Money Crimes with Nicole Lapin - Kris Kremers & Lisanne Froon: What the Camera Saw

Episode Date: June 16, 2026

In April 2014, Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon, two Dutch women in their early twenties, went for a daytime hike on a trail near Boquete, Panama. They never came back. Weeks later, their backpack was found on a jungle riverbank with their phones, camera, and cash still inside. What was on that camera changed everything: photographs taken in total darkness over several days, including what appears to be an SOS signal and one photo that had been deliberately deleted. Partial remains found months later were scattered miles from where their distress calls began and the official verdict of accidental death hasn't satisfied everyone. Was it a tragic accident, or did someone find them first?For more, follow The Final Hours wherever you listen to podcasts: https://pod.link/1872821250Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get ad-free and early released episodes across the Crime House lineup.🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Crimes Of…, Crime House 24/7, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!Follow me on SocialInstagram: @CrimehouseTikTok: @CrimehouseFacebook: @crimehousestudiosX: @crimehousemediaYouTube: @crimehousestudios

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 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.

This is Crime House. 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 Chris Krummers. The other is six feet tall and athletic, with men. mid-length brown hair and brown eyes. This is 22-year-old Lassan 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 Lassan 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 1st.

Chris and Lesanne 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 No. 507 and No. 508. The next, Photo 509 is mysteriously missing. So you scroll to photo 510, which was taken seven days later on April 8th at 1.30 a.m. 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's 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's hair. These were the last photos taken on LaSanne'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. 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. 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 Turney. 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. Looking back at those last conversations, connections, and choices is critical, and it could be the key to unlocking it all.

Each episode all 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. Prime House exists because of listeners like you. Want even more? Join Crimehouse Plus and get every episode of the final hours and the rest of the crimehouse lineup ad-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. This time, we're discussing the disappearance of 21-year-old Chris Kremmers and 22-year-old Lizan Frune. On Tuesday, April 1, 2014, they went to a trailhead in Bocata, 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. Lizanne Froon and Chris Kremmers 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 can find them when they wanted to be found. But before we talk about Chris and Luzanne's disappearance, let's begin with their adventure. It's 2014.

Chris Kremmers and Lassan Frun are recent college graduates from Amher's Fort in the Netherlands. 21-year-old Chris is an open person, 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 Upttrecht University with a degree in cultural and social education and to focus on art education. In September 2014, she plans to start her graduate studies in art history in Amsterdam. Her friend, 22-year-old Lassan, 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 six feet tall, she absolutely correct. rushes at volleyball. The two met while working in a restaurant called Inden Klinahap, which means the small bite. In the fall of 2013, Chris and LaSanne 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. I feel like this trip is super exciting for them, saving up for this big trip to Panama. Like, that's super exciting. Yeah, I agree. I think this is like the dream after college to, you know, explore and go somewhere fun and really to learn even more. I love that they're also volunteering. I know. I love that, of course, they're going to have fun here and there, but to volunteer and to 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. Yeah. I mean, this seems like the dream trip. I would have loved to do this after college. 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 basic emergency supplies, because you honestly never know what could go wrong in situations like this. Yeah, I feel like these trips are so fun and so important, but of course you have to be safe. You've got to tell people where you're going. You got to make sure they know

when you're coming back, a thousand percent court. But traveling isn't the only plan the San and Chris have together. In March 2014, they move into a shared apartment in Amherst Fort. Two weeks later, on Saturday, March 15th, 2014, their parents take them to skiphole airport. And they are arrive in Panama the next day. The San and Crisp in the first two weeks of their trip in Bocos del Toro, a beautiful town and popular tourist destination on Isla Cologne. 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 18th, they go for a hike, following a jungle path to Red Frog Beach, which is known

for its tiny poisoned dart frogs. So you know they like a little bit of risk. But Wednesday, March 19th, is more relaxing. Chris and Lassan 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 kept the night off at a nightclub with swimming pools. Lassan 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 29th, 2014, after 14 unforgettable days on the beach, Chris and the sand 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 Bokas to Bocat. A young German intern from the language school in Bocas named Eileen

Yeline joins them for the ride. Eileen's internship is transferring her to the Bocata school location. At 3.30 p.m., 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 4 p.m., a woman named Miriam Garra picks them up at the bus station with her son. Kristen Luzan 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 Luzan will continue their Spanish lessons there while also volunteering at a local daycare. After they settle in at Miriams, 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 Lassan, who's more introverted, becomes sad and homesick, though by the following morning, she's feeling a lot better. On Sunday, March 30th, Chris and Luzan 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 1 p.m. 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 31st, Lazzan 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 Pienista Trail.

