of recording video. If they knew they were about to die, why not at least something clearer, a final message, a direct explanation, something for the families. So the camera was still had battery light when it was finally turned off like stopped the last time. So think like, why couldn't they record a video? So it said there was nothing. It was just these weird random nighttime photos. Um and no video, no goodbye, no answers. So that the absence of this uh gives rise to even more disturbing possibilities. They think the photos, what if the photos hadn't been taken by Lazanne or Chris at all? What if someone else had been there? Someone behind the camera? With none of the images offering any definitive explanation, every possibility remained on the table. But for investigators, the discovery of the backpack meant something crucial. For the first time, they had a location. They had a place to finally focus the search. So the section of the river where the bathpack had been discovered was remote, difficult to reach, and even harder to search. Dense vegetation, unstable ground, and fast within water made every step a challenge. So while teams of Cineproc were deployed to comb the area, local volunteer local volunteers also joined the effort. Among them was Toreguard, uh that Tor Guide Feliciano, who knew the terrain better than most. So just just days after the backpack was recovered on June 18th, searchers moved upstream, pushing deeper along the riverbank, and that's when they noticed it, a smell. Faint at first, then unmistakable. They followed it off the trail towards a tree, and there, hidden from view, they made a grim discovery. A woman's hiking boot, its laces still tied, and inside remains of a human foot, still intact. Not far from there, on the opposite side of the riverbed, another find part of a human pelvis. The ruins were the remains were carefully collected and sent for forensic analysis, but the search didn't stop. One member of the team continued further upstream, moving towards a second monkey bridge. There another clue surfaced, a pair of denim shorts belonging believed to belong to Chris. They were found unzipped, unbuttoned, abandoned. And exactly where and how they were discovered, that the how the shorts were discovered still remains unclear. Some reports suggest they are lying along the riverbank, others claim they were found in the water itself. One thing was certain, the m my mystery was no longer just about a disappearance. So regardless of where the items have been found, the quish the questions they raised were immediate and deeply troubling. How did they end up there? So had Chris removed the shorts herself, had she fallen while attempting to cross the river, or had they been taken off by someone else? DNA testing soon confirmed the identities. The foot belonged to Lazanne and the pelvic bone belonged to Chris. Even with the remaining confirm the remains being confirmed, the truth remained just out of reach. There was still nothing to clearly explain how they had died or what had happened in those final days. So authorities reclassified the case as a crime against personal integrity, signaling the possibility that more than an accident could be involved. Refusing to let the case fade, the families made their position clear. They would continue searching. A statement released on their behalf emphasized that too many questions remained unanswered, too little had been uncovered for them to ever consider giving up. So they weren't ready to stop until they found it, and they weren't ready to say the final goodbyes. With worsening weather and the already unforgiving terrain slowing the search, attention shifted to something else entirely. The girl's electronics, their phones, the final connection to the outside world. So it would take weeks before any useful data would be recovered, but when it finally was, it didn't bring any clarity. Again, it was just more questions. So the final daylight photo of Chris, like I said, was captured as she continued down the mountain. It was taken at 1.54 p.m. on April 1st. Just hours later, the tone shifted. At 4 39 p.m., Chris's iPhone was used to call 112. They're in an international emergency number used across much of uh use much of Europe. It's a number designed to work even without a STIM card, even overseas. But the call never connected. There was no signal. So that's one thing it would do. Twelve minutes later, Liza and Samsung iPhone was used to have the same number, 112. That call also failed. No connection. So at 124, they're happy climbing down the mountain, and then at 439, that's when the first call happens to emergency. So something happened in those quick hours, those short hours. Both of those calls uh failed. Then both phones were switched off shortly afterwards. So the call logs made one thing clear. Something had gone wrong in the two and a half hours between the last photo and that first emergency call. What kind of situation would lead them to call for help? Wait 12 minutes, try again, and then stop entirely. The following morning, April 2nd, both phones were powered back on. Again, attempts were made to 112, and this time also to 911. Again, no connection, no signal. The phones were switched off once more. That evening, Lazan's phone was turned back on, and this time left on through the night, but no further calls were made. The next day, it was powered on and off intermittently as a searching for reception until the battery finally died on the morning of April 4th. So Lazanne's phone died on April 4th. But Chris's iPhone told a slightly different story. After that, it too was turned off and on repeatedly, likely in the hope of catching even the fatest signal, but it never connected. Access to the iPhone required a PIN code. On the morning of April 5th, that code was entered correctly for the last time. Later that night, and into April 6th, the phone was powered on again, but the correct pin was never entered. Whoever was using it could no longer unlock it. For five full days, the phone remained off, including April 8th, the same night those unexplained photos were taken in the darkness. Finally, on April 11th, at 10 58 AM, the iPhone was switched on once more. No PIN was entered, no activity followed. Just under an hour later, at 11 50 AM, it was turned