You're listening to the second and final part of Unexplained, Season seven, episode twelve, The Jungle Never Sleeps. It's the morning of June eleventh, twenty fourteen, roughly ten kilometers north of the Mirrodor lookout point where Lizana Froun and Chris Kramer's were last thought to have been heading before they disappeared ten weeks ago. IAmA Mirando, from the local Lingabe community, is heading to the banks of the Kulebra River, just to the north of Boccette, where Lizana and Chris had
been staying. The river runs more or less due north from the Mirrordor, the exact opposite direction of the word Culebra translates to snake in English or serpent, the perfect name to describe the twisting, winding path that it cuts through the jungle. As Irma approaches it, the river is full and fast flowing, the air warm and laden with mist. As she will later explain, Irma has come to the
river to bathe. She usually prefers a more secluded creek a little closer to her home, but for whatever reason, on this day, she is here, and as she draws closer to the bank, she notices something blue, caught up in a pile of driftwood between some boulders at the water's edge. It is quite clearly a rucksack. Inside, among other items, she finds a passport. She takes it out and flicks to the back page, where she finds the face of a young woman with ash blonde hair staring
back at her. The name beside it reads Lizana Froun. Later that day, Imma delivers the rucksack to a local police station. The bag is in good condition, with the exception of a few tears in the fabric, an indication perhaps that it had been dragged along the ground at some point, either while someone was wearing it or after
it had been removed. Strangely, it is reportedly dry and its contents in relatively good condition, despite being found on the banks of a river in the middle of the rainy season and the material of the bag not being waterproof. It is the first concrete clue in the case since the young women disappeared. Lezana Frun's passport and bank cart identify the bag as having belonged to her then, as well as two pairs of sunglasses, over eighty dollars in cash,
and two brands. Inside they find two phones, an iPhone belonging to Chris and a Samsung Galaxy belonging to Lisana, but also Loisana's camera with its memory card still in place. The bag is a huge find in the context of the case, but it also proves to be a missed opportunity.
Examiners from the Dutch Forensic Institute will later discover more than thirty unidentified fingerprints on the bag and its contents, from where first Imma Mirando touched it, then the police, then numerous others who rifled through it soon after it was found. Because Panamanian investigators failed to take prints of people related to the case, suspicious or outlying prints are not identified. DNA swabs are taken from the bag, but
only seem to deepen the mystery. DNA belonging to four separate individuals is found, with at least two being female, but neither are Leixanafroun or Chris Kramer's, and when the samples are run through the Panama police database, no match is found for them. Attention turns then to the phones and the camera. There is evidence there, no doubt, but it is fraught with its own complications, so much of this story is comparable to a walk into the jungle,
perhaps the very same walk that Lizana and Chris embarked upon. First, there is a trail things pieced together from their time in Bocchus and Bockhete, the messages home to fre and family, and the accounts of their host family and trip organizers. But as soon as they leave Bockette and head into the cloud forest, the trail becomes complicated. It becomes harder to penetrate the truth through the dark, overgrown tangle of story.
All that can be done, of course, is to try and retrace the steps their steps, and piece together what little clues there are. But even then, when a pathway seems to open up, perhaps it is in fact nothing of the sort. Instead, it is simply just an impression of a way through that invites us to step deeper into the jungle, only to find moments later that the path has now vanished, suddenly leaving us stranded and lost and clutching at straws for what it's worth. The call
records of the phones make for distress reading. Roughly six hours after they began their walk, at four thirty nine PM, a call was made from Chris's phone to the international emergency number one one two. Twelve minutes later, Liizana's phone makes the same call. Over twelve hours pass before Leasana's phone makes a second attempt to get through to the one one two emergency line that is followed an hour later by another attempt to do the same with Chris's phone.
A third attempt to reach one one two is made by Leizana's phone on April the second, at ten fifty two in the morning, as well as a call to nine one one, the Panamanian emergency number. Due to poor signal, none of the calls make it through. On April third, two days after the women disappeared, Chris's phone makes another unsuccessful attempt to dial nine one one, while Lizana's phone is switched off. The following day, that phone runs out
of battery. Over the next seven days, Chris's phone is turned on and off intermittently, perhaps in an effort to find a signal then preserve the battery. What's curious is that on the last four occasions when someone attempted to use the phone, it didn't work because they failed to enter the pin number correctly. On the eleventh of April, ten days after the women vanished, Chris's phone is turned on for the final time at ten fifty one a M.