Around 1 p.m., Chris and Lazzan 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 Lizanne 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. Miriam asked what they're going to do with their week if the volunteer work falls through. Around 7 p.m., the intern Eileen calls with a 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, Lazzan WhatsApps with one of the Dutch guys she met from Bocas. He asked Luzan how she likes her host family, but she never responds. Chris and Lassan get up early on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014. Around 8 a.m., they check in with Eileen. Who says their backup organization has enough help for the week?

Looks like they'll have the free time after all. Chris and Lassan decide to make the best of it. They book a coffee tour for 8 a.m. the next day. Then they leave without telling Eileen, where they're going. That day, Pocetta is sunny and 73 degrees. So Chris and Lassan decided to go for a hike. They head back to Miriam's house to pack up their belongings into a waterproof backpack. Dressed for the heat and shorts and tank tops, they lace up their sturdy hiking boots. Lassan hangs her cannon power shoe 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. Such an ordinary thing 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.

It's Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Chris and the Sand 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 Pianese to Trailhead at 11 a.m. They start their hike into the Talamanca Mountains. So what I learned, Sarah, is there's no easy way to get lost on the Pianese to 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 Luzan 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 watersheds of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Chris and Lassan arrived at the top at 1 p.m. on April 1st. 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 call this part of the trail, quote, 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 dangerous to hike anywhere, let alone, you know, in a four, 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. Yeah, I mean, it definitely seems like this as 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. 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 we said, once it gets past a certain point, you really need even a machete to cut through some of these leaves.

How much measured risk do you take when you're on a vacation like this? You have a free day. You're doing it in the middle of the day at 1 p.m. I don't know. It feels like a calculated risk that I understand, if that makes sense. 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. 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? Yeah, that is really sketchy, especially considering how popular the Pienista Trail is. When it branches off to the serpent trail, like, yeah, that personally, I do feel like there should be a sign there. 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. Most people think Chris and Lizanne decided to keep going down the serpent trail. And that's due to the photos that are found on Lizanne's camera later on. In the last two from April 1st, 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 peonies. to trail. We only know one thing for sure. Lazzan 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 shake. On the morning of Wednesday, April 2nd, 2014, Miriam 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 Miriam where they were going the day before. At 8 a.m., Eileen the intern waits for LaSanne 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 LaSan are usually very punctual. So when they don't show up by 8, 10 a.m., Elaine 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 Eileen and Feliciano can knock on it. When they're still no answer. Merriam tells them where to find a key hidden in the backyard and says they can check inside. But Chris and Lassan's beds don't look slept in, and their belongings are piled up on top of the covers. So Eileen and Feliziano go to the coffee farm, hoping Chris and Lassan misunderstood the meeting spot. Maybe they're waiting for them there. But they're not. With no sign of Chris and Lazzan by 5 p.m., Eileen and Feliciano talk about going to the police. When they arrive at 7.30 p.m., nobody's 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's 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 8.30 p.m. 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. That night, I laying down. calls LaSanne's emergency contact, and her mom, Deanie, answers. It's seven hours later in the Netherlands, making it the middle of the night between April 2nd and April 3rd. When Deanie finds out the girls are missing, she reaches out to Chris's parents and the travel agency the girls book the trip through. At 5 a.m., Chris and LaSan's parents

file a joint report at their local police station as well. At 7 a.m., the travel agent calls the Department of Foreign Affairs and has the Dutch embassy in Panama notified. Sarah, I cannot imagine having a loved one go missing in a foreign country. Like, that just seems like an absolute nightmare. Yeah, I totally agree. It's like a whole set of a legal system that you have to relearn at this point. You know, Chris and Lanzan 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. Yeah, I mean, I think it just makes everything so much more complicated, right? They have to 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. 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 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 person's embassy or consulate and the international organizations like Interpol. So at this point, more and more people are getting involved in the search. On Thursday, April 3rd, at around noon in the Netherlands, 5 a.m. in the Caribbean, the travel agent calls the language school owner.

The owner promises to call Sinaprog, Panama's Emergency Response Agency. and have them organize search parties. At this point, nobody knows where Chris and Lassan went two days earlier. But Eileen told Feliziano that they were interested in the Pianista Trail, so they think they should start there. 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 Lazzan any time between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on April 1st,

the day they disappeared. They were allegedly seen at two different tracts. trails and spotted several places around town throughout the day, but nothing adds up. Feliziano goes to Sinaprok himself. About 10 men from Sinaprok accompany him to the Pienista trailhead. They start dividing into two. Then one of them gets a call. It's the Sinaprach director in Panama City.

