Valid complaints about the investigation; the Pittí-Problem + the shoe shambles

 

 

Valid complaints about the investigation; the Pittí-Problem 

This case has so many loose ends that you must be almost blind not to see them. I do wonder at times if the Panamanian government settled too easily or willingly on an accident verdict. No evidence found of a crime does not change the fact that there was neither hard evidence found of an accident. I'd personally not be surprised if it ever turns out that there was a cover-up to some degree (on the Panamanian side of the investigation) and that more than one person there knows what truly happened to these girls. There seem to have been problems with some of the most basic forensic investigational procedures. No fingerprints were properly recorded from those helping in the searches and handling evidence that was found on site; not even the investigators themselves always handled the evidence with protective gloves and masks on. On the scotch tape with which memory cards were attached to the mobile phones/camera of the girls, detectives later found several fingerprints, but because the police did not wear gloves it can't even be excluded that officials were to blame for these fingerprints. And apparently it is all too much hassle or effort to further investigate this. It simply never was cleared up from whom those fingerprints were. And none of the DNA traces of at least three and possibly four different people, found on the belongings, were matched to anyone. No houses of possible suspects were professionally searched by forensic investigators with the use of luminol, to detect trace amounts of blood. Witnesses were often not approached in time at all by police, leaving weeks between the event and their questioning, muddling their memory. Other potential witnesses and persons of interest were let off the hook entirely. There was no extensive proactive digging into persons of interest, but instead Pittí mainly went halfheartedly after often anonymous tip offs. Then called them all off immediately when the backpack was discovered, never to look back at them again. And last but not least; crime scenes were trashed and all sorts of people were allowed to step in, take photos, pass stuff on to the media. Often the papers and national TV knew painful case information before the parents were informed by officials. The parents openly complained about this and emphasized how much it hurt them to find out in such an unprofessional and insensitive manner about case discoveries. It seemed to me that Betzaida Pittí cared more however about catching her own glowing media moment, carrying the bones (found by locals) in yellow wraps from the helicopter to the waiting press. Kris' parents have mentioned it regularly in the media and in TV interviews how terrible they were being treated, both by Pittí and her people as well as by the Dutch Prosecution, who followed obediently and submissively in their footsteps. Autopsy reports were not shared, investigative outcomes were not made known to them, files went missing, the parents were put on the back burner and deemed troublemakers while Pittí pranched around with their poor daughter's bones in front of the called paps. While the parents had to find out through these paps' newspapers the next day. It is diabolical and I cannot believe how Pittí, who was fired from het prosecutor job in early 2015 for unknown reasons, has the gall to try to present herself as an unfair criticized victim in all this. No, you were not. You were the instigator.

Pittí's self-pity
Pitti talked to the press about how hard the investigation was for her. Physically firstly: she struggled to get up the Pianista and she had issues with dehydration after a few hours out there. She emphasized how dangerous it is in the wild and how she had to be hospitalized for dehydration and a leg injury, even though a helicopter dropped her off and picked her and her team up again at the same spot where she singlehandedly collected the bone remains of Kris and Lisanne. Searched and found for her, by guide F and his men.. She made sure that camera teams and journalists were informed and ready to document it when she struggled and limped out of the helicopter, supported by several rambo men. Impressive... She helped spread the notion that anyone venturing beyond the Mirador, was 'putting their life at risk'. Never mind that guides take paying tourists behind the Pianista trail and over the monkey bridges daily or weekly. Pittí liked to emphasize in the media that the terrain behind the Pianista trail is full of bone grinding rivers, monster flash flood risks, deadly cliffs and ferocious wild animals. Of course, she had a motive for doing so, as she was barely out there herself to investigate things in the field, shall we say, and had to be towed and loaded onto horses and into helicopters in order to make it. Plus, she had an accident scenario to sell. Tour guide Feliciano, who hikes there all the time with paying tourists, also used the media to make a heartfelt plea to 'stop putting tour guides' lives at risk', by continuing the search for Kris and Lisanne. This after he initially complained that too little was done to find them. It's mostly all codswallop, uttered to create a certain narrative. When Kris and Lisanne were out there, it was good weather, clear skies, non-muddy trails and not jungle hell, no matter what these people try to tell you otherwise. The fact that guided tourists are allowed to hike these areas every day of the year, underlines this. 

