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Carter Roy
Hi listeners. Exciting news Crime House plus and Murder True Crime Stories are celebrating America's 250th by dropping a four part limited series on the crimes that built America. These are the crimes and cases that gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling and a murder that built America's missing children movement. Follow Murder True Crime Stories for a new episode every Monday leading up to July 4th or or you can listen to all of them right now with Crime House Plus. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you're listening on Apple Podcasts, tap, try free at the top of this show's page.
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This is crime house.
Sarah Tierney
You're scrolling through photos on a digital camera that were taken in mid March of 2014. They feature two young Dutch women on a trip to Panama. One is average height with long strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. This is 21 year old Kris Kremers. The other is 6ft tall and athletic with mid length brown hair and brown eyes. This is 22 year old Lisanne Froon. It's her camera. You scroll past a picture of Chris on the beach after a swim. She is laying on a towel drinking from a coconut. Then you pass a series that Chris and Lisanne snapped of each other. They take turns sitting in the crystal blue Caribbean Sea holding a bright orange starfish. Then a picture someone took of them both smiling over drinks. Then you come to some photos taken on April 1. Chris and Lisanne are hiking on a lush trail at the peak of a mountain overlooking the jungle. Chris stands next to a narrow stream of water that flows through Rocks. The last two photos from their hike are marked 507 and 508. The next photo 509 is mysteriously missing. Go.
Courtney Nicole
You scroll to photo 510 which was taken seven days later on April 8th at 1:30am it's the first in a series of about 100 photos shot in the dead of night and they look straight out of a horror movie. Many are just black sky with a little rock or foliage. But photo 541 looks like the bottom of a woman's jawline shot from underneath. Photo 550 shows a branch on a large flat rock with two red plastic bags tied around it. There is a receipt and a luggage tag nearby. Photo 576 shows what appears to be papers arranged to form an SOS sign. There's also a backpack strap and something metallic like a mirror laying nearby. Photo 580 is just Chris hair.
Sarah Tierney
These were the last photos taken on Lisanne's camera, which was found about 10 weeks after the women disappeared. Over a decade later, we're still trying to figure out what the images mean and what happened in the final days of their lives.
Courtney Nicole
Every year, over half a million people go missing, and that's just in the United States alone. Most of those stories barely get a headline. Some don't even get a flyer or a tip line. And when cases do get media attention, we usually only get the broad strokes.
Sarah Tierney
But for those of us who have lived these true crime cases, we know the devil's in the details. This is the Final Hours A Crime House original Powered by Pave Studios. I'm Sarah Tierney.
Courtney Nicole
And I'm Courtney Nicole. Every Monday, Sarah and I will be looking at the final hours of someone's disappearance. The small, seemingly mundane moments to see if there was anything hiding in plain sight.
Sarah Tierney
Looking back at those last conversations, connections and choices is critical, and it could be the key to unlocking it all. Each episode, I'll offer insight on what those close to the victim might have been going through. And Courtney will use her expertise to give more context into the crime scene, the red flags, and the investigation itself. Crime House exists because of listeners like you want even more. Join Crime House plus and get every episode of the Final Hours and the rest of the Crime House lineup ad free, free and early, plus at least two bonus episodes every month. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap try free at the top of the Final hour show page. As always, this show is made and recorded by humans, not AI.
Courtney Nicole
This time we're discussing the disappearance of 21 year old Kris Kremers and 22 year old Lisanne Froon. On Tuesday, April 1, 2014, they went to a trailhead in Bogota, Panama and hiked two and a half miles to a stunning lookout. From there, they could have taken two different paths, one leading back down and one further into the jungle. Nobody knows which way they went, and the evidence that was found later on only made that question even harder to answer.
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Courtney Nicole
Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers were trying to find their way home when we cover missing person cases, we often ask if people walked away from their lives. But months after these Dutch travelers disappeared, their phones were found. They were trying to place emergency calls while search parties were out looking for them. That's one of the things that haunts us about this case. Nobody could find them when they wanted to be found. But before we talk about Chris and Lisanne's disappearance, let's begin with their adventure.
Sarah Tierney
It's 2014. Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon are recent college graduates from Amersfoort in the Netherlands. 21 year old Kris is an open, smart, socially aware, caring and outgoing. She's the middle sister between two brothers. Chris really loves to perform and wants to be an actor, but she's creative in so many ways. In the summer of 2013, she graduated from Utrecht University with a degree in cultural and social education and a focus on art education. In September 2014, she plans to start her graduate studies in art history in Amsterdam. Her friend, 22 year old Lisanne is smart, introspective, introverted and the younger of two sisters. In September 2013, Lasanne graduated from Saxian University with a degree in applied psychology. But she's also a talented athlete. At 6ft tall, she absolutely crushes at volleyball. The two met while working in a restaurant called Inden Kleinehap, which means the Small Bite. In the fall of 2013, Chris and Lisanne started saving up for a six week trip to Panama. They budget in some partying, but most of their trip will be spent learning Spanish and volunteering. They made all the arrangements through a local travel agency that works with a Panamanian language school. Everything seems well organized. They feel like they're in good hands.