He tells the rescue team to hold off until he gets there. The Sinaprok rescue team hesitates, but eventually they decide to comply and leave Feliziano alone at the trailhead. So Feliziano searches the Pianneseeado. to trail alone. He even walks two hours down the serpent trail, but finds nothing. The next day, Friday, April 4th is three days since Chris and the San went missing. The Sina Proc director arrives in Bokheta. That afternoon, heavy winds and rain fall across the Talamanka Mountains. The rivers rise, dirt turns to mud, and the dense jungle becomes even more dangerous.

Chris and the San 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 2 a.m. Because of that, the first official search for Chris and Luzan doesn't begin until Saturday, April 5th, 2014. Four days after their disappearance. Since nobody's sure where the women went, Sinaprok divides volunteers into groups. They look at different places Chris and Lazzan were interested in visiting. The Pienista Trail, the Caldera Hot Springs, and the Peru volcano. These landmarks aren't particularly close. They're between seven and 23 miles away from each other. Back in town, other Cinaproc officials search Chris and Lizanne's bedroom for clues.

Volunteers put up missing person flyers. On Sunday, April 6th, Chris's parents arrive in Bocetta 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 8th, another storm enters

the jungle. This one marks the start of rainy season, which will continue on regular intervals, likely until November. The next day, Wednesday, April 9th, the Panamanian government makes a big push to find Lazzan and Chris. They send search dogs into the mud and helicopters into the cloudy sky.

but it yields nothing. Two weeks after Chris and Lazzan disappear, Sinaproc skills back its search effort. They leave the investigation in the hands of the police. Since there was such an extensive search that covered 58 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. By late April, Chris and Lassan's parents are doing everything they can to push along the investigation. On Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014, they established the Find Chris and the San Foundation to raise money for more searches. The next day, Chris in the Sands' disappearance makes it on to 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, Lassan's parents arrive in Boceta to aid the search. On Monday, May 25th, 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. 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 Peonese to trail. On Saturday, June 14, 2014, more than 10 weeks after Chris and Lizanne disappeared, a local rice farmer named Irma Mirando walks with her husband, Luis Attencio, down to the Culebra River. When she reaches the edge of the water, she spots a backpack trapped between two rocks. 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, $88 U.S. dollars, Lazzan's camera and their two phones. The discovery is massive, mainly because their camera and phones help piece together some of the timeline. 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 1 p.m., Chris and LaSanne reached the continental divide.

We also know this because they took pictures with their phones and LaSan'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 Boketa. Now we know from Chris's phone that three and a half hours later, at 4.39 p.m., the first distress call was made to the European emergency line, 112. It didn't go through. 12 minutes later at 4.51 p.m. they tried from Lassan'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 11th, 2014, 10 days after Chris and Lassan disappear, is the last time anyone turns Chris's cell phone on and off.

But here's where things start to get sketchy. Between Monday, April 7th, 2014, and Thursday, April 10th, someone attempted to access Chris's phone 77 times with an incorrect pin. During this time, someone also used Lizanne'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 Lizanne's bedroom in Boquetta. 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 jaw lines shot upwards from underneath, along with a snap of Chris's messy hair. These are all super hard to analyze, but the photo numbers on Lizanne's camera also reveal something. The last intentional looking picture Lizanne 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 7th and April 8th 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 someone went back and deleted 509 after the nightmare sequence was taken. I think one thing about these photos is, you know, 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. cameras flash to maybe light up the area. If they were taking at night, that's kind of what I'm left to

assume, since there's no, you know, natural light in the forest. You know, I think that that's a possibility too, but it makes me wonder, like, why didn't they use their phones flashlight? That's a good point. The only thing I can think of with that is that 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. Yeah, no, that's a really valid point, too, especially because they were turning the phones like on and off. I, oh, this one I could go back and forth with forever. And this, I think is just like one of the most terrifying sequence of events that I've ever seen in a case. 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 couldn't walk further. Maybe they heard 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 where they were at. I don't know. Like you said, I can go back and forth on it all day. 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 what always gets me is the shift from using the pin to use the phone to entering the wrong pin. And I don't know. Was that somebody else? Was it one of, you know, one of the girls? I don't know. 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 it looks like they were literally trying to do every single thing right. When something like that's happened that's very unexpected, but it looked like they were really trying to, like, get help. Yeah, I totally agree. I could see Lassan 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 15th, 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 Lassan are there, but the families want to widen the search. Just a few days later, on Thursday, June 18th, a group of six volunteers in Panama finds something truly disturbing. Behind a tree along the Kalabra 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 22nd, forensics confirms the foot belongs to LaSanne. 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, Forensic 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 is present in lime, which nearby farmers use as fertilizer and could run off into the water and the ground. There are no signs of violence on the bones, but they're too degraded to make a guess at the cause of death. For the next month, the stormy season keeps search teams from going back into the jungle. In the meantime, on July 18th, a memorial service is held in Chris in the Sands' hometown of Amherst Fort.

