Sobering theory about what happened to friends who vanished on hike after they left disturbing photo behind
A sobering theory has suggested what could've happened to hikers Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon after authorities recovered their camera.
In March 2014 the Dutch graduates, aged 21 and 22, arrived in the town of Boquete, Panama for the start of a six-month trip through the Central American nation. On 1 April, 2014, the women set off on a hike along the picturesque Pianista Trail, near Boquete.
They would never been again.
It takes an average of three and a half hours to complete the trail, so concerns were raised when the two women did not return later that night.
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The pair missed an appointment the following day with a local guide and by 6 April, their parents had arrived in Panama as a widespread search got underway.
What happened to Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon?
It would be a further two months before authorities were able to find anything relating to the disappearance of Kremers and Froon.
On 4 June, a blue backpack belonging to Froon was recovered. Inside were the women's sunglasses and phones as well as cash, a water bottle and Froon's digital camera.
The phones would reveal the women had attempted to make several calls to emergency services between 1 April and 3 April on both phones. However, the calls didn't go through due to lack of signal.
The final signal check came from Kremers' phone came on 11 April.
Meanwhile, the camera provided even more disturbing photos regarding the women's final hours, dated as late as seven days after their disappearance.
The photos, majority of which appeared to have been taken at night, included images of their belongings and the back of back of Kremers' head.
Theories about Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon's deaths circulate after final photos revealed
The unusual photos of course sparked several theories among true crime enthusiasts, notably suggestions the women had been stalked, kidnapped and murdered while hiking on the trail.
Scroll through a subreddit dedicated to the two women and you'll very quickly find numerous theories speculating about their final hours, including detailed speculation about foul play at the hands of other hikers or alleged gang members.
However, there has been no evidence presented to warrant an investigation into whether or not Kremers and Froon were murdered.
Bone fragments recovered
Two months after the backpack was recovered investigators combing the region came across partial human remains along the banks of the Culubre River, which included a foot still inside a hiking boot and part of a pelvis.
Further searches along the river bank recovered 33 additional bone fragments, with both Kremers and Froon being identified among them.
The minimal remains meant that a cause of death could not be determined, however, the most likely theories suggest the women either suffered an accident or got lost and died of exposure.
"We don't know if anybody was involved - we cannot exclude that," Jürgen Snoeren, co-author of Lost in The Jungle, previously told The Sun.
"We believe the most likely explanation is that they had an accident - but it's not 100 percent.
"The only way to make a full conclusion is when we find the rest of the bodies. I think there should still be remains there in the jungle from the girls. But it's a hell of a job."
Topics: Environment, Weird, World News
Brenna Cooper