Courtney Nicole
I feel like this trip is super exciting for them. Saving up for this, this big trip to Panama, like that's super exciting.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah I agree. I think this is, like, the dream after college to, you know, explore and go somewhere fun and. And really to learn even more. I love that they're also volunteering.
Courtney Nicole
I know. I love that. Of course they're gonna have fun here and there, but to volunteer and to, like, learn Spanish, like, I just feel like that's so meaningful. On top of just having, like, a really fun trip, they are making it meaningful, which is just amazing.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah. I mean, this seems like the dream trip. I would have loved to do this after college.
Courtney Nicole
So for traveling safely, I feel like there are, you know, some general best practices to follow at least. So my little bit of advice would be to always tell someone where you're going and, you know, when you expect to return. I would recommend not hiking or, you know, exploring isolated areas alone. Another really important thing that I want to bring up is to always carry enough food, water, and, like, basic emergency supplies, because you honestly never know what could go wrong in situations like this.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, I feel like these trips are so fun and so important, but, of course, you have to be safe. You got to tell people where you're going. You got to make sure they know when you're coming back. 1,000% court. But traveling isn't the only plan Lisanne and Chris have together. In March 2014, they move into a shared apartment in Amersfoort. Two weeks later, on Saturday, March 15, 2014, their parents take them to Schiphol airport, and they arrive in Panama the next day. Lisanne and Chris spend the first two weeks of their trip in Bocos del Toro, a beautiful town and popular tourist destination on Isla Colon. They stay in a hostel and enjoy white sand beaches. And while they plan to party a bit, they also start Spanish lessons the day they arrive. And they meet some new friends in their class. Two Dutchmen, an Australian and a Canadian. On Tuesday, March 18, they go for a hike, following a jungle path to Red Frog beach, which is known for its tiny poison dart frogs. So, you know, they like a little bit of risk. But Wednesday, March 19, is more relaxing. Chris and Lisanne drink and snack all day, just the two of them. In the evening, they learn how to make tortillas and gazpacho at their language school. Then they cap the night off at a nightclub with swimming pools. Lisanne describes the vacation as, quote, dancing in the rain and drinking from a coconut. End quote. It's the farthest she's ventured from home, and she's having the time of her life. Chris is a more experienced traveler, but is also having a wonderful time. On March 29, 2014, after 14 unforgettable days on the beach, Chris and Lisanne say goodbye to their new friends, but agree to meet the Dutchman again in Amsterdam. Then they catch a four and a half hour shuttle from Bocas to Bogota. A young German intern from the language school in Bocas named Eileen joins them for the ride. Elaine's internship is transferring her to the Bogota school location.
Courtney Nicole
At 3.30pm, they arrive at the small village surrounded by mountains and jungle. It's less than 10 miles west of the volcano Baru, which is the highest point in Panama. At 4pm, a woman named Miriam Guerra picks them up at the bus station with her son. Chris and Lisanne are staying at Miriam's family home, which the travel agency arranged through the language school. Miriam lives with her three children, a younger son and daughter and an adult daughter. But it's a spacious house and after six years of experience, Miriam is a solid host. Chris and Lisanne will continue their Spanish lessons there while also volunteering at a local daycare.
Sarah Tierney
After they settle in at Miriam's, they get to know the neighborhood. They walk to the language school and then the daycare to see where they'll start working in two days. It's a long day. By the evening, they're both tired and Lisanne, who's more introverted, becomes sad and homesick. Though by the following morning, she's feeling a lot better.
Courtney Nicole
On Sunday, March 30, Chris and Lisanne have French toast for breakfast. Then they head to the language school for the welcome speech. The plan is to start their first day of volunteering at 1pm the next day. They also look at some excursions. The nearby Baru volcano and hidden waterfalls are at the top of their list. To see they're also interested in the hot springs, a coffee tour and the Pianista Trail to the Continental Divide. They'll have a lot to do in their free time. After leaving the language school, they explore the town. They eat lunch on the second story balcony of a local bistro, visit the annual coffee and flower festival, walk along the river and shop at the local supermarket. Then they head to dinner. The next morning, Monday, March 31, Lisanne and Chris go to the language school and book a tour of the Baru volcano for the upcoming Saturday, April 5th. They also look up information on the pianista trail. Around 1pm, Chris and Lisanne arrive at the daycare ready to volunteer. But a staff member tells them that the person who was supposed to train them had to leave town for an emergency. She won't be back until next week, but she can train them. Then Chris and Lisanne go back to the language school to discuss the volunteer assignment, but nobody is there so they leave a note. Then they have lunch around town. After dinner that evening they relax at their host's house. Myriam asks what they're going to do with their week if the volunteer work falls through. Around 7pm the intern Aileen calls with the backup option. She's going to call their second choice organization first thing in the morning to see if they can help over there instead. This one supports impoverished children and the women are excited about the opportunity. That night, Lisanne whatsapps with one of the Dutch guys she met from Bocas. He asks Lisanne how she likes her host family, but she never responds.