off for the final time. But there was still battery there was still battery remaining. And then nothing. Neither phone contained any for explanation. There was no messages, no texts, no voice recordings, nothing to indicate what had happened after the girls crossed the street. The pattern of phone usage made little sense. The attempts to call for help were sporadic, brief, infrequent, almost cautious. If Chris and Lazanne were truly in immediate danger, why not keep trying? Why not call repeatedly until the batteries ran dry? And then there's the pin code. Why all of a sudden was Chris's icon no longer being unlocked correctly? Have she simply powered it on and off, realizing there was no signal? Or was something far more troubling at play? Was Chris no longer the one using the phone? If she had already died and Lazanne was the one attempting to access it, then how could that be reconciled with the photograph taken days later? The one shown in the back of Chris's head. And the photo so the phone data wasn't the only anomaly. As Dutch investigators examined the files from Lazanne's camera more closely, they discovered something else. Something missing. One photograph is gone from the sequence. One photo was deleted. And whatever it had captioned, it would never be seen. So the final daytime image of Chris crossing that stream on April 1st was labeled photo 508. The next available image is photo 510. One of the nighttime photos taken a week later, and what's one of the nighttime photos taken a week later on April 8th. Which meant one thing. Photo 509, the image that should have bridged the gap between those two moments, was missing. So this missing picture is like infamous with this case, and a lot of people just go down rabbit holes with this. So on most digital cameras, even deleted images can be recovered using specialized software, and fragments can often be restored, and there's always traces left behind, but not this time. Despite extensive efforts by Dutch forensic experts, photo 509 could not be recovered, not even partially. Analysis of Lizanne's camera revealed that she wasn't in the habit of deleting photos, even in perfect ones. It wasn't something she typically did, which made the absence of this one image even more suspicious. Had it been deliberately removed, and if so, by whom? Investigators were left with nothing but more questions. They couldn't determine when the photo had been taken, whether it was captured on April 1st, in those critical final hours, or at some later point. They didn't know what it showed, and they didn't know why it had been deleted. A simple technical glitch seemed unlikely. In most cases, at least some trace of a deleted file can be recovered. But here there was nothing, as if the image had been erased completely, and whatever it once revealed was lost for good. So the absence of this photo 509 sparks intense speculation. Some wondered whether it had been permanently deleted by authorities in Panama, the first to handle the camera, whether by accident or intentional. So they think maybe the Panama authorities had got the camera first. Deleted it. This is a troubling idea. Uh Boquet depends heavily on tourism. If the missing image had captured something disturbing, something incriminating, it could have had serious consequences for the region. So Susan, that provided a motive to delete it, a reason perhaps to keep certain details from ever becoming public. But there's no evidence to confirm this is only suspicion. I think we talked about this before with the the other case, the guy right missing Liam. Like tourism, they try to like they try to like delete anything that would make the tourism go down. Yeah, so they think maybe something on that showed something that could have been bad for the tourism. And maybe it implicated somebody. I don't know. But we'll never know. In late August 2014, the case took another grim turn. More remains were discovered, scattered further downstream. Among them are b among them are bones later identified as belonging to Chris and the others to Lazanne. So overall, eventually there's 33 bones that get found between the two women. No official autopsy report was ever publicly released, but over time, fragments of the autopsy report did get leaked to the media. So it offered a glimpse into what investigators have found. So, according to these reports, Lazanne's injuries were significant. Her foot had been fractured in three places. Signs of healing suggested the injuries had occurred while she was still alive, meaning she may have survived for some time after they were sustained. Both of her lower leg bones also showed evidence of parasitis, a condition caused by repetitive stress leading to inflammation around the tibia. It can result in pain, limited mobility, and in severe cases, fever and exhaustion. Combined with the fractures in her foot, it would have made walking extremely difficult. Possibly impossible over long distances. But when those injuries occurred and what caused them again remains unknown. Further analysis revealed that the marrow inside Luzanne's bones was still intact, indicating they were in relatively early stages of decomposition. However, Chris's remains told a very different story. This kind of discoloration can occur through prolonged exposure to sunlight or through contact with certain chemicals such as lime. And like so lime can be found naturally in the environment and is commonly used in egg culture, but it has also been how has also been used in criminal context to accelerate decomposition. So whether that played any role here is unclear. None of the recovered remains provided a definite cause of death. Lazanne's foot injuries may have been consistent with the fall from a significant height, but they also could have been caused by a crushing force. Similarly, the break in Chris's pelvis could align with a fall, but unlike Lazanne's injuries, there were no signs of healing, suggesting her she broke her pelvis af um near occurred at or near the time of death. So Chris's body, her bones bleached, like they've been out there for a long time, but Lazanne's bones looked didn't look like that. That's so that was another odd thing. Ultimately, none of the and none of the recovered bones showed any clear signs of violence, and there was no diff diff