The Last Picture of Kris Kremers Before She Vanished Into the Panamanian Jungle

This is one of the last known photographs of 21-year-old Kris Kremers, taken on April 1, 2014, during a hike with her 22-year-old friend Lisanne Froon on the El Pianista trail near Boquete, Panama. The two Dutch women had planned what was supposed to be a simple day hike. They had no idea that they would never return.

Photographs show that they reached the trail's summit and continued beyond it into the dense jungle instead of turning back. At 4:39 p.m. that afternoon, one of their phones was used to make an emergency call. Minutes later, the other phone was also used to contact emergency services. The calls failed because of the lack of a reliable signal. Over the following days, the phones were repeatedly switched on and off, with additional attempts to reach emergency services.

The women were reported missing after they failed to return and missed an appointment the following day. Search teams spent days combing the mountainous terrain, but there was no immediate sign of either woman. Then, weeks later, a blue backpack was found near a river. Inside were their phones, camera, money, sunglasses, passports and other personal belongings. The camera and phones became some of the most important pieces of evidence in the investigation.

Later searches uncovered human remains in the area, and DNA testing identified remains belonging to both Kris and Lisanne. Their deaths were never conclusively explained. The Panamanian investigation ultimately treated the case as an accident, while investigators and researchers have continued to debate whether the evidence can completely rule out other possibilities.

The case remains one of the most haunting mysteries surrounding a disappearance in Panama. And this photograph has become particularly unsettling—not because it proves what happened afterward, but because it captures Kris alive, walking through the forest with her friend, only hours before the two women disappeared forever.