1 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: You're listening to the second and final part of Unexplained, 2 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:26,080 Speaker 1: Season seven, episode twelve, The Jungle Never Sleeps. It's the 3 00:00:26,120 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: morning of June eleventh, twenty fourteen, roughly ten kilometers north 4 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:35,479 Speaker 1: of the Mirrodor lookout point where Lizana Froun and Chris 5 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: Kramer's were last thought to have been heading before they 6 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: disappeared ten weeks ago. IAmA Mirando, from the local Lingabe community, 7 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: is heading to the banks of the Kulebra River, just 8 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: to the north of Boccette, where Lizana and Chris had 9 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: been staying. The river runs more or less due north 10 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:02,240 Speaker 1: from the Mirrordor, the exact opposite direction of the word 11 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: Culebra translates to snake in English or serpent, the perfect 12 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,080 Speaker 1: name to describe the twisting, winding path that it cuts 13 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: through the jungle. As Irma approaches it, the river is 14 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: full and fast flowing, the air warm and laden with mist. 15 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: As she will later explain, Irma has come to the 16 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: river to bathe. She usually prefers a more secluded creek 17 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: a little closer to her home, but for whatever reason, 18 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,000 Speaker 1: on this day, she is here, and as she draws 19 00:01:38,040 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: closer to the bank, she notices something blue, caught up 20 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: in a pile of driftwood between some boulders at the 21 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: water's edge. It is quite clearly a rucksack. Inside, among 22 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: other items, she finds a passport. She takes it out 23 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: and flicks to the back page, where she finds the 24 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: face of a young woman with ash blonde hair staring 25 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:08,520 Speaker 1: back at her. The name beside it reads Lizana Froun. 26 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: Later that day, Imma delivers the rucksack to a local 27 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: police station. The bag is in good condition, with the 28 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: exception of a few tears in the fabric, an indication 29 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: perhaps that it had been dragged along the ground at 30 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 1: some point, either while someone was wearing it or after 31 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:35,920 Speaker 1: it had been removed. Strangely, it is reportedly dry and 32 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: its contents in relatively good condition, despite being found on 33 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:42,640 Speaker 1: the banks of a river in the middle of the 34 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: rainy season and the material of the bag not being waterproof. 35 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: It is the first concrete clue in the case since 36 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: the young women disappeared. Lezana Frun's passport and bank cart 37 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: identify the bag as having belonged to her then, as 38 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: well as two pairs of sunglasses, over eighty dollars in cash, 39 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:12,080 Speaker 1: and two brands. Inside they find two phones, an iPhone 40 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,800 Speaker 1: belonging to Chris and a Samsung Galaxy belonging to Lisana, 41 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:23,040 Speaker 1: but also Loisana's camera with its memory card still in place. 42 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: The bag is a huge find in the context of 43 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: the case, but it also proves to be a missed opportunity. 44 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: Examiners from the Dutch Forensic Institute will later discover more 45 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: than thirty unidentified fingerprints on the bag and its contents, 46 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 1: from where first Imma Mirando touched it, then the police, 47 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: then numerous others who rifled through it soon after it 48 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: was found. Because Panamanian investigators failed to take prints of 49 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:05,640 Speaker 1: people related to the case, suspicious or outlying prints are 50 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: not identified. DNA swabs are taken from the bag, but 51 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: only seem to deepen the mystery. DNA belonging to four 52 00:04:16,200 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: separate individuals is found, with at least two being female, 53 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: but neither are Leixanafroun or Chris Kramer's, and when the 54 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: samples are run through the Panama police database, no match 55 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 1: is found for them. Attention turns then to the phones 56 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:39,320 Speaker 1: and the camera. There is evidence there, no doubt, but 57 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: it is fraught with its own complications, so much of 58 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: this story is comparable to a walk into the jungle, 59 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: perhaps the very same walk that Lizana and Chris embarked upon. First, 60 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: there is a trail things pieced together from their time 61 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,799 Speaker 1: in Bocchus and Bockhete, the messages home to fre and family, 62 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:04,600 Speaker 1: and the accounts of their host family and trip organizers. 