Two young women in their early 20s disappear without a trace during a hike in the jungle of Panama in 2014. It is only months later that a few bone fragments are found, which can be attributed to the two students after extensive forensic tests. The mysterious death of Lisanne Froon (22) and Kris Kremers (21) in the cloud forest of Boquete is probably one of the most highly regarded „true crime“ cases and cold cases of our century on the Internet.
Was the death of the two Dutch students on a hiking tour along the legendary „Pianista Trail“ in 2014 a tragic accident or an incredibly gruesome crime? Countless podcasts, videos and blogs deal with this question. Creepy photos, countless unanswered questions and inexplicable events surrounding the two young women make the case one of the most „popular“ among true crime fans. Over the years, more and more self-proclaimed experts have been studying the cold case and developing various „foul play“ and „lost theories“.
It is inevitable that many false reports, rumors and bold interpretations of the events spread rapidly through the community.
In 2024 – the tenth year after the tragic death of the two travelers – two German journalists have taken the trouble to completely reopen and meticulously analyze the case in a book. Christian Hardinghaus and Annette Nenner’s „Missing in Panama – the true tragedy of the Pianista Trail“ does not promise a definitive solution to the case of Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers – which, 10 years after the death of the two women, seems anything but simple. However, the two investigative authors do clear up some rumors and untruths. Nenner travels to Panama himself, follows in the footsteps of the students, speaks personally to contemporary witnesses and goes on an expedition into the Panamanian jungle with the tour guide Feliciano Gonzales, a prime suspect of many true crime „experts“, and quickly discovers that he could not have been the murderer of the two Dutch women, nor could he have been involved in the cover-up of a possible crime.
Far removed from the usual sensationalism, they analyze facts such as the well-known night photos or the swimming photo and the call logs of the two cell phones found – and even if they are unable to come up with any groundbreaking news, they still manage to impressively debunk well-known theories about what might have happened in the Panama jungle, exonerate suspects and expose many a „spectacular development“ of recent years as fantasy and sensationalism.
In this way, they expose some self-proclaimed experts and internet investigators known and respected in the community as impostors, liars and manipulators – without unnecessarily placing themselves and their own work in the foreground. The book „Lost in Panama“ is incredibly exciting and enjoyable to read despite its objectivity or precisely because of it. „‚Lost in Panama‘ is a tribute to the tireless search for answers, a memoir of two lives that ended far too soon, and a must-read for anyone interested in true crime cases and unsolved mysteries,“ say the authors themselves about their work.
The book „Lost in Panama“ presents itself as an extremely sensitive case analysis without being boring. The authors show knowledge and claim to have studied the more than 3,000 pages of court files in detail.
Info:
„Verschollen in Panama. Die wahre Tragödie vom Pianista Trail“
Books on Demand, 322 Seiten, Paperback
ISBN: 978-3-75832-194-8
