This podcast contains conversations about violence, death, sexual assault,

and includes explicit language. Please take care while listening.

Some mysteries stick with you. The theories, the what-ifs, the unknowns.

I've spent the better part of this year trying to figure out what happened to two young women

vanished while on a hike in Panama. They had traveled to Latin America where I'm from,

to learn Spanish and volunteer with young children. But they never made it back home.

Panamanian government has their official version of what happened to them.

But the locals, the people who really live in the small town of Bucuete, Panama,

where the story takes place, they have another darker tale to tell.

But let's start from the beginning.

Chris Cramer's and the San Frone were two friends in their 20s who came to Panama in 2014.

They were roommates who worked at the same cafe together in the Netherlands.

They just graduated from university and they save up money to plan the trip of a lifetime.

Two months in Central America. Two months to hike, sightseeing, learn the language,

soak up the culture. They left for their adventure in March of 2014.

They first landed in Costa Rica and then traveled to the islands of Bocas del Codo in Panama.

They made friends and watched dolphins and starfish and dance still for in the morning.

In Herdair, Chris described a fairy tale island.

The water is so clear here, super beautiful, truly a fairy tale island.

I have never seen a place with such a beautiful coastline and palm trees.

But when they left Bocas for the tiny Manamanian town of Bucuete, their fairy tale journey

took a dark turn. Soon after arriving, the sand road in Herjournal.

...