63 00:05:05,279 --> 00:05:08,160 Speaker 1: But as soon as they leave Bockette and head into 64 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:13,320 Speaker 1: the cloud forest, the trail becomes complicated. It becomes harder 65 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:18,000 Speaker 1: to penetrate the truth through the dark, overgrown tangle of story. 66 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,799 Speaker 1: All that can be done, of course, is to try 67 00:05:21,839 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: and retrace the steps their steps, and piece together what 68 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: little clues there are. But even then, when a pathway 69 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: seems to open up, perhaps it is in fact nothing 70 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:39,400 Speaker 1: of the sort. Instead, it is simply just an impression 71 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: of a way through that invites us to step deeper 72 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 1: into the jungle, only to find moments later that the 73 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:51,680 Speaker 1: path has now vanished, suddenly leaving us stranded and lost 74 00:05:52,160 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: and clutching at straws for what it's worth. The call 75 00:05:57,560 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: records of the phones make for distress reading. Roughly six 76 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: hours after they began their walk, at four thirty nine PM, 77 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: a call was made from Chris's phone to the international 78 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:16,560 Speaker 1: emergency number one one two. Twelve minutes later, Liizana's phone 79 00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: makes the same call. Over twelve hours pass before Leasana's 80 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: phone makes a second attempt to get through to the 81 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:28,600 Speaker 1: one one two emergency line that is followed an hour 82 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:32,480 Speaker 1: later by another attempt to do the same with Chris's phone. 83 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:36,560 Speaker 1: A third attempt to reach one one two is made 84 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 1: by Leizana's phone on April the second, at ten fifty 85 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: two in the morning, as well as a call to 86 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:48,600 Speaker 1: nine one one, the Panamanian emergency number. Due to poor signal, 87 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: none of the calls make it through. On April third, 88 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:58,239 Speaker 1: two days after the women disappeared, Chris's phone makes another 89 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: unsuccessful attempt to dial nine one one, while Lizana's phone 90 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 1: is switched off. The following day, that phone runs out 91 00:07:08,320 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: of battery. Over the next seven days, Chris's phone is 92 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:23,120 Speaker 1: turned on and off intermittently, perhaps in an effort to 93 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: find a signal then preserve the battery. What's curious is 94 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: that on the last four occasions when someone attempted to 95 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: use the phone, it didn't work because they failed to 96 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,400 Speaker 1: enter the pin number correctly. On the eleventh of April, 97 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: ten days after the women vanished, Chris's phone is turned 98 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: on for the final time at ten fifty one a M. 99 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: Once again, the PIN number is entered incorrectly. The phone 100 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: is left on for just over an hour and turned 101 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 1: off at eleven fifty six a M. It had twenty 102 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: two percent battery left. The failed pin attempts seemed to 103 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: present three possibilities. One that Chris Kramer's, for whatever reason 104 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: by this point, was no longer in possession of her phone. 105 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: Perhaps she had died or become separated from Losana, and 106 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: it was Lisana, whose own phone had by then run 107 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: out of battery, who tried unsuccessfully to use Chris's phone. 108 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:33,240 Speaker 1: The second possibility is that a third person was trying 109 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: to use it, either someone who'd possibly attacked the young 110 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: women and stolen their possessions, or someone who innocently came 111 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:47,640 Speaker 1: across them while walking through the jungle. The third possibility 112 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: is that it was Chris who tried to use the phone, 113 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: but after the best part of a week without food 114 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:57,640 Speaker 1: and much water, had been too confused to remember her 115 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: own pin. Possibilities three pathways to the truth, each stretching 116 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: ahead of us and disappearing into the undergrowth. For the authorities, 117 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: it is a tantalizing set of clues that reveals so 118 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,480 Speaker 1: much and so little at the same time. All hopes 119 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:23,880 Speaker 1: are then pinned on the camera's memory card. Thankfully, it's 120 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: in good condition and the pictures easy to access. The 121 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,440 Speaker 1: first batch of photos are very much what you'd expect 122 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: from a tourist venturing out on an exciting trip to Panama. 