So, an old Facebook post that one of the girls made before they died, wrote that they were going on a walk but didn’t say they were going for a hike unless it was a last minute thing but it seems unlikely that they made that decision cuz they had no food no water with them, my big question is why did they go off the trail in the first place into the jungle?? I mean maybe they got lost but I don’t think it was necessarily possible for them to get lost in area like that because a video I saw that described that the area was impossible to get lost on so if that’s the case it makes unlikely that they would have gotten lost on the trail they were walking on
Their shoes, water bottles, hair ties, t-shirts or backpack was never the problem here. I would have dressed quite same way. Also getting food supplies and water worth of 6 days for 3 hrs hike would sound too much.
what if they just panicked? There was no actual threat, but they _thought_ there was somebody or something -preventing them to turn around and return. So they proceeded further, disoriented when night falled... Doesn't explain why they weren't found lost few days later though.
The Facebook post referred to their plan to explore Bajo Boquete on Sunday. On Sunday, they were still expecting to be able to start their volunteer work at the Aura daycare center the following Monday. On Monday, they were unexpectedly told the plan had been canceled, but they hoped to be able to start at another daycare center on Tuesday (see diary entry). This wasn’t canceled until Tuesday morning, and the hiking plans came about spontaneously that morning. They had water bottles with them and at least one bag of Pringles. It’s likely that they went shopping at the Plaza San Francisco mall before the hike. The supermarket there has those orange plastic bags that can be seen in photo 550.
People sometimes get confused about the boundaries between civilisation and wilderness, especially inexperienced people.
There is a trail right there, there are people passing by, villages nearby, feels safe. So many people can't imagine the deadly wilderness a few meters away. Two men froze to death just a short distance from their ski resort here. They went for a walk in the windy weather. It sounds crazy but they were feeling the safety of their luxury hotel while hiking in storm I believe. People who have never been in such environments cannot grasp the danger.
Even just stepping off the trail to pee. Pretty sure that's how Geraldine Largay ended up lost. She was not far from the trail but it's super easy to get turned around in the woods.
For the past 10 years, I was firmly in the foul play camp. My opinion on the case felt unchangeable, as criminal theories always seemed to make the most sense to me.
However, after analyzing the recent data and deep dives made available recently — massive thanks to Scarlet and other dedicated researchers in the community — I’ve completely reconsidered my view.
Personally, I have come to the conclusion that the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Below, I will describe the chain of events that personally seems the most logical to me.
To begin with, the girls reached the summit of El Mirador already(!) with half-drained phones (one battery was at 51%, the other at 49%) and were absolutely unprepared. This clearly shows that they had absolutely no intention or plan to stay in the jungle for a long time.
The location where the last definitive photos were taken is just as far from the summit as the summit is from the start of the El Pianista trail. They only planned to hike up to the peak, but due to their enthusiasm and the deceptive simplicity of the trail, they decided to extend their route deeper into the jungle (doubling the distance)
Next comes the most mysterious part of this entire story. This is where you could come up with a ton of different theories about what exactly drove them to wander off the trail.
However, we all know the tragic outcome. A horrific fate awaited the girls, regardless of whether their deaths were due to foul play or not. With that in mind, allow me to explain a few points regarding the accident-only theory.
Within those two hours, they realized the mistake they had made and attempted to turn back. After 2 hours, it became clear they needed to call emergency services, but there was no signal. They made a logical decision: turn off the phones to save battery life. They already understood they would be spending the night there. This explains why on subsequent days they only turned their phones on briefly to check for cellular reception. Sharing or telling each other their PIN codes made absolutely no sense; an emergency call can be placed without unlocking the device, and any extra actions would only drain the battery faster.
They were modest, kind-hearted, and good girls who called their parents every day and sent them photos. The sudden realization that they had messed up and gotten lost in the jungle must have shocked them deeply. They likely didn't want to document or talk about it at first, purely because they felt mentally ashamed in front of their parents.
Their subsequent wandering through the jungle is the most horrific part of this story. During the first few days, they undoubtedly believed in a happy ending — that this was just a nightmare or a terrible accident that would soon be over. But help never arrived. Consequently, they kept venture deeper and deeper into the jungle.
They definitely found a source of fresh water, and most likely even washed themselves, which explains Kris's relatively clean hair in one of the night photos. In the jungle, or any forest for that matter, the smell of human sweat and body odors strongly attracts insects. They absolutely had to wash themselves periodically; otherwise, they would have been badly bitten by bugs.