Sarah Tierney
Chris and Lisanne get up early on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Around 8am they check in with Aileen who says their backup organization has enough help for the week. Looks like they'll have the free time after all. Chris and Lisanne decide to make the best of it. They book a coffee tour for 8am the next day. Then they leave without telling Aileen where they're going that day. Poketta is sunny and 73 degrees, so Chris and Lisanne decide to go for a hike. They head back to Myriam's house to pack up their belongings into a waterproof backpack. Dressed for the heat in shorts and tank tops, they lace up their sturdy hiking boots. Lisanne hangs her Canon Power Shoot camera around her neck and they head out the door. But they won't make it back by dark. In fact, they won't make it back at all.
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Keith Morrison
to walk home from high school. Her name was Mickey Costanzo. Just 16. She didn't have far to go. Seemed perfectly safe. Until it wasn't. What happened to Mickey? I'm Keith Morrison and this is five Miles From Home, an all new podcast from Dateline. Search five miles from Home to start listening now.
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Courtney Nicole
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Sarah Tierney
Pickup fees may apply. It's Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Chris and Lisanne take a cab to have breakfast on the terrace of a local restaurant. They use the WI fi there to download a map they can access offline. After eating, they grab another cab and arrive at the pianista trailhead. At 11am they start their hike into the Talamanca Mountains.
Courtney Nicole
So what I learned, Sarah, is there's no easy way to get lost on the Pianista Trail. It only has one road. Even though the language school manager told students not to hike anywhere alone, a guide isn't always necessary. As long as a person knows to turn around at the summit and walk back the way they came, they'll be fine. Hiking the Pianista one way is two and a half miles and takes about two hours, four total. There and back. The start of the Pianista Trail is heavily trafficked and populated little farms line the entire path. So it would be shocking if nobody saw Chris and Lisanne that day. They were literally walking through people's backyards. The trail ends at a mountain ridge that serves as the continental divide between the water sheds of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Chris and Lisanne arrive at the top at 1pm on April 1. The view is absolutely stunning. They take eight pictures over the next six minutes, some of each other and some selfies together. On the opposite side of the ridge is an old native path called the Serpent Trail. It stretches through Panama's Darkest jungles. The guides called this part of the trail jungle hell, end quote. But there's no sign telling them not to go any further. The beginning of this trail looks as straightforward as the Pianista Trail. But a couple of hours in, the vegetation gets dense. In some places, it needs to be cut through with a machete. The trail becomes hard to see and it's very easy to get lost. Not to mention the trail has a reputation of being used by drug traffickers. And there are plenty of wild animals. People have been known to die on the Serpent Trail, especially once it gets dark. I feel like it's. It's dangerous to hike anywhere, let alone, you know, in a foreign country where you've never been, especially if you don't know the trail. And plus, if there's no sign telling you, hey, past this point, a couple hours in, it's going to get really, really difficult.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, I mean, it definitely seems like this is a harder hike for sure and that they were warned. But I also get, like, being in the new country, wanting to explore. I think I see both sides.
Courtney Nicole
It does look like, you know, they did kind of like research the area, generally speaking. But yeah, again, in a foreign country, when, like, you don't really know the trail, it's hard, especially if you don't know exactly how far you're going to be hiking into the trail because, like, they, you know, like we said, once it gets past a certain point, like, you really need even a machete to cut through some of these leaves.
Sarah Tierney
How much measured risk do you take when you're on a vacation like this? You have a free day, you're doing it, you know, in the middle of the day at 1pm I don't know, it feels like a calculated risk that I understand if that makes sense. Sense.
Courtney Nicole
You don't expect something to happen to you until it actually does happen. So I'm sure that's probably what was going through their mind.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah. And like, my thing is, if this is so dangerous. Right. Why isn't there a sign? You know, if Panama wants to protect tourism as a whole, as an industry, why not put up a sign saying, hey, like, this isn't the best place for tourists?
Courtney Nicole
Yeah, that is really sketchy, especially considering how popular the Pianista Trail is when it branches off to the Serpent Trail. Like, yeah, that. Personally, I do feel like there should be a sign there.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, I mean, we have signs here in Arizona. Hiking is like a huge activity and it's so dangerous to do in the summer. So they'll put up signs like that. They'll warn people like if it's this degree outside, do not go hiking. It is extremely dangerous and I just wish they had a sign on this trail. Courtney
Courtney Nicole
Most people think Chris and Lisanne decided to keep going down the Serpent Trail, and that's due to the photos that are found on Lisanne's camera later on in the last two. From April 1, she's standing next to a stream that is believed to cross the Serpent Trail. But then there are others who think they eventually turned back and went back down the Pianista Trail. We only know one thing for sure. Lisanne and Chris don't make it back to their guest host that night. Miriam waits up for them. It's not unusual for young people who board with her to stay out late, but this time she has a bad feeling that she just can't show Shake
Sarah Tierney
on the morning of Wednesday, April 2, 2014, Mariam lays a breakfast out for the women just in case they snuck in during the night. But it goes cold. Now she's really concerned, especially because they didn't tell Mariam where they were going the day before. At 8am, Aileen, the intern, waits for Lisanne and Chris at the language school with their tour guide Feliciano Gonzalez, a former teacher in his 60s. They have an excursion to the coffee farm booked with him that day. Chris and Lisanne are usually very punctual, so when they don't show up by 8:10am, Aileen and Feliciano go to Miriam's house to check on them. She's not there, so they call her. Miriam explains which window belongs to her visitors so Aileen and Feliciano can knock on it. When there's still no answer, Mariam tells them where to find a key hidden in the backyard and says they can check inside. But Chris and Lisanne's beds don't look slept in and their belongings are piled up on top of the COVID So Aileen and Feliciana go to the coffee farm, hoping Chris and Lisanne misunderstood the meeting spot. Maybe they're waiting for them there, but they're not.