123 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: There are pictures of the two women leaving at the airport, 124 00:09:42,160 --> 00:09:45,720 Speaker 1: the Starfish on a white, sandy beach. There are pictures 125 00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: of hostile interiors and unfamiliar faces met along the way. 126 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:55,040 Speaker 1: There are pictures too, of Lisana and Chris's hike into 127 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: the jungle and up to the mirror door. They look 128 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: just like any two friends worked on such a day. 129 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: The sky is blue and clear, you can see where 130 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: the sun bakes them. They're on top of the world, 131 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: their faces so alive with joy, while behind them the 132 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,960 Speaker 1: jungle stretches off into an endless sea of green valleys 133 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,320 Speaker 1: and mountain ridges. But there is something not quite right 134 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: about the last few photos taken that day, taken around 135 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:32,480 Speaker 1: two PM, less than three hours before that first emergency 136 00:10:32,559 --> 00:10:37,679 Speaker 1: corps was attempted. The setting seems to have changed. The 137 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 1: path has become thicker, the clouds in the sky have darkened, 138 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,959 Speaker 1: and the surrounding area seems to have shifted from mountain 139 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 1: meadows to dense overgrowth. It seems as though the women 140 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: have gone over the continental divide to the other side 141 00:10:55,320 --> 00:11:09,600 Speaker 1: of the mountain, walking away from the path home. Since 142 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: the camera was hers, most of the photos taken up 143 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: to and including the day the women went missing were 144 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:21,160 Speaker 1: taken by Lesana. Almost all of them feature Chris, and 145 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,439 Speaker 1: there's no reason to think a third party was present. 146 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,360 Speaker 1: Throughout Chris is normally laughing and beaming for the camera, 147 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:33,520 Speaker 1: but the last two photos of that batch are different. 148 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:38,560 Speaker 1: They're blurrier than the others, the images seeming further away, 149 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:45,480 Speaker 1: not as clear, and Chris looks unhappy, perhaps annoyed or stressed. 150 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:49,959 Speaker 1: It's hard to say, but she's definitely not beaming any longer. 151 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 1: Some have suggested that these last few photos are clear 152 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:58,160 Speaker 1: evidence that Lisana and Chris ended up on one of 153 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:03,319 Speaker 1: those other trails, the ones not maintained by National Park rangers, 154 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: the ones only very experienced guides or indigenous locals would take. 155 00:12:10,800 --> 00:12:13,920 Speaker 1: Just under three hours later, the first of the many 156 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: distress calls are made from Chris's phone. In some ways, 157 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,120 Speaker 1: it would make so much sense if these were the 158 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 1: last photos taken. Perhaps with only these photos to go on, 159 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,440 Speaker 1: the impulse to see things that might not be there, 160 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: and the temptation to imagine other pathways to the truth 161 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: opening up would be diminished. But these were not the 162 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: last photos taken. Those who were quite something else entirely 163 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: Having been turned off for seven days, on April the eighth, 164 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,560 Speaker 1: at one thirty seven in the morning, the camera was 165 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:59,000 Speaker 1: turned on again. Over the course of four hours, a 166 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:02,719 Speaker 1: total of a hu hundred pictures were taken. It was 167 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: pitch black in the jungle at the time, so the 168 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:11,199 Speaker 1: camera's flash was used. The resultant images strange and abstract, 169 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: of all the hallmarks of a found footage horror film. 170 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:19,480 Speaker 1: There are flashes of jungle, blurred images of the sky 171 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:24,360 Speaker 1: or earthen ground. Some images with blurred flares of light 172 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,480 Speaker 1: suggest it must have been raining at some point. Some 173 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:32,120 Speaker 1: of the pictures show what looked like a lightweight rickety 174 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: rope bridge across water. All of the photos were clearly 175 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:42,160 Speaker 1: taken in a dense jungle environment. The timing between them 176 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:45,560 Speaker 1: varies from a couple of seconds as fast as the 177 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: camera can fire to over fifteen minutes. It's been suggested 178 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: that within some of the images a pattern can be discerned. 