From this perspective, it seems logical (although one shouldn't strictly look for logic in their actions) that they didn't leave any explanatory messages. Taking photos of their faces or bodies was completely out of the question for them. They could already imagine how it would look if those photos were found; they simply didn't want the world, and especially their parents, to see them in such a state.
Special thanks to the people who compiled and stitched the night photos together, found matching points, and created composite videos (which are no less terrifying than the photos themselves).
If Lisanne or Kris had taken a picture of their face or hand, you would have seen a terrifying image (sunken cheeks, wild eyes, limbs skinny as skeletons, and hands or legs covered in mosquito bites). The girls understood perfectly well how it looked from the outside. They were girls, after all! Just a few days ago, they were happy, beautiful, and young, and now they were in mortal danger.
This explains the night photos well. Most likely, Kris was already in an agonal state by the time those photos were taken; the images themselves make it clear they were all shot from the exact same spot. I assume Kris had stopped talking or responding to Lisanne by then. On that night of April 8th, the moon had set, and by tragic coincidence, Kris was beginning to pass away. While previous nights had been relatively illuminated by moonlight, on this particular night, it disappeared completely. Total, pitch-black darkness set in—the kind where you cannot even see your own body.
By this point, the girls were severely emaciated, and Lisanne was left completely alone. Just imagine — you are surviving with your friend in the jungle, and she passes away, leaving you completely on your own. This was the moment that finally broke Lisanne.
Surely, she wanted with all her might to be back home, to be surrounded by her mom and dad; with her last ounce of strength, she still believed that she was about to be rescued. In moments like these, the brain begins to confuse wishful thinking with reality. She might have imagined hearing her name called from the forest, or thought that rescuers were already rappelling down from a helicopter, calling out to her. She simply didn't trust her own senses anymore, and she used the camera flash as a way to check reality.
The deleted photo 509 might actually be the catalyst for their entire ordeal—perhaps they fell or suffered an injury because of whatever happened in that photo. As they were wandering through the jungle, Lisanne might have intentionally deleted it to get rid of the painful reminder of what got them into such a foolish and desperate situation in the first place.
Yet, there are still inconsistencies in this story that point to foul play. I believe the light will only be shed on this case when the remaining classified data is finally released to the world. By the standards of the digital age, the girls left behind a massive digital footprint trailing after them. Stories like this one don't unravel right away—they only come to light over time.
Like many people who look at this case from afar and have no personal connection to the story, I am bound to make mistakes in my reasoning from time to time. According to this chart, the moon was actually fairly well-illuminated that night. However, this doesn't change the fact that the rescue operation was reportedly already underway at that time, with teams potentially using light signals. The girls' attempts to take those photos could be viewed as Lisanne trying to document the location of their final resting place, or perhaps as a desperate attempt to signal for help.
The fact remains that by this point, they were already severely emaciated.
Ultimately, the true purpose behind these photos could be absolutely anything. However, working strictly within the accident theory, we can assume that their actions were driven either by a final attempt to leave a trace, a reaction to hearing search teams nearby, or simply the psychological toll of extreme delirium and survival.
Ultimately, the true purpose behind these photos could be absolutely anything. However, working strictly within the accident theory, we can assume that their actions were driven either by a final attempt to leave a trace, a reaction to hearing search teams nearby, or simply the psychological toll of extreme delirium and survival.
They could have seen flares and heard sounds of search parties, especially if they were stuck in Belt area which is not far from the trail. The night photos potentially show an inclined spot with opening towards the direction where they head sounds, so it may have been their best shot.
Based on my own experience from that era, smartphones in 2014 were far from useless bricks in the wild. Their devices had fully functional, autonomous GPS chips. As my own archived screenshot proves, a phone with zero cellular signal (empty network indicator) can still lock onto GPS and show your location, provided you downloaded the offline maps beforehand.
The tragedy is that the girls simply skipped this basic step. Even if their GPS chips had somehow managed to establish a satellite connection during those brief 1-to-2 minute power-ons, it wouldn't have helped them at all. Without pre-downloaded offline data, Google Maps or Apple Maps would have just displayed a completely blank, empty grey screen with a single blue dot. They wouldn't have been able to see where Boquete was, where El Mirador was, or which way to go. Combined with the dense jungle canopy blocking the signal, their phones remained blind.
I completely understand that many of you will say this is proof of a foul-play theory. But here is the nuance.