Courtney Nicole
With no sign of Chris and Lisanne by 5pm, Aileen and Feliciano talk about going to the police. When they arrive at 7.30pm, nobody is available to take their report, but an officer sends them back to Miriam's house to get the missing women's identification papers, but they only find Chris passport. They end up getting the rest of the info they need from the language school and are finally able to file a report around 8:30pm that night, the officer on Duty makes a recommendation. It's too late now. The sun has set. But the next morning they should go to Sinaproc, Panama's civil protection agency, which can assist with missing person searches.
Sarah Tierney
That night, Eileen calls Lisanne's emergency contact and her mom Deenie answers. It's seven hours later in the Netherlands, making it the middle of the night between April 2 and April 3. When Deani finds out the girls are missing, she reaches out to Chris, parents and the travel agency. The girls book the trip through at 5am Chris and Lisanne's parents file a joint report at their local police station as well. At 7am, the travel agent calls the Department of Foreign affairs and has the Dutch embassy in Panama notified.
Courtney Nicole
Sarah. I cannot imagine having a loved one go missing in a foreign country like that Just seems like an absolute nightmare.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, I totally agree. It's like a whole set of a legal system that you have to relearn at this point.
Courtney Nicole
You know, Chris and Lisanne disappeared in a country about 5,500 miles away. So and this is like a 20 hour trip to the Netherlands or from the Netherlands, I should say. I feel like that alone makes this so incredibly difficult for the family. On top of what they already have to be dealing with, like that initial shock that their loved one is missing.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, I mean, I think it just makes everything so much more complicated. Right. They have to like look into which agencies they should even be contacting. They have to contact the travel agency, they have to get the embassy involved. I think it just adds more complexity on top of being, you know, terrified at this point. It just makes everything harder.
Courtney Nicole
Oh for sure. That's actually a really good point that you just brought up. And when I was like researching this case, I looked into what agencies like could even be of help when somebody goes missing in a, in a foreign country. So of course you have like the local police and search and rescue teams, of course, volunteers, guides and community search groups and all of that that are familiar with the area. But then you also have the missing persons embassy or consulate and the international organizations like Interpol.
Sarah Tierney
So at this point, more and more people are getting involved in the search. On Thursday, April 3, at around noon in the Netherlands, 5am in the Caribbean, the travel agent calls the language school owner. The owner promises to call cenaproc, Panama's emergency response agency and have them organize search parties. At this point, nobody knows where Chris and Lisanne went two days earlier. But Eileen told Feliciano that they were interested in the Pianista trail. So they think they should Start there.
Courtney Nicole
Yeah. So what Sarah and I found frustrating about this case is there are tons of verbal witness accounts, but they all conflict. People say they saw Chris and Lisanne anytime between 7am and 4pm on April 1, the day they disappeared. They were allegedly seen at two different trails and spotted several places around town throughout the day. But nothing adds up. Feliciano goes to Sinaproc himself. About 10 men from Sinaproc accompany him to the Pianista trailhead. They start dividing into two. Then one of them gets a call. It's the cenoproctor in Panama City. He tells the rescue team to hold off until he gets there. The Cenaproc rescue team hesitates, but eventually they decide to comply and leave Feliciano alone at the trailhead. So Feliciano searches the peonies to trail alone. He even walks two hours down the serpent trail, but finds nothing.
Sarah Tierney
The next day, Friday, April 4, is three days since Kris and Lisanne went missing. The cenoproct director arrives in Boqueta that afternoon, heavy winds and rain fall across the Tolamanca Mountains. The rivers rise, dirt turns to mud and the dense jungle becomes even more dangerous. Chris and Lisanne didn't bring their camping gear with them and there's nowhere to find shelter on this trail. If the women are lost out there, their chances of survival are decreasing rapidly. The weather doesn't settle until 2am because
Courtney Nicole
of that, the first official search for Chris and Lisanne doesn't begin until Saturday, April 5, 2014, four days after their disappearance. Since nobody's sure where the women went, Senoproct divides volunteers into groups. They look at different places. Chris and Lisanne were interested in the Pianista Trail, the Caldera hot springs and the Baru volcano. These landmarks aren't particularly close. They're between 7 and 23 miles away from each other. Back in town, other Sinaproc officials search Chris and Lisanne's bedroom for clues. Volunteers put up missing person flyers.