diff definitive evidence of an attack. With physical evidence documented and the data from the phones and cameras analyzed, investigators reached the conclusion. Authorities determined that Crystal Azanne had most likely become lost after continuing beyond the summit. At some point they may have fallen or succumbed to a combination of injuries, exhaustion, hunger, and the relentless conditions of the jungle. According to this theory, if they had died near the riverbank, their bodies could have begun to decompose before rising water levels, driven by heavy rains, eventually carried them away. Once in the river, natural forces could have taken over. Currents, rocks, boulders, scavenging animals, over time their remains could have been broken apart and scattered downstream, much of it likely swept into large rivers, never to be recovered. For some it was a plausible explanation, but to Chris's family, they refused to accept it. If the girls had simply gotten lost, why hadn't they left clear signs of their path? Why no markers, no messages, no trace of a deliberate attempt to guide rescuers to them? And then how could they have remained out there for so long without being seen? Each week, dozens of people moved through the area, cow rangers, tour guides, and yet no one reported seeing them. Not once. Even more puzzling, how had they gone undetected by organized search teams combing the region? Chris's parents struggled, they just could not accept this. So determined to understand for themselves, they returned to Panama and hired a local team to retrace the route. They walked the trail and they saw it with their own eyes and came to a firm conclusion. They didn't believe the girl had simply gotten lost. To them, the path was clear, defined, difficult to stray from, so they couldn't rule out the other possibility that Chris and Lusanne had encountered someone, someone with criminal intent. Perhaps that was why they had called emergency services in the first place, not because they were lost, because they were in danger. So a forensic anthropologist involved in the investigation also questioned the official ruling, suggesting that the evidence did not fully support the conclusion of a civil accident. Experts reviewing the remains raised further concerns. They noted that the bones showed no clear signs of animal scavenging, no bite marks, no damage consistent with predators, nor were there any indications that the bones had been broken apart by prolonged contact with the river rocks. To them, the condition of the remains didn't fully align with the official explanation. Some argued it was unlikely that the bodies could have been so completely disarticulated in just seven to eight weeks. Others questioned whether Chris's bones could have been naturally bleached in such a short time through sun exposure alone. And then the one expert points to a similar case of an American hiker who had died in comp in the same conditions in a dense forest. His remains were discovered two years later, and yet his skeleton was still largely intact, and there was no signs of bleaching. So this suggested a different possibility, human intervention. So Krista's family urged the third authorities to preserve her remains and keep her case open until more definitive conclusions could be reached. They weren't ready to accept uncertainty as the final answer. Meanwhile, Lazanne's remains were returned to the Netherlands, where she was laid to rest. But Krista's family made a difficult decision. They felt there wasn't enough of Krista's remains yet to say goodbye. Although the lead investigator states that the area itself did not lend to disorientation, that anyone who believed getting lost there was a realistic possibility had likely never walked the route themselves. But they also ruled out foul play. After reviewing the geographical conditions, the social environment, and the technical findings from the forensic investigation, they concluded that scenarios such as robbery, abduction, or violent crime were extremely unlikely. Instead, they proposed a different explanation. Somewhere along the descent, beyond the summit, the girls may have slipped, and they fell into a remote area near the riverbed, the same area where the in nighttime photos were later believed to have been taken. From there, escape would have been nearly impossible. Steep terrain, dense jungle, no proper equipment, and no way out. Due to the powerful occurrence, rise of water levels, and nearby waterfalls, it was highly unlikely that the rest of the remains would ever be recovered. So for Chris's family, this conclusion, while still painful, offered something they had long been searching for, a form of closure. So at last, after all this, they made a decision to play the daughter. To rest. But despite the glues reached by the investigators, the case remains a mystery in the eyes of many. One of the most persistent theories suggests that the girls were killed by locals and that the truth was covered up. Suspicion has, in part, been fueled by the taxi driver who claimed to have dropped them off the trail, and the taxi driver actually died under unclear circumstances just a year later. To some, that detail feels like more than coincidence. Other questi others question the decision the girls made to continue beyond the summit. Many believe they wouldn't have willingly ventured down the far side of the mountain alone. There are also inconsistencies are difficult to ignore. How could the remains be so scattered and degraded while the contents of the backpack were found relatively intact? Some voice experts argue that in a rainforest environment, decomposition can vary dramatically, but even with those explanations, delts remained. And perhaps the most widely shared criticism centers on how the case was handled. Many believe the investigation by authorities in Panama was flawed from the start. Reports have suggested that dozens of unidentified fingerprints were found on the backpack, yet were never fully analyzed ever. So if this is true, it raises an unsettling possibility that crucial evidence may have been overlooked. And if that's the case, the truth of what happened to Chris and Linsan still may be out there waiting to be found. That's the case.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:18