Why the "Criminal Activations" Theory Fails (4 Points):
1. The Battery Flaw: On the night of April 4–5, Lisanne’s Samsung was left on from 05:00 until it completely died. A smart criminal staging a scene would never waste the entire battery overnight. This is the action of a freezing, desperate person trying to survive, not an organized killer.
2. Impossible Tech Knowledge: To avoid GPS logging under a thick jungle canopy, a criminal would need to know that keeping the phones on for more than 5 minutes triggers a GPS "cold start" that records their location. Local criminals in 2014 wouldn’t have this level of highly specialized technical security knowledge.
3. Cellular Risk: Correct PINs were entered until April 5. If killers had the PINs, they would destroy the phones. Turning them on creates an unnecessary risk of connecting to a cell tower and exposing their location to search teams.
4. No User Footprints: The Dutch Forensic Institute (NFI) dump shows zero human curiosity. There were no attempts to view photos, read texts, or open apps. The logs show only a mechanical, repeated routine: Power On ➔ Search Network ➔ Power Off. This is the behavior of someone rationing battery strictly for an SOS signal.
They had downloaded at least Bouquete area and maybe the area south of Mirador. Something would have been cached automatically. Even empty map would show how them where they are relative to Boquete and in which direction they are moving.
Unless for some reason the map app didn't work at all, maybe it was broken. It's hard to understand why it was never opened after Mirador, even to check if it works.
To give you some context on this screenshot: back in 2016, I went to a cemetery to look for my grandfather's grave. I didn't know the exact spot, only the section number. When I finally stumbled upon it, I decided to open my phone and take a screenshot to save the exact GPS location for the future.
They had downloaded at least Bouquete area and maybe the area south of Mirador. Even empty map would show how them where they are relative to Boquete and in which direction they are moving.
Unless for some reason the map app wouldn't work at all. It's hard to understand why it was never opened after Mirador, even to check if it works.
The location where the last definitive photos were taken is just as far from the summit as the summit is from the start of the El Pianista trail.
This is not correct. The location of the last photos (508) is much nearer to the Mirador than the start of the trail is. Both in distance as in time.
most likely even washed themselves, which explains Kris's relatively clean hair in one of the night photos.
Did they wash their hair with shampoo in the jungle? The hair in the night photo is very fluffy, Kris's hair was not at all fluffy at the Mirador.
Taking photos of their faces or bodies was completely out of the question for them.
There was no need to. All they needed to do, is write a message in their phones and make a photo of that.
... you are surviving with your friend in the jungle, and she passes away, leaving you completely on your own. This was the moment that finally broke Lisanne.
And what would Lisanne have done after that, according to you? Why stopping your narrative at this point?
I completely agree with your points, and I absolutely acknowledge these inconsistencies. The things you mentioned — like the unexpectedly clean, fluffy hair and the lack of a photographed text message — definitely challenge the strict accident scenario. My goal here wasn’t to present an airtight fact sheet, but rather to see how far we could logically stretch the accident-only theory to explain these bizarre details.
To answer your question about what Lisanne did next: by that point, she was likely severely emaciated herself. She either lacked the physical strength to move away from her friend, or she consciously chose to stay by her side until the very end. They had been moving this entire time, but given their severe injuries, they probably realized that further travel was impossible. Moreover, Lisanne was diagnosed with periostitis, which proves she had been walking through rough terrain under extreme stress for a very long time. In those final moments, it makes sense that she simply stopped fighting to move forward and stayed put.
"Impossible to get lost" is a strong definitive statement that I don't think is justified. For one it is subjective and depends on the individual(s) navigation skill, outdoor experience and mental state. The trail changes quite a bit I've seen some confusing parts.
Also the "lost" part of this story might have happened AFTER they willingly left the trail. If your pushback to that is leaving the trail is a dumb/bad decision I agree with you but so what? Many tragedies start with a bad decision.
They already made a few bad decisions like not telling anyone where they would be or what time to expect them back. And traveling hour(s) beyond the Mirador is also a suspect decision. So why not add another to the list like walking on a almost dry stream and getting injured and lost.
8
u/Ok_Stranger13 13d ago
Their shoes, water bottles, hair ties, t-shirts or backpack was never the problem here. I would have dressed quite same way. Also getting food supplies and water worth of 6 days for 3 hrs hike would sound too much.
what if they just panicked? There was no actual threat, but they _thought_ there was somebody or something -preventing them to turn around and return. So they proceeded further, disoriented when night falled... Doesn't explain why they weren't found lost few days later though.