Shortly after, their parents announced they're going to stop working together, since their wants and needs no longer align. They don't say what those are. Once the weather permits in late July, Chris's family goes back to Boketa 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 foot. They both belong to Luzan. 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, Lizanne's foot being found in her hiking boot is so haunting. 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. 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. 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've 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. 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. 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. Yeah. I mean, however they feel as appropriate to handle it, I'm going to 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. 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. 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. At this point, it's clear to everyone that Chris and Luzan 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. Every day, something remarkable happened in history. And on history daily, they tell the fascinating stories of what happened on that day. New episodes drop every weekday, each one under 20 minutes. That means you can start and finish a show anytime you need a quick hit of history. The stories cover it all. Famous battles, fashion firsts, medicine, science, technology, religion, politics, sports, everything that made us who we are today. And here's the best part. Even if you think you know what happened on a certain day, you'll likely be surprised by the hidden details and amazing facts you've never heard before, because at the heart of every episode is a simple truth. History is

human. History Daily goes beyond names and dates to uncover the overlooked and forgotten human stories behind the events that shaped our world. Discover the past in a whole new way. Listen to History Daily wherever you listen to podcasts. It's January 2015. Nine months since Chris and LaSanne's disappearance. The Kremmer's request that the rescue dog searched one last time with a Dutch forensic pathologist. This pathologist concludes that Chris and LaSan died by accident while hiking. The case was formally closed two months later in March 2015, 11 months after Chris and the San'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 LaSan's disappearances, the Find Chris and the San 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, Bocchetta's tourism, which makes up 75% of its economy, was down 10% because of the case. Experts see no reason why Chris in the Sand would have gone on one of the cable bridges. They're essentially rusted, loose tight ropes.

They were a death trap. So in 2020, documentarians, Kinga Phillips, and J.J. Kelly went to Panama to test it out. They began their hike at 11 a.m. the same time Chris and Lazzan started on the Pienista Trail. They seemed to be walking at a similar pace since they arrived at the continental divide at the same time, 1 p.m. Like the Dutch women, they spent a few minutes taking photos. Then they kept going down the serpent trail.

At 4.39 p.m., the time Chris and Lizanne made their first distress call, Kinga and JJ weren't even halfway to the first cable bridge across the Kulibra 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 take.

navigate in the dark. Chris's jean shorts were found a few hours downstream of the cable bridge further away from bocetta. 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 that Panamanian government gives was that they fell into the river at the first cable bridge. Then they washed downstream all the way to where the backpack was found. But how did they get into the river if they didn't even make it to that first cable bridge. 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 for drug traffickers. Chris and Lassan could have bumped into the wrong purpose. In hoping to find more answers, Kinga and JJ go to Alto Romero to talk to the woman who found LaSanne's backpack, Irma and her husband, Luis. They bring pictures of the last photos Chris and LaSan took after reaching the continental divide. Louise, 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. Chris and LaSan 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. 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 that the Panamanian government would keep this quiet, especially in a place with a lot of tourism like Boketa. 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 Oregon trafficking, I don't know, like I don't want to be closed minded. 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.

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, Natalie Holloway. With tourism being like a main point of like their economy, I don't know. No, I feel like if things were to look bad, if Chris and Luzan were to be victims of, you know, something horrible like Oregon trafficking, it would definitely affect their tourism. And they probably don't want that information to be out there. Oh, 1,000 percent. I've seen this in so many cases before. I mean, tourism's down 10 percent 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. this very 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 Chris in the Sand's final hours in the jungle, but we know that they were excited to experience something new together, to learn, be of service, and to 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 the San arrived in Bocas del Toro on Sunday, March 16th, 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 29th, they took a shuttle inland to Bocetta.

They stayed with a host family, continued studying, and planned to volunteer. Even though they reached a roadblock, they were set on making the best of their vacation. They were going on adventures. On Tuesday, April 1st, Chris and the sand got up early. At 8 a.m. 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 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. If you have any information about Luzanne Frune and Chris Kremers, you can call the Dutch National Police at Country Code 31, 343, 5,000. or fill out their contact form online.

Thank you for listening to the final hours. If you have any other details about Chris Kremers and the San Frun's 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 Crimehouse, we value your support. Share your thoughts on social media and remember to rate, review, and follow the final hours to help others discover the show.

And to enhance your listening experience, don't forget to join Crimehouse Plus at CrimehousePlus.com. Or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap Try Free at the top of the Final Hour show page. The Final Hours is hosted by Sarah Turney and me, Courtney Nicole, and is a Crimehouse original powered by Pave Studios. This episode was brought to life by the Final Hours team. Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benadon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pritzofsky, Sarah Cam, Alyssa Fox,

Dana-Brazil Solovee and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.