Sarah Tierney
On Sunday, April 6, Chris parents arrive in Bokeh with a liaison from the Dutch embassy. At this point, the search turns into a criminal investigation. Police stations, airports and hospitals are asked to look for the women. Their photos are distributed farther. There's even a search 125 miles away in Bocas del Toro, where the women spent two weeks with their new friends before they went missing. The night of Tuesday, April 8, another storm enters the jungle. This one marks the start of rainy season, which will continue on regular intervals, likely until November.
Courtney Nicole
The next day, Wednesday, April 9, the Panamanian government makes a Big push to find Lisanne and Chris. They send search dogs into the mud and helicopters into the cloudy skies, but it yields nothing. Two weeks after Chris and Lisanne disappear, Cenoprox scales back its search effort. They leave the investigation in the hands of the police. Since there was such an extensive search that covered 588 miles of path, the public prosecutor's office is considering the possibility of a kidnapping. If they do find any leads, they never become public knowledge.
Sarah Tierney
By late April, Chris and Lisanne's parents are doing everything they can to push along the investigation. On Wednesday, April 23, 2014, they established the Find Kris and Lisanne foundation to raise money for more searches. The next day, Chris and Lisanne's disappearance makes it onto the International Criminal Police Organization's website, AKA Interpol. A week later, they raised the reward information from 2,500 to 30,000. Tips are rolling in which several private investigators look into, but none lead to anything. The second week in May, Lisanne's parents arrive in Bokeh to aid the search. On Monday, May 25, 12 search dogs and 18 handlers in the Netherlands board two airplanes provided by the Panamanian government. This team conducts a search that lasts until Wednesday, June 4th. But the first clue doesn't show up until 10 days later. And it isn't on the Pianista Trail.
Courtney Nicole
Alto Romero is a tiny jungle village that can only be reached by foot or helicopter, not by ground transportation. It's a perilous 14 hour hike from the Continental Divide. At the summit of the Pianista trail. On Saturday, June 14, 2014, more than 10 weeks after Chris and Lisanne disappeared, a local rice farmer named Irma Mirondo walks with her husband Luis Atencio down to the Culebra River. When she reaches the edge of the water, she spots a backpack trapped between two rocks, which she brings it to her husband. Louise calls a nearby cattle rancher and tells him what they found. The cattle rancher calls the border police and Louise hands the backpack over. It's packed neatly with two bras, two pairs of sunglasses, US$88, Lisanne's camera and their two phones. The discovery is massive, mainly because their camera and phones help piece together some of the timeline.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, so let's back up a bit to show you what they reveal. According to the cell data, on Tuesday, April 1, 2014, at 1pm, Chris and Lisanne reached the Continental Divide. We also know this because they took pictures with their phones and Lisanne's camera. They're smiling and happy. At this point, most people believe they kept Going down the serpent trail because of the next few photos they took and because they didn't show up in Boqueta. Now we know from Chris's phone that three and a half hours later, at 4:39pm, the first distress call was made to the European emergency line 112. It didn't go through. 12 minutes later, at 4:51pm, they tried from Lasanne's phone. That didn't work either. They turned the phones off between uses. But someone tried to call the European or Panamanian emergency number every day for five days. That is until Sunday, April 6, 2014. Friday, April 11, 2014, 10 days after Chris and Lisanne disappeared, is the last time anyone turns Chris's cell phone on and off.
Courtney Nicole
But here's where things start to get sketchy. Between Monday, April 7, 2014 and Thursday, April 10, someone attempted to access Chris phone 77 times with an incorrect pin. During this time, someone also used Lisanne's camera. Between the night of April 7th and the morning of April 8th, 99 photos were shot in the middle of the night. Most of them are just pictures of the darkness with rocks and branches. They look like images out of a horror movie. One theory is that the girls were trying to signal for help with the flash. But a few photos in particular stand out. One captures a branch lying on a large flat rock with two red plastic baggies tied to it. These bags are commonly handed out with small purchases in Panamanian stores. An identical bag is seen in a picture of Chris in Lisanne's bedroom in Boqueta. On either side of the branch, there's a thrifty car rental receipt and a luggage slip. The luggage tag might have been theirs, but what's weird is the women were never known to rent a car on their trip. So where did the receipt come from? Then there's another photo which shows papers laid out on the ground to spell something. It looks like sos There's a strap in the foreground, possibly from a backpack, and a round metallic object between the letters that looks like a mirror. There's also a picture of the jungle with something small and blurry in the background. Some people speculate it may be a body, but it's impossible to tell. And a photo that looks like one of the women's jawlines shot upwards from underneath, along with a snap of Chris messy hair. These are all super hard to analyze, but the photo numbers on Lisanne's camera also reveal something. The last intentional looking picture Lisanne took in the afternoon of April 1st is number 508. It's Chris posing next to a stream. The first of the nightmare photos taken between April 7 and April 8 is number 510. There is no 509. If someone deleted 509 and then took another photo, the new photo would reuse 509. Jumping from 508 to 510 means that someone went back and deleted 509 after the nightmare sequence was taken. I think one thing about these photos is, you know, at face value, when you're looking at them, they can obviously be a little bit creepy just knowing what we know now. But I think the most logical explanation, at least to me, is that the girls were probably using the camera's flash to maybe light up the area if they were taken at night. That's kind of what I'm left to assume since there's no, you know, natural light in the forest.
