The instinct of parents to protect their children is one of the most powerful human emotions. We equip our children as best we can and send them out into the world with confidence and optimism. Accidents happen and we accept those risks as part of life, painful as they might be. But the cruelest and most emotionally devastating loss is to have your children simply vanish without a trace.
When it happens in a benign and hospitable place like Boquete, every one of us is shaken to our core. The sudden and unexplained disappearance of Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers on April 1, 2014, following a casual afternoon of hiking has deeply affected everyone in this town.
To have two such intelligent, aware and capable young women, serious in their life ventures, suddenly disappear from the known universe compels every one of us parents to walk in those shoes, and stirs our empathy, with the understanding that even our darkest thoughts can never remotely approach the pain experienced by the parents of Lisanne and Kris.
The people of Boquete have been generous in their support of the families, the searchers and independent investigations, for which the families are eternally grateful. The Pianista trail has been scoured multiple times by search teams both official and private. But the painful truth of the situation is that there is not a single actionable bit of evidence pointing to what might have happened. Now that the official SINAPROC investigation has been closed, police and possibly private investigation will continue, but we have to face the reality that these young women might easily have been taken to Costa Rica or Columbia or beyond, which vastly expands both the difficulty and cost of the investigation. Once again, they vanished on the trail, or shortly after leaving the trail, possibly in a red truck - but without eyewitnesses, it could have been any car - and that's where the evidence ends. In the two or three days that passed before an official investigation got under way, their fate was probably sealed.
In our personal thoughts we can all hope for a miracle that will return them unharmed. As a community, we need to take a hard look at what happened and our responsibility to prevent similar things from happening in the future. The cost of this one investigation, in helicopter time, personnel costs, injured searchers (yes, many), private donations of time and money not to mention the incalculable value of the two beautiful lives - that are apparently lost to us - would easily pay for a community-based tourist security system.
A simple emergency transponder and/or a little education could possibly have prevented this tragedy. We should put it on our Boquete community to-do list and get it done, to honor the loss of Lisanne and Kris and recognize our mutual responsibility to protect the tourists who come to enjoy Boquete in the future.
Replies
Education is the priority as long as it comes from a Qualified Professional. Someone who specializes in S.E.R.E. or EC training. The transponder was a good idea right up until you just made it public, and if these girls were taken by traffickers it would have had to be an implant to have done any good other than last known location at which point you would find it laying on the ground.
Sometimes, very Bad Things Happen to Good People. The Loss of a Child must be a Devastating occurrence that none of us should have to ever endure. I'll always remember my elderly fragile mother tearfully stating that a parent should never have to bury a child. In our parents eyes, We are always Children. I often wonder what I could have done to make a difference and always arrive at the same answer, absolutely nothing. Wrong Place at the Wrong Time or something much more Nefarious. Let us Hope & Pray for the Best and always keep a watchful eye out for our fellow friends, neighbors and travelers. The entire Community pulled together and worked diligently to find Lisanne and Kris but it was Not to be.
“Nothing may stay the same but I guess one good thing that should remain still is the heart that always remembers to: stay strong and stay kind; stay lovely and stay nice; stay good and stay humble; stay true and stay honest. Just stay being the best of your heart could. But when that heart feels like giving up, give it a rest, pause for a while but never ever give up.”
― Happy Positivity
Mark, you have comprehensively articulated the senses of every conscious and conscientious soul on the periphery of this incalculably tragic occurrence. Thank you.
When we, as human beings, are faced with the trials and challenges that arise during the courses of our lives, it reminds us of all of the opportunities we are granted to be most excellent to one another.
Please -- be most excellent to one another.
Dav
Thank you, Mark--and to all who participated at whatever level in the search for these girls. As a mother...I don't even want to imagine the nightmare of these girls' parents or the girls themselves. It is truly, monstrously, heartbreaking. A community effort to educate and protect tourists...yes. Just today, a young woman from NY came to our farm on a tour. She mentioned she was having a difficult time finding someone to go hiking with and could we suggest some trails she could hike alone? NO! we all said. This cautionary advice should be part of EVERY tour company's and hostel's guest info package. If it can happen once, it can happen again.