Crazy. I had heard about this because I saw pictures, but I didn't really look into it and I didn't even know that they had actually found the remains.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:25

Who knows what happened to them? What do you guys think happened? It's a little odd.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:34

Yeah. I mean to me it's like they slipped and fell, probably hurt themselves. I think that seems not unplausible. And then Yeah, they just died out there in the elements. Like they could have I mean, their bones could have got like picked apart by animals and then some of it kind of washed away, like they were saying. So I don't know. And their backpack was just on shore. So and like nothing's gonna eat that, so it just sat there.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:03

But it was found twelve hours away from where they had gone. I guess they could have traveled twelve hours.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:10

Also depends, I think, where it w it is, because like if it's like deep, deep jungle, it might not have like sun damage. It's like protected by the trees, right? It's like probably shaded, so it's not gonna have like it's not gonna be bleached from the sun necessarily.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:24

But like wouldn't the things inside be wet and soggy, wouldn't they? The cable would be destroyed in the main season at Panama. Everything was perfect. Dry as dry as anything.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:35

Well, if it was it was if it was like protected under the canopy, it wouldn't be sun bleached or wet because it was protected.

unknown 1:08:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:41

I mean it probably got a little bit wet, but yeah. And then it could have dried out by the time some people found it. Surprised the camera still worked, but yeah, it is kind of weird.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:50

Well, it's also like if the backpack would have been there, like the people, the indigenous people are there like washing clothes every day. Like I wasn't there from the beginning. You know, like expanding this one day, sitting there propped up, nice, dry. I guess.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:04

But if someone had taken it, why put it back for people to find? That's another weird thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:10

Yeah. And also like the week of not taking photos at all, like you'd be using that flash constantly, and then the the foam got powered off and it was still battery.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:18

Yeah, that's weird too. Well, unless they like to turn it off and then they just died before they could turn it back on.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:24

Yeah, yeah. But then the pictures, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:27

That's the thing. Yeah, if they were like desperate and like they knew that they were like like in a hopeless situation, yeah. Why wouldn't they take a video of themselves or like, you know, I don't know, even just final pictures or something of themselves and not just like random stuff everywhere? It seems weird.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:42

I don't think, yeah. I don't think because at one point you said people were thinking like maybe the pictures were there, like deliberately to like leave a trail, but it's like they didn't do anything that helped anyone.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:52

Like what's what's a child leave it to you like over a clip?