Sarah Tierney
You know, I think that that's a possibility too, but it makes me wonder, like, why didn't they use their phone's flashlight?
Courtney Nicole
That's a good point. The only thing I can think of with that is maybe they just wanted to save every ounce of battery they could on the off chance that their call went through to the emergency line.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, no, that's a really valid point, too, especially because they were turning the phones, like, on and off. I. Ugh. This one I could go back and forth with forever. And this, I. I think, is just, like, one of the most terrifying sequence of events that I've ever seen in a case.
Courtney Nicole
Oh, for sure. I mean, like, they were actively trying to call out for help in the middle of, like, a really massive search for them. The photos themselves, you know, the twig with, like, the baggies on it. Obviously, we will probably never know what actually happened on the trail that day, but to me, it seems like maybe one of the girls got hurt. They, you know, couldn't walk further. Maybe they hurt their ankle or their leg or something, and they were trying to use, like, that twig with the baggies on it to mark the location of, you know, where they were at. I don't know. Like, like you said, I could go back and forth on it all day.
Sarah Tierney
That's actually a really good point, Courtney. I haven't thought about that. I could totally see them marking the trail that way. I think we'd always. Me is the shift from using the pin to use the phone to entering the wrong pin. And I don't know, like, was that somebody else? Was it one of, you know, one of the girls? I don't know.
Courtney Nicole
I don't know. The only thing I could think, depending on if they knew each other's password or pin, maybe one of the girls got injured and maybe succumbed to, like, their injuries. And then the other friend, you know, they didn't have, like, the actual pin, so maybe that's why it was entered so many times, frantically trying to, like, access the phone. All I know is that this situation is really, really sad because looks like they were literally trying to do every single thing right when something like this happened. It's very unexpected, but it looked like they were really trying to, like, get help.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, I totally agree. I could see Lisanne sitting there trying to get into Chris's phone. Right? 77 times with this incorrect pin. Just desperate, trying to get into it and eventually, I guess, just, like, abandoning the phones. But, like, why? Why put the phones together in the backpack? None of this adds up for me, Courtney. None of it. Well, let's go Back to Sunday, June 15, 2014. After Irma finds the backpack with the phones and the camera that day, the search is extended to neighboring Costa Rica. There's no reason to believe that Chris and Lisanne are there, but the families want to widen the search. Just a few days later, on Thursday, June 18, a group of six volunteers in Panama find something truly disturbing behind a tree along the Culebra River. The same one Irma found the backpack in is a bleached piece of pelvic bone. There's also a shoe with a detached human foot still inside. On June 22, forensics confirms the foot belongs to Lisanne.
Courtney Nicole
The same day Chris's jean shorts are found. Reports conflict on whether they're folded neatly on a rock or floating in the river. But they're near the second of three cable bridges that cross the Culebra on the serpent trail. On June 25, forensics says that the pelvic bone belongs to Chris. People speculate that it being bleached by phosphorus indicates human intervention because it's used to speed up the decomposition of bodies. But phosphorus also occurs naturally in jungle soil, and it's present in lime, which nearby farmers use as fertilizer and could run off into the wood, water, and the ground. There are no signs of violence on the bones, but they are too degraded to make a guess at the cause of death.
Sarah Tierney
For the next month, the stormy season keeps search teams from going back into the jungle. In the meantime, on July 18, a memorial service is held in Kris and Lysand's hometown of Amersford. Shortly after their parents announce they're going to stop Working together. Since their wants and needs no longer align, they don't say what those are.
Courtney Nicole
Once the weather permits in late July, Chris family goes back to Boqueta to keep searching with SINAPROC. On August 3rd, search parties find more bones along the Culebra River. They're sent back to the lab, where most of them are determined to belong to other humans and animals. But one small piece of rib is matched to Chris. At the end of August, indigenous guides find even more remains along the Culebra. Parts of a left femur and left left foot. They both belong to Lisanne. These bones show that she had multiple fractures and peritonitis, which means inflammation of the abdominal lining. It's typically caused by bacterial infection from a ruptured organ, open wound, or internal injury. But none of the bones other than Chris's pelvis are bleached. I think the detail of, you know, Lisanne's foot being found in her hiking boot is so, I mean, obviously that's like, a really, like, gruesome discovery. But anytime I think about this case, like, that is one of the main things that, you know, always comes to the front of my mind.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah. I mean, it's horrific to think about how it landed there and how it was separated from her body. I mean, I can't even imagine what these families went through.