Once again, the PIN number is entered incorrectly. The phone is left on for just over an hour and turned off at eleven fifty six a M. It had twenty two percent battery left. The failed pin attempts seemed to present three possibilities. One that Chris Kramer's, for whatever reason by this point, was no longer in possession of her phone.
Perhaps she had died or become separated from Losana, and it was Lisana, whose own phone had by then run out of battery, who tried unsuccessfully to use Chris's phone. The second possibility is that a third person was trying to use it, either someone who'd possibly attacked the young women and stolen their possessions, or someone who innocently came
across them while walking through the jungle. The third possibility is that it was Chris who tried to use the phone, but after the best part of a week without food and much water, had been too confused to remember her own pin. Possibilities three pathways to the truth, each stretching ahead of us and disappearing into the undergrowth. For the authorities, it is a tantalizing set of clues that reveals so much and so little at the same time. All hopes
are then pinned on the camera's memory card. Thankfully, it's in good condition and the pictures easy to access. The first batch of photos are very much what you'd expect from a tourist venturing out on an exciting trip to Panama. There are pictures of the two women leaving at the airport, the Starfish on a white, sandy beach. There are pictures of hostile interiors and unfamiliar faces met along the way. There are pictures too, of Lisana and Chris's hike into
the jungle and up to the mirror door. They look just like any two friends worked on such a day. The sky is blue and clear, you can see where the sun bakes them. They're on top of the world, their faces so alive with joy, while behind them the jungle stretches off into an endless sea of green valleys and mountain ridges. But there is something not quite right about the last few photos taken that day, taken around two PM, less than three hours before that first emergency
corps was attempted. The setting seems to have changed. The path has become thicker, the clouds in the sky have darkened, and the surrounding area seems to have shifted from mountain meadows to dense overgrowth. It seems as though the women have gone over the continental divide to the other side of the mountain, walking away from the path home. Since the camera was hers, most of the photos taken up to and including the day the women went missing were
taken by Lesana. Almost all of them feature Chris, and there's no reason to think a third party was present. Throughout Chris is normally laughing and beaming for the camera, but the last two photos of that batch are different. They're blurrier than the others, the images seeming further away, not as clear, and Chris looks unhappy, perhaps annoyed or stressed. It's hard to say, but she's definitely not beaming any longer.
Some have suggested that these last few photos are clear evidence that Lisana and Chris ended up on one of those other trails, the ones not maintained by National Park rangers, the ones only very experienced guides or indigenous locals would take. Just under three hours later, the first of the many distress calls are made from Chris's phone. In some ways, it would make so much sense if these were the
last photos taken. Perhaps with only these photos to go on, the impulse to see things that might not be there, and the temptation to imagine other pathways to the truth opening up would be diminished. But these were not the last photos taken. Those who were quite something else entirely Having been turned off for seven days, on April the eighth, at one thirty seven in the morning, the camera was turned on again. Over the course of four hours, a
total of a hu hundred pictures were taken. It was pitch black in the jungle at the time, so the camera's flash was used. The resultant images strange and abstract, of all the hallmarks of a found footage horror film. There are flashes of jungle, blurred images of the sky or earthen ground. Some images with blurred flares of light suggest it must have been raining at some point. Some of the pictures show what looked like a lightweight rickety
rope bridge across water. All of the photos were clearly taken in a dense jungle environment. The timing between them varies from a couple of seconds as fast as the camera can fire to over fifteen minutes. It's been suggested that within some of the images a pattern can be discerned. Some dark, indistinct pictures show an outcropping of rock, perhaps the edge of a ravine, as well as several tree
formations and various plants. Then whoever is taking the pictures moves slightly and we see those distinct markers again, this time shot from a slightly different perspective. Then the shooter moves once more and the pattern repeats. We see the same landscape and markers again from yet another angle. At no point are the women seen in the pictures, with the possible exception of one. It appears to be a shot of Chris Kramer's, its head a strawberry blonde hair
filling the frame. Even if we agree unequivocally that the image is of Chris Kramer's, there's no way of knowing if it was taken by her or if someone else was holding the camera. Interestingly, this picture was taken long after the failed attempts were made to get into her phone. Among the more strange photos are those that appear to depict makeshift markers, pieces of paper, and a loose branch placed on a stone with plastic bags wrapped around it.