179 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:01,800 Speaker 1: Some dark, indistinct pictures show an outcropping of rock, perhaps 180 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: the edge of a ravine, as well as several tree 181 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:10,160 Speaker 1: formations and various plants. Then whoever is taking the pictures 182 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: moves slightly and we see those distinct markers again, this 183 00:14:14,960 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: time shot from a slightly different perspective. Then the shooter 184 00:14:19,480 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: moves once more and the pattern repeats. We see the 185 00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: same landscape and markers again from yet another angle. At 186 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: no point are the women seen in the pictures, with 187 00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:36,920 Speaker 1: the possible exception of one. It appears to be a 188 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: shot of Chris Kramer's, its head a strawberry blonde hair 189 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: filling the frame. Even if we agree unequivocally that the 190 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 1: image is of Chris Kramer's, there's no way of knowing 191 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,360 Speaker 1: if it was taken by her or if someone else 192 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:57,680 Speaker 1: was holding the camera. Interestingly, this picture was taken long 193 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: after the failed attempts were made to get into her phone. 194 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 1: Among the more strange photos are those that appear to 195 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:18,440 Speaker 1: depict makeshift markers, pieces of paper, and a loose branch 196 00:15:18,720 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 1: placed on a stone with plastic bags wrapped around it. 197 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 1: Another image shows a roll of toilet tissue, possibly spelling 198 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: out something on a boulder. Something rusted and shiny appears 199 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,120 Speaker 1: to have been placed in the center of the letters, 200 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: something to reflect sunlight, perhaps in the hope of catching 201 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: the attention of any aerial searches. During this time, the 202 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:48,360 Speaker 1: official search was well underway for the women and had 203 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 1: been ongoing for at least four days. Perhaps they even 204 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: heard the search helicopters, or were they simply using the 205 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: markers to remind themselves of where they'd been, or, as 206 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: some have suggested, perhaps they were trying to communicate something 207 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: about the area they'd found themselves in to whoever might 208 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: find the photos. Of all the pictures, the image of 209 00:16:14,640 --> 00:16:17,520 Speaker 1: what appears to be the back of Chris Kramers's head 210 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,960 Speaker 1: is the one that amateur sleuths keep coming back to 211 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: over the years. Some have claimed they can detect blood 212 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: in her hair, or that you can make out her 213 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: nose or mouth. The fact that the image has been 214 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: cropped only helped to stir the imagination further. Did the 215 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,280 Speaker 1: authorities crop something out that they didn't want the public 216 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: to see. Some have wandered either way. Once again, here 217 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: is yet another impression of a pathway, an invitation to 218 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: step deeper into the jungle, only for no clear path 219 00:16:55,040 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: to ever emerge. After Lusana's backpack was discovered, locals and 220 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: the authorities alike renewed their search efforts once again. A 221 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 1: short time later, a search party finds Chris's Denham's shorts 222 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: caught up in a small waterfall on the Calebra River, 223 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: just like any other item of debris washed out of 224 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: the forest. They are found about two kilometers from where 225 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: Lezana's backpack was discovered. Between those two items runs a 226 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: trail that includes three rickety bridges that take the walker 227 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: back and forth across the Calebra River and in Gabe 228 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:42,400 Speaker 1: Village is not far away. Did the women fall into 229 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,199 Speaker 1: the fast moving waters? Were they injured? Were they taken? 