Courtney Nicole
Oh, I know. Especially, like, given the setting. You're kind of in the jungle. It's. There's wild animals, there's fast moving rivers. It's just really devastating to know that you found, like, you know, pieces of your loved one, but they're not intact and, like, parts of them are still missing. It's just really devastating.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah. I mean, they're already trying to, like, piece together what happened, and now everything's scattered. You know, they're kind of leaning in different directions. So, I mean, I can see how this could tear these two families apart and make them want to go in different directions. Like, it's just one of those impossible situations. And I know I say that a lot, but there's no guidebook for how to deal with these things. I mean, my gosh, these details are just horrific, Courtney.
Courtney Nicole
Oh, they are. And I'm sure the families, you know, that wasn't their intention at the beginning to stop working together, but, you know, things happen and things progress, and given this horrible information, like, it's understandable. It really is.
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Sarah Tierney
I mean, however they feel is appropriate to handle it, I'm gonna support it. Right. As long as they're trying to find, you know, what happened to these women, which they clearly were. And it's just, I don't know, like, I feel like these details don't give us any more answers. They just make this case worse.
Courtney Nicole
Sometimes having answers doesn't always, you know, it's not always like a benefit, especially in this case. And like, I think a lot of people like to talk about certain bones being bleached. In this case, I do find it weird that like only one bone was bleached, which being Chris's pelvis. But then again, that could happen for any given number of reasons. So I don't know if foul play was involved in that aspect.
Sarah Tierney
Yeah, no, I totally agree. It's like everything that's found in this case, it's like, well, it could be 12 different things.
Courtney Nicole
this point, it's clear to everyone that Kris and Lisanne are no longer alive. But what exactly happened to them and what were they going through during their final days while trying to get help? The Panamanian government rules their death as accidental, but people speculate it's a cover up for something darker.
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Sarah Tierney
It's January 2015, nine months since Kris and Lisanne's disappearance. The Kremers request that the rescue dog search one last time with a Dutch forensic pathologist. This pathologist concludes that Chris and lasanne died by accident while hiking. The case was formally closed two months later, in March 2015, 11 months after Chris and Lisanne's disappearance. The official Panamanian government story is that the girls made it up the Pianista Trail, over the ridge and onto the Serpent Trail. Then they fell off the first Cable Bridge while crossing the Serpent river and were met with instant death or were gravely injured before their bones were eventually washed downstream. On May 26, 2017, three years after Chris and Lisanne's disappearances, the find Chris and Lisanne foundation is formally dissolved. But of course, people are still looking for answers. Some think the Panamanian government sidelined the investigation and gave a false conclusion to protect tourism. By that point, Boqueta's tourism, which makes up 75% of its economy, was down 10% because of the case. Experts see no reason why Chris and Lisanne would have gone on one of the cable bridges. They're essentially rusted, loose tightropes. They were a death trap.
Courtney Nicole
So in 2020, documentarians Kinga Phillips and JJ Kelly went to Panama to test it out. They began their hike at 11am the same time Chris and Lisanne started on the Pianista Trail. They seemed to be walking at a similar pace since they arrived at the Continental Dividend at the same time 1pm like the Dutch women, they spent a few minutes taking photos. Then they kept going down the serpent trail. At 4:39pm the time Chris and Lisanne made their first distress call, Kinga and JJ weren't even halfway to the first cable bridge across the Culebra River. They still had hours to go. There was no way the girls would have made it that far before sunset on day one of their hike, and the trail is impossible to navigate in the dark. Chris jean shorts were found a few hours downstream of the Cable Bridge, further away from Boqueta. The pelvic bone, rib and foot in the boot were found a few hours further downstream of the shorts. Several hours beyond that was the backpack with their camera and phones. The explanation the Panamanian government gives was that they fell into the river at the first cable ridge. Then they washed downstream all the way to where the backpack was found. But how did they get into the the river if they didn't even make it to that first cable bridge?
Sarah Tierney
One theory is foul play. The area has a reputation for illegal activity, especially smuggling. The only way to get from South America to Central or North America by land is through Panama, which is 37 miles wide at its thinnest. Anything illegal coming up north from South America has to pass through Panama. And the serpent trail is a known path from. For drug traffickers, Chris and Lisanne could have bumped into the wrong person. Hoping to find more answers, Kinga and JJ go to Alto Romero to talk to the woman who found Lisanne's backpack, Irma and her husband Luis. They bring pictures of the last photos Chris and Lisanne took after reaching the continental divide. Luis, who knows the trails better than anyone, says the photos were taken along the Pianista trail. If he's right, that means something else entirely. Similarly, Chris and Lisanne turned back after reaching the peak and never took the serpent trail, which leaves more questions than answers. The documentarians also speak to one more person, an anonymous forensic pathologist who worked on the case. He says the remains don't suggest the victims fell into the river. If a human crashes into a turbulent body of water, they break several bones immediately. The pelvis, cranium, and long bones. He says that the official Panamanian theory can't be proven with the condition of those bones. And he believes a murderer is out there.