Another image shows a roll of toilet tissue, possibly spelling out something on a boulder. Something rusted and shiny appears to have been placed in the center of the letters, something to reflect sunlight, perhaps in the hope of catching the attention of any aerial searches. During this time, the official search was well underway for the women and had
been ongoing for at least four days. Perhaps they even heard the search helicopters, or were they simply using the markers to remind themselves of where they'd been, or, as some have suggested, perhaps they were trying to communicate something about the area they'd found themselves in to whoever might find the photos. Of all the pictures, the image of what appears to be the back of Chris Kramers's head is the one that amateur sleuths keep coming back to
over the years. Some have claimed they can detect blood in her hair, or that you can make out her nose or mouth. The fact that the image has been cropped only helped to stir the imagination further. Did the authorities crop something out that they didn't want the public to see. Some have wandered either way. Once again, here is yet another impression of a pathway, an invitation to step deeper into the jungle, only for no clear path
to ever emerge. After Lusana's backpack was discovered, locals and the authorities alike renewed their search efforts once again. A short time later, a search party finds Chris's Denham's shorts caught up in a small waterfall on the Calebra River, just like any other item of debris washed out of the forest. They are found about two kilometers from where
Lezana's backpack was discovered. Between those two items runs a trail that includes three rickety bridges that take the walker back and forth across the Calebra River and in Gabe Village is not far away. Did the women fall into the fast moving waters? Were they injured? Were they taken? An image of the shorts, showing rips and scuff marks
on the backside, are posted online from there. They're compared by avid followers with the state of the show as they are seen on Chris as she smiles for the camera on that morning of April first, when the women made their way up to the mirrordor yet again there is the tantalizing sense of a clue, evidence she was dragged along the ground against her will perhaps, or evidence simply of the exact where and tear you'd expect to
find on denim. After ten weeks being buffeted about in rocky and stormy river waters, it's hard to see much beyond the darkness in many of the photos, which only seems to encourage more outlandish speculation. Was there a third person using the camera at some point, someone unfamiliar with
how it worked. Were Chris and Lisana using the flash to see something ahead in the dark, had a noise from the forest spooked them as they battled furiously to make their way out of the jungle, or were they simply using the flash to light the way as they trekked aimlessly through the night. And then there is the missing photo. When it was revealed that images had been recovered from Lizana's camera, a list of the downloaded images
was also provided. One hundred and thirty three photos were taken in total on and after April the first, the day the women went missing. The list of photos reveals that thirty three images numbered four hundred and seventy six to five hundred and eight were taken on April first, and images five hundred and ten to six hundred and nine one hundred in total were taken on that strange early morning of April eighth, but there is no image five one hundred and nine. There are many reasons why
this might be so. Perhaps Lizana deliberately deleted the image, highly unlikely given that no other image appears to have been deleted. Perhaps someone else deleted the image who was with the women that day, or maybe it was deleted by the authorities, either deliberately or by mistake. Or perhaps it never existed in the first place. It's not being
there just the result of a malfunction. Pathways open up, inviting us deeper into the jungle, but leading us to where exactly We can never know, but still the speculation continues. Survival experts weigh in with their opinions. The strange markings are clearly navigation aids, they say, a common tactic employed by lost hikers. It's easy to get confused in the jungle, they insist, and it's important to keep track of where
you've been, all of which is true. Another nine weeks of fruitless searching follows, and then one morning, a horrifying discovery is made not far from where the backpack was discovered. Hidden deep in the undergrowth, a pelvic bone is found. It's tested for DNA and comes back as a positive match for Chris Kramer's The search intensifies in response, with Panamanian authorities and local guides descending on the jungles once more.
Among them is Feliciano, the guide who'd apparently arranged to take Lesana and Chris into the jungle the day after they went missing. His ranch where they were to stay the night was only a couple of hours on foot from where the pelvic bone was discovered, and soon after there is another gruesome discovery. Loziana's left foot is found still in its boot were the small meta tarsls of Lisana's foot. These small pieces of bone have been used
to speculate further on Chris and Losiana's story. The bones were fractured, which some believe indicated a fall from a high place, likely while Lisiana was still alive. The different state of the women's bones also leads to more speculation. Loziana's bones found with skins still attached to them appear to display all the characteristics of the standard decomposition one would expect of human tissue left in a rainforest for months. Chris Kramer's pelvic bone, on the other hand, appears to
have been deliberately bleached. No marks or scratches were found on the bones either, which forensics believe likely rules out the involvement of a forest animal. Some forensic anthropologists claimed this could all be down to the micro environments of the rainforest, the varying temperatures and moisture levels, the changes in river currents and flora, the chemical compounds of all
the different soil types. It is true that these variables would affect decomposition, especially if the river played a part, but as ever, any more information than this is pure speculation. Soil samples not taken, and the precise location of where the remains were found was never recorded naturally, some are skeptical of this conclusion. Decomposition in the river would have left markings on the bone from friction with the river bed,
they insist. Furthermore, the pelvic bone of a young person is not likely to break in half under natural decomposition. The bone was also missing joint tissue that usually remained intact for years under natural decomposition. After an extensive investigation, Dutch authorities declared Lizanfron and Chris Kramer's most likely died by accident after getting lost in the jungle, but they also refused to rule out the possibility of foul play inti.