230 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,359 Speaker 1: An image of the shorts, showing rips and scuff marks 231 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:57,399 Speaker 1: on the backside, are posted online from there. They're compared 232 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,680 Speaker 1: by avid followers with the state of the show as 233 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 1: they are seen on Chris as she smiles for the 234 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:07,159 Speaker 1: camera on that morning of April first, when the women 235 00:18:07,359 --> 00:18:11,920 Speaker 1: made their way up to the mirrordor yet again there 236 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: is the tantalizing sense of a clue, evidence she was 237 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:20,400 Speaker 1: dragged along the ground against her will perhaps, or evidence 238 00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: simply of the exact where and tear you'd expect to 239 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: find on denim. After ten weeks being buffeted about in 240 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: rocky and stormy river waters, it's hard to see much 241 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,440 Speaker 1: beyond the darkness in many of the photos, which only 242 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:47,520 Speaker 1: seems to encourage more outlandish speculation. Was there a third 243 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: person using the camera at some point, someone unfamiliar with 244 00:18:52,680 --> 00:18:57,200 Speaker 1: how it worked. Were Chris and Lisana using the flash 245 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: to see something ahead in the dark, had a noise 246 00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:04,919 Speaker 1: from the forest spooked them as they battled furiously to 247 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,239 Speaker 1: make their way out of the jungle, or were they 248 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,800 Speaker 1: simply using the flash to light the way as they 249 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:17,000 Speaker 1: trekked aimlessly through the night. And then there is the 250 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:21,760 Speaker 1: missing photo. When it was revealed that images had been 251 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: recovered from Lizana's camera, a list of the downloaded images 252 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,640 Speaker 1: was also provided. One hundred and thirty three photos were 253 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:34,760 Speaker 1: taken in total on and after April the first, the 254 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: day the women went missing. The list of photos reveals 255 00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:43,119 Speaker 1: that thirty three images numbered four hundred and seventy six 256 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 1: to five hundred and eight were taken on April first, 257 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: and images five hundred and ten to six hundred and 258 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:54,879 Speaker 1: nine one hundred in total were taken on that strange 259 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:59,600 Speaker 1: early morning of April eighth, but there is no image 260 00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: five one hundred and nine. There are many reasons why 261 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,400 Speaker 1: this might be so. Perhaps Lizana deliberately deleted the image, 262 00:20:09,040 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 1: highly unlikely given that no other image appears to have 263 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 1: been deleted. Perhaps someone else deleted the image who was 264 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: with the women that day, or maybe it was deleted 265 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: by the authorities, either deliberately or by mistake. Or perhaps 266 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 1: it never existed in the first place. It's not being 267 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:36,680 Speaker 1: there just the result of a malfunction. Pathways open up, 268 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:41,119 Speaker 1: inviting us deeper into the jungle, but leading us to 269 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:47,840 Speaker 1: where exactly We can never know, but still the speculation continues. 270 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:53,399 Speaker 1: Survival experts weigh in with their opinions. The strange markings 271 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: are clearly navigation aids, they say, a common tactic employed 272 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: by lost hikers. It's easy to get confused in the jungle, 273 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,640 Speaker 1: they insist, and it's important to keep track of where 274 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:11,760 Speaker 1: you've been, all of which is true. Another nine weeks 275 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:17,320 Speaker 1: of fruitless searching follows, and then one morning, a horrifying 276 00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: discovery is made not far from where the backpack was discovered. 277 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:36,199 Speaker 1: Hidden deep in the undergrowth, a pelvic bone is found. 278 00:21:36,920 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 1: It's tested for DNA and comes back as a positive 279 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:46,960 Speaker 1: match for Chris Kramer's The search intensifies in response, with 280 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: Panamanian authorities and local guides descending on the jungles once more. 281 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:57,280 Speaker 1: Among them is Feliciano, the guide who'd apparently arranged to 282 00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:01,040 Speaker 1: take Lesana and Chris into the jungle the day after 283 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:05,320 Speaker 1: they went missing. His ranch where they were to stay 284 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: the night was only a couple of hours on foot 285 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:13,359 Speaker 1: from where the pelvic bone was discovered, and soon after 286 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: there is another gruesome discovery. Loziana's left foot is found 287 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:24,359 Speaker 1: still in its boot were the small meta tarsls of 288 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: Lisana's foot. These small pieces of bone have been used 289 00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:42,400 Speaker 1: to speculate further on Chris and Losiana's story. The bones 290 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: were fractured, which some believe indicated a fall from a 291 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:52,360 Speaker 1: high place, likely while Lisiana was still alive. The different 292 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:56,640 Speaker 1: state of the women's bones also leads to more speculation. 