On 1 April, 2014 two women set out on a hike in Panama and never returned. Ever since then, investigators have been left baffled as to what happened to them.

Dutch women Kris Kremers, 21, and Lisanne Froon, 22, had travelled to Panama with the aim of volunteering at a school and spending time abroad.

The pair had set off on 1 April a decade ago to try and hike the ‘El Pianista’ trail in Panama but they never returned.

A huge search operation was launched to try and find the two women, but it was ultimately unsuccessful.

New evidence

Two months later, a backpack belonging to Froon was discovered by a riverbank, and inside it contained money, water, two phones and a camera.

Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon went hiking in Panama in 2014 and never returned. (YouTube)

Looking at the phones, officials determined that about six hours into the hike both women had attempted to call the emergency services but been unable to do so due to lack of signal.

They’d dialled both Panama’s emergency services number and an international number to try and get help.

Investigators determined that the phone belonging to Froon, a Samsung Galaxy SIII, ran out of battery on 6 April and wasn’t switched on again, while an iPhone 4 belonging to Kremers was periodically switched on between 5 April and 11 April, though the device’s PIN number was never correctly entered to unlock it.

Whether that means someone who didn’t know the code was trying to get into the phone or whether it was just being switched on to check the signal is not known, and Kremers’ phone was switched off for the last time on 11 April.

Studying the camera, there were a number of photos of the women’s belongings laid out on a rock as well as pictures of the back of Kremers’ head.

A camera with photos on it included pictures of their belongings laid out on a rock (TVN2)

There were also a series of pictures taken between 1am and 4am on the morning of 8 April, with flash photography illuminating the darkness of the early morning.

Once the backpack was found it prompted fresh search efforts, which turned up human remains including a pelvic bone and a boot with a foot inside.

The search also found some clothes belonging to Kremers, neatly folded and placed upon a rock.

DNA testing confirmed that the remains belonged to the two women, but lacking the rest of their bodies no official cause of death has been given.

Accident or murder?

What exactly happened to them when they went missing is a mystery we might never solve.

While some suggested the women’s death had to be accidental, others conjectured it could even have been murder.

After reviewing police files, Dutch authors Marja West and Jürgen Snoeren said in their 2021 book Lost in the Jungle that they think they know what happened.

They told the Daily Beast: “It actually came as a surprise to us too, but our conclusion had to be that it was an accident. It took us quite some time to get there.”

They concluded flash floods typical in the region ‘made staging scenes or strategically placing items impossible’ for any potential killer.

They went missing on 1 April, 2014 and it was several months before body parts were found.

Kremers, 21, and Froon, 22, had been planning the hike for months and are believed to have travelled through a forested area near the Baru volcano in Boquete, Panama.

However, they were never seen alive again and despite an extensive search being launched, it wasn’t until June that more clues were uncovered.

The two women went missing on 1 April, 2014, but phone activity showed they were active for days afterwards. (YouTube)

The phones showed that about six hours into the hike, both phones had been used to try and call the emergency services, but a lack of signal meant the calls never got through.

The women had dialled 112, an international emergency number, and 911, Panama’s national emergency number.

Further investigation found that Froon’s phone, a Samsung Galaxy S III, ran out of battery on 4 April and was not used again, while Kremers iPhone 4 was turned on and off at times between 5 April and 11 April, but the correct PIN code was never entered.

That could mean that someone was entering the wrong PIN, or that nobody was entering a PIN and was just checking to see if there was any signal.

The iPhone belonging to Kremers was switched off for the last time on 11 April.

Photos found included ones of their belongings laid out on a rock. (TVN2)

Among the photos found on the camera were disturbing ones which suggested that there had been an accident.

There were photos of the women’s belongings all laid out on some rocks, while another showed the back of Kremers’ head.

A number of pictures had been taken in the early hours of the morning of 8 April, with dozens of flash photography pictures snapped between 1am and 4am that day while it was dark.

The scant information left behind has resulted in plenty of theories of what happened to the two women.

The discovery of Froon’s backpack resulted in fresh searches near where it had been found, and denim shorts belonging to Kremer had been found on top of a rock on the opposite bank of the river, a few kilometres down from where the backpack had been found.

Two months later, a pelvis and a boot with a foot inside were found, and testing confirmed that the remains belonged to the two women.

Two women from Holland embarked on what was supposed to be a life-changing trip to Panama back in March 2014.

Both from the same area, Kris Kremers, 21, and Lisanne Froon, 22, wanted to volunteer at a local school and immerse themselves in the culture.

The two women went missing on 1 April, 2014, but phone activity showed they were active for days afterwards (YouTube)

However, their story ended up becoming one of the most chilling missing persons cases ever.

It began when the pair set off on a hike on the Pianista Trail, near Boquete on 1 April, 2014, and never came back.

A massive search operation was launched, and even Dutch investigators came in to help with the potential rescue mission.

However, two months after no results, a local woman found a blue backpack belonging to Froon in a river near Alto Romero, far from where the women were last seen.

Photos found included ones of their belongings laid out on a rock (TVN2)

In the backpack were their belongings, which included a camera and two phones.

After authorities searched through the phones, it was concluded that both mobiles had been used to try and call the emergency services six hours into the hike.

But due to a lack of signal, the calls never went through.

One phone dialled 112, an international emergency number, and 911, Panama’s national emergency number.

Froon’s Samsung Galaxy S III ran out of battery on 4 April and was not used again, while Kremers iPhone 4 was turned on and off at times between 5 April and 11 April, but the correct PIN code was never entered.

Another bizarre shot. (TVN2)

Either someone was entering the wrong PIN, or perhaps nobody was entering a PIN and was, instead, just checking to see if there was any signal.

Meanwhile, Kremers’ iPhone was switched off for the last time on 11 April.

Though, it was the disturbing pictures on the phone which shocked investigators as they displayed bizarre nighttime shots taken deep in the jungle, along with images of scattered belongings, unusual angles, and Kremers’ hair. And the images were taken days after they disappeared, which is odd. The nighttime shots were taken between 1 and 4 AM on 8 April.

Sadly, after the discovery of the backpack, human remains were found, including a pelvis and a boot with a foot inside.

DNA tests confirmed that the remains belonged to Kremers and Froon.

While their remains were found, the case is still considered to have left many questions unanswered.