In November twenty fourteen, Panama's Attorney General Betseida Pity declared publicly that the women died in a tragic hiking accident, possibly falling into the river after getting lost before being dragged to their death. Were it not for the Internet, perhaps that's where this story would have ended. Instead, it gained an entirely new lease of life when the women's photos and diary excerpts were suddenly leaked online, and ever since has suspended it in an endless whirlpool of blurred
fact and fiction. Rumors exploded online that two boys photographed swimming by Lisana and Chris at the beginning of their ill fated hike were later found drowned. There were rumors too, that the taxi driver who dropped them off at the top of the trail was also found drowned under suspicious circumstances. And rumours that tour guide for Liciano as a criminal
son who lives in the jungle. There are even rumours that a sinister and violent organ trafficking ring operates within the country, and of course, speculation that the local and Gabe people who know the jungle intimately and have been persecuted for years, might have been involved. The Panamanian authorities have come in for heavy criticism too, for their perceived
lack of professionalism. There are unfounded accusations that they deliberately swept the investigation under the carpet, apparently afraid at what revealing the supposed truth of the girl's disappearance might do to the country's vital tourism industry. Much of this may be rooted in race, racism and postcolonial anti indigenous suspicion, but while Panama remains a popular tourist destination, there is a dark underbelly, felt most keenly by the women and
girls that aren't white who live there. In May twenty twenty two, protests were held regarding four hundred and forty four missing people in Panama, the majority of whom are women and girls. Most of those who are missing are thought to have disappeared in the province of Cherokee, the same province as the ill Pianista Trail where Chris and
Lisana went missing. The rates of extreme gender based violence in Latin America and the Caribbean are so high that it's been labeled a shadow pandemic by the UN, and it's thought that as many as one in three women and girls have experienced some sort of violence from men in their communities. None of which, however, takes away from the tragedy and mystery of Lizana Fron and Chris Kramer's death,
which remains a highly contentious topic in Panama incendury. Even people, especially in Bocketa, are said to discuss it only in hushed tones and behind closed doors and refuse journalists interviews. The sense of dissatisfaction in the Panamanian authority's accidental death
ruling is pervasive to this day. The rumors continue of organ trafficking, of rape and murder of violent criminals living deep in the jungle, and so do accusations of cover ups of the government prioritizing its reputation as a tourist hotspot over the truth. Twenteen nineteen, Chris Kramers's parents spoke to Dutch magazine Privey about their frustrations at what they considered to be a botched investigation. As her father Hahn, said, there were many loose ends. In my opinion and that
of many others, many mistakes have been made. We still have doubts about things like their digital camera and their mobile phones with which they tried to call after their disappearance. After they disappeared, photos were taken with the digital camera. We weren't allowed to mention even a word about this from the Panamanian authorities at the time. I can still
get very mad about it. But what's the point beyond the endless speculation and the rumors of amateur Internet detectives For those who are left behind, like Chris and Luzana's parents, whose every waking moment is genuinely haunted by vision of all those possible paths disappearing into the thick, jungled wilderness, there comes a time when you simply have to stop trying to see where they might go, when you have to turn around and leave while you still can, lest
you two get lost in the wilderness. I could write an encyclopedia ful by now, said Hans Kramer when it comes to errors that were made during the investigation. But there's no point in talking. In hindsight, we have to live with the fact that our daughter is no longer here. We picked our lives back up, but we will think about our dear daughter every day. Nobody can take that away from us. This episode was written by Ella macloud
and Richard McLean Smith. Thank you, as ever to all of you who've taken the time to listen to Unexplained. This season. Unexplained will take a short two week break for the holidays and will return in the new year on Friday, January twelfth. Until then, Unexplained as an av Club Productions podcast created by Richard McClain Smith. All other elements of the podcast, including the music, are also produced
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