SPEAKER_00 1:09:55

Yeah, like it made it more like it made it more confusing. So like if you're if you have the wherewithal to like be like, oh, we're gonna like take pictures so that people know like what happened, yeah, take a video. Or take a picture of something else. Like some I don't know what you would, it's just jungle around you. I don't know what else you could, but like Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:15

Why not take a like a video of yourself explaining what what what happened or what's going on?

SPEAKER_00 1:10:19

Like to me, it seems like the pictures that were taken, if it was them using it, were like just very like they just use the camera like for a very particular like as needed, not like to tell a story or to like help help people find them later or like show what happened. I think it's like they needed light, so they took a picture. Or you know what I'm saying, like probably fat. Or they needed yeah, they needed the light, or they just I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:43

Cause like Yeah, or like a signal. I it makes me like think like maybe even when people were out searching for them, they were like using the camera as like a but I guess it wasn't that was only at night when I I guess, right? Random pictures. So if they were searching at night, I don't know, they were like using it as just like a signal because they couldn't like get up.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:02

It's weird that they didn't take any pictures like that during the day. Like of sticks and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:07

But I mean But it's not gonna be used as a signal. Oh, the back of our head at night. Like at night you they would have to be a little bit more than a little bit light in the day.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:17

They didn't need a signal in the day because they wouldn't have been able to see it anyway. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:21

Like they probably were thinking like this camera is our only source of light, so we need to preserve it as much as possible. So they're not during the day they're not gonna use it.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:28

It's just weird that they would go they would turn they would like go around the summit into a place that that you know like you're not supposed to go. Like you can't. Like even like experienced hikers. I'd have done a million times, so like I'd never go around that sum-I d I just could turn around and go back. Like I don't go around that no man's land. It's just weird that they would.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:49

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:51

Yeah, it is a weird decision.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:54

Especially because you were saying they already they already felt overwhelmed like in the days leading up to that. They weren't sure they were cut out for it. They wanted to like, they were like second guessing it. It doesn't make sense for like the next day for them to be like so adventurous that they go past the summit off the trail.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:07

Yeah. I I always thought I probably thought like they I like that taxi driver, I always thought was a little suspicious. Like he said he saw them coming and I thought maybe he took them, but then they ended up in the jungle, like he wouldn't take them back in the jungle to like to kill them. Like, so they were in the jungle for sure. Like they I don't think they ever left the jungle.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:24

Yeah, it almost makes you think like maybe someone was following them, and so they didn't want to turn around and like cross paths, so it's like they went off the path to hide or something from somebody. That's a good thing. And that they ended up being lost super quickly.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:37

And then that missing photo is yeah, that missing photo is weird too. Like that is weird. Someone deleted it. Like they should, they didn't, like someone deleted it, and they think they've made the cop the pinny pin pin of a cops that had it first. Like something on it was like on it, like But then again, why not just like destroy the whole camera?

SPEAKER_02 1:12:54

Why go in and delete that one picture and then like leave everything else and just like set it down? Like that seems weird. If it was me, I'd be like, you'd never find that camera, right? Like you didn't want someone to find it, it's it's just a weird thing.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:05

I also just can't understand why it was like, what was it, eight days of nothing, and then all of a sudden they took that. Like, I don't think I don't I don't think well I was gonna say, I don't think you could survive that long without like water and stuff, but it's actually not true. I don't think I think you probably could.

unknown 1:13:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:21

They might have had water, or they could have even traveled, like you can get like straws that you can like that have filters in them, you just put it right into like the river and like sip out of the straw and it filters.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:29