293 00:22:57,840 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: Loziana's bones found with skins still attached to them appear 294 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:07,160 Speaker 1: to display all the characteristics of the standard decomposition one 295 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,280 Speaker 1: would expect of human tissue left in a rainforest for months. 296 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: Chris Kramer's pelvic bone, on the other hand, appears to 297 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:21,000 Speaker 1: have been deliberately bleached. No marks or scratches were found 298 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 1: on the bones either, which forensics believe likely rules out 299 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: the involvement of a forest animal. Some forensic anthropologists claimed 300 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:34,240 Speaker 1: this could all be down to the micro environments of 301 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:39,400 Speaker 1: the rainforest, the varying temperatures and moisture levels, the changes 302 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 1: in river currents and flora, the chemical compounds of all 303 00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:47,920 Speaker 1: the different soil types. It is true that these variables 304 00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:52,120 Speaker 1: would affect decomposition, especially if the river played a part, 305 00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:57,400 Speaker 1: but as ever, any more information than this is pure speculation. 306 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,120 Speaker 1: Soil samples not taken, and the precise location of where 307 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: the remains were found was never recorded naturally, some are 308 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:13,440 Speaker 1: skeptical of this conclusion. Decomposition in the river would have 309 00:24:13,520 --> 00:24:17,320 Speaker 1: left markings on the bone from friction with the river bed, 310 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:22,240 Speaker 1: they insist. Furthermore, the pelvic bone of a young person 311 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:26,360 Speaker 1: is not likely to break in half under natural decomposition. 312 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: The bone was also missing joint tissue that usually remained 313 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:44,240 Speaker 1: intact for years under natural decomposition. After an extensive investigation, 314 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:50,720 Speaker 1: Dutch authorities declared Lizanfron and Chris Kramer's most likely died 315 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:55,440 Speaker 1: by accident after getting lost in the jungle, but they 316 00:24:55,480 --> 00:25:00,160 Speaker 1: also refused to rule out the possibility of foul play inti. 317 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: In November twenty fourteen, Panama's Attorney General Betseida Pity declared 318 00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:12,280 Speaker 1: publicly that the women died in a tragic hiking accident, 319 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,160 Speaker 1: possibly falling into the river after getting lost before being 320 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: dragged to their death. Were it not for the Internet, 321 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:27,399 Speaker 1: perhaps that's where this story would have ended. Instead, it 322 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: gained an entirely new lease of life when the women's 323 00:25:31,119 --> 00:25:36,240 Speaker 1: photos and diary excerpts were suddenly leaked online, and ever 324 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:40,920 Speaker 1: since has suspended it in an endless whirlpool of blurred 325 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:48,040 Speaker 1: fact and fiction. Rumors exploded online that two boys photographed 326 00:25:48,080 --> 00:25:51,400 Speaker 1: swimming by Lisana and Chris at the beginning of their 327 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: ill fated hike were later found drowned. There were rumors too, 328 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:59,679 Speaker 1: that the taxi driver who dropped them off at the 329 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:06,160 Speaker 1: top of the trail was also found drowned under suspicious circumstances. 330 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: And rumours that tour guide for Liciano as a criminal 331 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:14,120 Speaker 1: son who lives in the jungle. There are even rumours 332 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 1: that a sinister and violent organ trafficking ring operates within 333 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:23,639 Speaker 1: the country, and of course, speculation that the local and 334 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 1: Gabe people who know the jungle intimately and have been 335 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: persecuted for years, might have been involved. The Panamanian authorities 336 00:26:34,600 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: have come in for heavy criticism too, for their perceived 337 00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:44,120 Speaker 1: lack of professionalism. There are unfounded accusations that they deliberately 338 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 1: swept the investigation under the carpet, apparently afraid at what 339 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: revealing the supposed truth of the girl's disappearance might do 340 00:26:53,600 --> 00:26:59,040 Speaker 1: to the country's vital tourism industry. Much of this may 341 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 1: be rooted in race, racism and postcolonial anti indigenous suspicion, 342 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:09,199 Speaker 1: but while Panama remains a popular tourist destination, there is 343 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:12,879 Speaker 1: a dark underbelly, felt most keenly by the women and 344 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:17,879 Speaker 1: girls that aren't white who live there. In May twenty 345 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:22,240 Speaker 1: twenty two, protests were held regarding four hundred and forty 346 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: four