Courtney Nicole
Sarah. I also learned that this pathologist worked in Mexico and was responsible for shutting down labs involved with organ trafficking. So he's seen cases like this before. He believes the girls might have been victims of organ trafficking, Though I will say that this was solely his opinion. It was never documented in official forensics reports on this case. Still, if this was considered a possibility, it makes sense the Panamanian government would keep this quiet, Especially in a place with a lot of tourism like Boqueta. I think it's really, really hard, Sarah, when you have a case like this where there's just, like, some remains found and the majority of them still missing, where people like to come up with alternative theories. You know, in this case, though, I feel like nothing is off the table. So if you have, like, experts saying they could be victims of, like, organ trafficking, I don't know, like, I don't want to Be close minded.
Sarah Tierney
No, I feel the same way. I feel like it's a very good possibility. I mean, and that's what's so hard about this case is like we just said there's more questions than answers. So I feel like this isn't something we should rule out. I don't think any of these theories is something we should rule out at this point.
Courtney Nicole
Oh, I agree. And you know, it's not been like the first time that a federal or local government does what they can to like make their country look better with cases like this example. Natalee Holloway with tourism being like a main point of like their economy. I don't know, I feel like if, if things were to look bad, if Chris and Lisanne were to be victims of, you know, something horrible like organ trafficking, it would definitely affect their tourism and they, they probably don't want that information to be out there.
Sarah Tierney
Oh, a thousand percent. I've seen this in so many cases before. I mean tourism's down 10% for them. That's a lot of money. And I think that this case in particular is just a complete nightmare. These are two women who just graduated from college. They're going to explore the world afterwards. And it was supposed to be this very like safe and measured trip with this travel agency. You know, they're doing it through a language school. They did absolutely everything right and they still ended up in a nightmare, which is a nightmare for this country as well. We don't know much about Kris and Lisanne's final hours in the jungle, but we know that they were excited to experience something new together, to learn, be of service and enjoy themselves. Post college. They had planned and saved up for their trip to Panama for over six months. It was a big deal to them. Chris and Lisanne arrived in Boca del Toro on Sunday, March 16, 2014. They spent two weeks sleeping in a hostel, experiencing a seaside paradise with other young travelers. They studied Spanish, enjoyed white sand beaches and partied with new friends. Then on Saturday, March 29, they took a shuttle inland to Boqueta. They stayed with a host family, continued studying and planned to volunteer. Even though they reached a road roadblock, they were set on making the best of their vacation. They were going on adventures. On Tuesday, April 1, Chris and Lisanne got up early. At 8am they left for the day, eventually ending up at a local restaurant where they had breakfast on the terrace. Then they took a cab to the Pianista trailhead. The weather was beautiful for their two hour, two and a half mile hike up to the Continental Divide. At the summit they got an unforgettable view of the Pacific Ocean ocean and the Caribbean Sea and they took lots of pictures from there. They kept going, probably down the serpent Trail, and three and a half hours later they made their first SOS call. Those calls continued for days, even as search parties were out looking for them. But by the time anyone found them, it was too late.
Courtney Nicole
If you have any information about Lisanne Froon and Chris Cremers, you can call the Dutch National Police at country code 31-343-57-8844 or fill out their contact form online.
Sarah Tierney
Thank you for listening to the Final Hours. If you have any other details about Kris Kremers and the Sand Friends case, please share it with us on social media. We want to hear from you. Your thoughts, condolences and feedback are what make this community so special at Crime House.
Courtney Nicole
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Sarah Tierney
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Courtney Nicole
The Final Hours is hosted by Sarah Turney and me, Courtney Nicole and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Final Hours team Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pertzofsky, Sarah Kam, Alyssa Fox, Dina Brazil Solovey and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.
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Hosts: Sarah Tierney & Courtney Nicole
Date: June 16, 2026
This episode of Scams, Money, & Murder delves into the mysterious disappearance of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon, two young Dutch women who vanished during a hiking trip in Panama in 2014. Using details from recovered photos, cellphone data, and investigative reporting, hosts Sarah Tierney and Courtney Nicole retrace the women’s last known days—and discuss the haunting images left behind on Lisanne’s camera. The episode explores possible explanations for their fate, the challenges of international missing persons cases, and the unanswered questions that remain nearly a decade later.
Background: Kris Kremers (21) and Lisanne Froon (22), recent college grads from the Netherlands, were described as adventurous, caring, and ambitious. The women planned an enriching 6-week journey to Panama encompassing Spanish lessons and volunteer work.
Trip Details: Their itinerary included language school, volunteer work, beach time, and hiking excursions—all carefully planned through a reputable agency.
In mid-June, a backpack is discovered in a remote area. Inside: bras, sunglasses, money, the camera, and both women’s phones.
Cell phone logs and photos reveal:
Analysis & Theories on the Photos:
This episode provides a meticulous and empathetic account of the Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon case, emphasizing the chilling unknowns and enduring pain for families and investigators alike. It raises crucial questions not only about what happened in the Panamanian jungle, but also about systemic challenges in international missing persons cases, and the power—and limits—of available evidence. The oddities of the photographic sequence, the partial nature of the remains, and conflicting testimonies leave the story unresolved, an enduring warning about adventure, risk, and the persistence of mystery.
If you have any information about Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers: Call the Dutch National Police at +31-343-57-8844 or fill out their contact form online. [50:40]
End of Summary