Probably not in 2014 though.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:30

But they don't know, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:33

Well, I mean, we don't know. I would have drank the river water just, you know. I would I would need water. That would kill you the fastest, I think.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:40

But I mean, like, that wasn't found in their bag, right? Like they didn't find anything in their bag, like a filter or water filter.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:45

No, nothing. Nothing. But nothing like supply-wise. Like they didn't even go out with a jacket or something. I don't know. It's just odd. They were very ill prepared.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:57

So almost maybe like they lost their bag for eight days and then happened to find it again and then use the camera then, but that seems unlikely too. Maybe. Like, oh yes, a camera.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:08

And they sort of like flashed.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:09

Maybe they like, yeah, lost it. I don't know how you would lose it. Keep it on your back.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:12

It'd be a miracle, they found it again.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:15

And then they maybe they had like double back and then were like got back to the same place they were in. But I mean, I guess I was gonna say, because like the eight day things is weird, but like this case sort of reminds me of like, I don't know, there was a Netflix documentary of like those children. Did you hear the case of like the the four kids who were like in a plane crash and survived in the jungle for like a month or two months or something? Just the four kids. So I mean it can be done. But um so eight days isn't that weird, but I also find it crazy. Like I just I think they just I think they just like got lost. I don't think it was foul play.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:47

I don't know, I think and then the Chris's pelvic bone like was crushed, they say it was crushed af after dear death. Like I think that would kill that's what killed her. She fell and broke her pelvis and she couldn't get out. Yeah. And she had like three factors in a foot, like that that was sustained, they think, during that time, but so she could barely walk. I don't know. Weird. But I think it's the case that's interesting because like it's the pictures that the pic the pictures that came in. Oh, almost like a movie, like they found a camo and then they look on it and it's like, you know, the girls aren't missing. It's just it's it's just so weird that those pictures are terrifying, actually.

unknown 1:15:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:25

At the back of her head. I don't know. Why would I yeah. You think like they take pictures of my I don't know, this is what I'm thinking now. I don't know what I would have done at the time, but like take pictures of like their injuries and themselves and like kind of where they were, not just like random into the darkness, but I'm sure they were like delusional at this point, like dehydrated, hungry, weren't thinking straight, couldn't move, sore.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:49

Yeah. And like I don't the the picture of her hair is weird. The back of her hair.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:55

I guess the pict the fact that it looks so clean, like she just got walked, like it's like shiny and clean. Like you know, in the desert, I mean not in the desert, you're in the jungle lost. I wouldn't expect your hair to be looking like that.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:09

I was trying to think, like, I was trying to look at that picture. You can't tell. I was trying to think of like, is this a picture of someone laying face down, like she's laying on the ground? Or is it like she's standing up and someone's just behind her taking the picture?

SPEAKER_02 1:16:20

It looks like a wig to me. Like I thought it was a picture of a wig at first, because it does look kind of like a fake, like shiny, synthetic wig.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:29

It looks clean. That's the thing. It's weird.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:31

I know. Yeah. It yeah, either way.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:34

It's a wig, I have questions.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:35

But yeah, that's weird.

SPEAKER_00 1:16:37

Weirder. Yeah. Unless she wore a wig, but like terrifying.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:40

If it's a wig, if somebody walked someone wearing a wig in a jungle. Some like travel man wearing a red wig. I terrify. Can you imagine that like if they take a picture and the flash of someone someone there they didn't know? That'd be terrifying. I know.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:57

Yeah, that's what also makes me think like it wasn't an animal they were trying to scare away, because they would have captured a picture of an animal.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:03

And I think it's also pretty clear that there was no one with them because I also was looking at other pictures, and there's like a picture of just her one of the girls, like at the summit, I guess, and then a picture of the other one.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:13

So like obviously it's clear that there was no one else taking between the picture of both of them.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:16

But like a picture of them together. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:20

Yeah. So that's what makes me think. Like it was just the two of them. There was also like no other tourists around either. Like there's no other hikers the whole way. I don't know. I guess.