missing people in Panama, the majority of whom are 347 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:30,440 Speaker 1: women and girls. Most of those who are missing are 348 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,959 Speaker 1: thought to have disappeared in the province of Cherokee, the 349 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 1: same province as the ill Pianista Trail where Chris and 350 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:49,400 Speaker 1: Lisana went missing. The rates of extreme gender based violence 351 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,280 Speaker 1: in Latin America and the Caribbean are so high that 352 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:57,280 Speaker 1: it's been labeled a shadow pandemic by the UN, and 353 00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 1: it's thought that as many as one in three women 354 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:04,160 Speaker 1: and girls have experienced some sort of violence from men 355 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,800 Speaker 1: in their communities. None of which, however, takes away from 356 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,720 Speaker 1: the tragedy and mystery of Lizana Fron and Chris Kramer's death, 357 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:20,679 Speaker 1: which remains a highly contentious topic in Panama incendury. Even people, 358 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 1: especially in Bocketa, are said to discuss it only in 359 00:28:25,240 --> 00:28:31,000 Speaker 1: hushed tones and behind closed doors and refuse journalists interviews. 360 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 1: The sense of dissatisfaction in the Panamanian authority's accidental death 361 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: ruling is pervasive to this day. The rumors continue of 362 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:47,600 Speaker 1: organ trafficking, of rape and murder of violent criminals living 363 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: deep in the jungle, and so do accusations of cover 364 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: ups of the government prioritizing its reputation as a tourist 365 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: hotspot over the truth. Twenteen nineteen, Chris Kramers's parents spoke 366 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,760 Speaker 1: to Dutch magazine Privey about their frustrations at what they 367 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 1: considered to be a botched investigation. As her father Hahn, said, 368 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:17,160 Speaker 1: there were many loose ends. In my opinion and that 369 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: of many others, many mistakes have been made. We still 370 00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:25,480 Speaker 1: have doubts about things like their digital camera and their 371 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: mobile phones with which they tried to call after their disappearance. 372 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:34,440 Speaker 1: After they disappeared, photos were taken with the digital camera. 373 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: We weren't allowed to mention even a word about this 374 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:42,000 Speaker 1: from the Panamanian authorities at the time. I can still 375 00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: get very mad about it. But what's the point beyond 376 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: the endless speculation and the rumors of amateur Internet detectives 377 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,560 Speaker 1: For those who are left behind, like Chris and Luzana's parents, 378 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:00,520 Speaker 1: whose every waking moment is genuinely haunted by vision of 379 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 1: all those possible paths disappearing into the thick, jungled wilderness, 380 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,920 Speaker 1: there comes a time when you simply have to stop 381 00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:13,760 Speaker 1: trying to see where they might go, when you have 382 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,640 Speaker 1: to turn around and leave while you still can, lest 383 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 1: you two get lost in the wilderness. I could write 384 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:27,120 Speaker 1: an encyclopedia ful by now, said Hans Kramer when it 385 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,720 Speaker 1: comes to errors that were made during the investigation. But 386 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,480 Speaker 1: there's no point in talking. In hindsight, we have to 387 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:38,200 Speaker 1: live with the fact that our daughter is no longer here. 388 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: We picked our lives back up, but we will think 389 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:47,560 Speaker 1: about our dear daughter every day. Nobody can take that 390 00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:53,960 Speaker 1: away from us. This episode was written by Ella macloud 391 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: and Richard McLean Smith. Thank you, as ever to all 392 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 1: of you who've taken the time to listen to Unexplained. 393 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:04,840 Speaker 1: This season. Unexplained will take a short two week break 394 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:07,680 Speaker 1: for the holidays and will return in the new year 395 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:17,120 Speaker 1: on Friday, January twelfth. Until then, Unexplained as an av 396 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:22,280 Speaker 1: Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain Smith. All other 397 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 1: elements of the podcast, including the music, are also produced 398 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 1: by me Richard mclin smith. Unexplained. The book and audiobook, 399 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: with stories never before featured on the show, is now 400 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:38,400 Speaker 1: available to buy worldwide. You can purchase from Amazon, Barnes 401 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: and Noble, Waterstones and other bookstores. 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