SPEAKER_01 1:17:32

Maybe not.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:33

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:34

It makes me think that they got lost, but they went down that path for like a specific reason. Like, like I said, they someone was following them or somebody like lured them down there and then they got lost. So like more than one thing could have happened. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:17:47

Yeah, very weird. Yeah. Like Katie, like you had said before, like I had I knew this case from the pictures. Like that's what everyone knows when they know this case is like the pictures, but I didn't know all the all the details around it. But I think it's like makes sense that they just got lost in the woods. To me.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:07

But again, people said it's really it'd be rare, like hard to get lost even, like because you know for sure you were off a path as soon as you ventured off, just because it'd be so thick. So it's like they did it on purpose for a reason. Or they were so disoriented somehow that they just weren't even thinking. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 1:18:29

The decision, like the decision to go oh past the summit is so weird to me. Like, I don't know why you would do that. Especially these people that you said had it's not like they're ultra adventurous people.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:42

It just seemed like they seemed like from all accounts, they were very responsible. They would like weren't like wild child. So like and like they didn't tell anyone where they were going. They didn't even tell the host family that where they were going. No one knew. They just took off. Like it just it's like in like three days, their whole personality changed almost. Like they just went against everything they I I don't know, it's just odd. They wa they were seen like a couple times with these two Dutch men, two Dutch tourists. They were out drinking with them, they went to the beach with them. They'll sit in reports they would seen with these two Dutch men quite a bit, but it's never been re it's never been confirmed. But perhaps you some people think maybe they they went to went with them on the trail. Something happened to them out there with these two Dutch tourists, but it's never been confirmed, so I yeah, but But there's never any pictures of there's no pictures of them. Well, they probably didn't want any pictures of them.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:30

I just don't think like you're thinking like if someone did something, like I just don't think you're thinking like if you're gonna do something, do you just get rid of the camera? Or you're gonna be like, I don't want to be anywhere in these pictures in case they find the camera. It's like, well you can just take the camera then. Like to me that's weird. Like why you would think that. Like if you're somebody planning to do something. Oh, better not be one of these pictures. Because then that also makes it more suspicious if they like want to take a picture. Like, no, no pictures of me, please. Like, what?

SPEAKER_01 1:19:55

Yeah, that's weird.

SPEAKER_00 1:19:58

So I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:59

So they'll they're considered like they will always be considered the lost girls of Panama. I think but mean it's so infamous with those pictures.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:09

Yeah, those pictures are terrifying. And that the deleted picture is weird. Like how did that happen?

SPEAKER_01 1:20:19

Like what was on it.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:21

Yeah. Because it seems weird that it'd be like a a malfunction in the camera that just like corrupted one picture and the rest are fine.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:29

Yeah. And of course it's one picture between like you said the one. It could have been the link.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:33

Like yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:35

Like of course that's the one that goes missing.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:40

Maybe it was a video. Yeah. Yeah, so like like the non-emergency local station for the broquette please is uh 507-720-1222. That's the number they say to call if you have any information about this. I mean for the police there, it's it's it's case closed, but Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:02

But you never know. Somebody might come saying, like, oh, I saw them with this person or something. You never know. So I guess call that number if you're out there and you know something.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:12

It looks beautiful. I would love to go there. Like the picture of that town, beautiful. Like, I'd love to go to Panama.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:19

Oh no, I want to go to crazy. Crazy. Crazy. That's it for this episode of the podcast. If you are a fan of the show and you want to engage with us or follow us, you can find us on all the social medias. So Crime Family Podcast on Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram. We are also on YouTube, Crime Family Podcast. Just search that on YouTube, you will find us. Um, if you want to watch the video versions of these episodes, you can just find that on YouTube and also on Spotify. Uh, if you're listening anywhere else, it will just be the audio for now. Uh you can also email us, crimefamilypodcast at gmail.com, if you have any case suggestions or feedback, we would love to hear from you. So, yeah, that's it for this week. We'll be back next week with part three of this finale miniseries, the final part. Katie will be telling us a story, and it will be the last episode of the season before our little break. So um hope you'll join us next week for that. Until then, take care. Bye.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:16

Bye.