But aside from physical hardship, there was also psychological hardship for Betzaida Pittí. We know that after Pittí was put on the case, she was aware of the pressure on her to close this case asap and deliver something. The backpack, shoes and few bone remnants were suddenly found in quick succession. She admitted later explicitly that she felt a lot of pressure from the press, from Arrocha and in a way even from the parents and her immediate superior, Ana Belfon, to come up with something fast. Which also happened. Pittí says that she did everything she could in this case and that there is no evidence that supports a crime. I'd say that you may just as well turn the burden of proof around, and state that there is no hard evidence for an accident either. (The basic assumption is that it was an accident and that you need to prove it was anything but an accident.. Like you are supposed to be guilty, but you have to prove you are innocent? Or the other way around? Why does inconclusive evidence automatically mean indirect evidence in favour of an accident though, when there is no evidence for one OR the other?) But that is apparently not how it worked in this case. Pittí has communicated that she feels that criticism on her investigation is a personal attack on her. She seems to have an axe to grind with her critics, including Jeroen van Passel (spokesperson for the Kremers family who was critical of her performance) and of course the most dangerous critic of all; the excellent journalist Adelita Coriat, who did not shy away from writing critical but substantiated newspaper articles. For Pittí to seem so stung like a bee about (also in my eyes deserved) criticism, isn't very becoming. When the media are critical about her investigation they are all considered misinformed, biased, after money, amateur detectives or even worse. Then they have "political undertones", according to Píttí, whatever that may mean in a scientific disappearance investigation. And of course anyone questioning the official narrative is also 'sensationalistic', a conspiracy theorist or simply a troll. Defending yourself against what you yourself may deem false allegations is one thing, but professionals should always try to separate criticism aimed at their work from criticism towards themselves, as a person. This also applies to writers by the way (or bloggers). When it comes to the team of law enforcers, searchers and the Dutch families involved, under the surface of 'One for All, All for One', there may in fact have been different expectations, practices and perhaps even different motives lingering. But there are a couple of prime victims in this story and, harsh as this may sound, Betzaida Pittí isn't among them. I understand that it must be devastating to sense disappointment in others when you believe you did everything you could. But professionals need to take responsibility for their work and failures, and try to always see the other person's point of view. Not be blind to the omissions in your own actions and paltry investigation. Many professionals who spoke out in this case have pointed to these failures. It is sad that this ex-prosecutor really believes she did her absolute best to help solve this case. Maybe that lack of self-knowledge was partly why she was taken off the investigation in January of 2015. Fired, more or less. Because despite her very underwhelming investigation of this case, self-pitying Pittí still believes that there can really only have been one possible reason for her being fired; professional envy. 

Blaming Kris and Lisanne
Pitti told Panama America that for her "the young women got lost after committing the recklessness of venturing down a challenging path, without the help of a guide". (Notice the judgement and 'victim shaming', as Gen Z kids would call it). According to Pittí, hypotheses related to a kidnapping or homicide were "ruled out when all their belongings were found complete, including money, glasses and underwear". Pitti: “A lot of people disagreed with me, but it was immediately clear to me that they had gotten lost". Besides, Pittí still today insists: "Boquete is a tourist resort, there are no serial killers there." "Climbing mountains is very dangerous. I went up three times and once spent more than six hours dehydrated. And I had water and food. What do I mean? It is a thick (dense?) mountain, with dangerous animals. The girls did not measure the consequences of entering without a guide." So because Pittí herself struggled to make it up a hill, this points unambiguously towards an accident... Still, until this day, Pittí stubbornly concludes: "The girls have taken that path recklessly." 

More propaganda
Pittí also reinforced her hypothesis by stating that the girls’ cell phone was active for 11 days after their disappearance, and that the emergency number in the Netherlands was called. "Some people say: survive eleven days in the jungle? Well, they were young and strong, 21 and 22 years old, Lisanne played football/soccer" (incorrect: she played volleyball). "If you take the path from Chiriqui in the direction of Bocas del Toro, there is no telephone coverage after 15-20 minutes" (Incorrect; this happens 15-20 minutes áfter the Mirador.) "The inhabitants of Alto Romero did not use this path because it is such a dangerous path" (Incorrect: as good as every video available shows people walking on the trail behind the summit). "It's not that if you go down that path, you'll meet people". (Incorrect and propaganda). "Everything pointed to it not being a murder. I've hit the trail three times from Alto Romero". "If you look closely at their photos, you won't see a third person. There were two of them". "When the backpack was found, robbery could be ruled out because their belongings were still inside, including cell phones and money".  

Remains
Then the question is posed: Is there a possibility of finding more remains? Pitti explains that the remains were found around 16:00 PM, in heavy rain. The people who found them had to suspend the search due to the danger posed by the rising river. "In January 2015, I did not have an opportunity to question those who found the bone remains." (Right). "The remains were found around 16:00 pm it was raining we couldn't go to the river because it was too dangerous." “If it had not been raining, more bone remains would have been found. Only Lisanne, the foot and the kneecap were found. Half of the hip and a rib were found from Kris”. Betzaida acknowledges that she felt pressure. "I've been under a lot of pressure because some people thought I didn't do my job properly." She recalls that she was singled out for allegedly not doing her job well, but her greatest concern was always to give answers to the parents of the young women and showing the Dutch government that Panama was working on the case. And according to confused Pitti', her team did the best job in the history of mankind! "I can assure you that the searches that have been launched have been the most extensive quests in the world." She truly says this in the media, I'm not making this up. And she has excuses again.. There were only a few bones found because it was raining? They couldn't mark the location, place a few guards there and return a day or a week later to resume? Wow.. And again not a word about the missing file 509 or her messing with the original night photos. She is utterly deluded, also for claiming her investigation has been 'the most extensive quest in the world.' Clown world...

Let us not forget all the things Betzaida Pittí didn't do properly: 

why hasn't she checked the girls' phone locations with the local telecom operator in the area? Did Pittí not properly request for them? Why didn't she look into the phone use of other people in that area at the time? Including guide F? Telecom providers can also map out exactly who were in the Pianista area on April 1st, based on their phone locations. But nobody seems to have investigated this... It is basic investigation stuff these days; checking surrounding phone activity (who were also in that area that day??), checking the phone and internet activity of potential witnesses. But I have it verified that the official case documents, unfortunately, confirm that none of this was done by authorities. Guide F's whereabouts, phone and computers have never been looked into. Nor have his properties been checked. Guide F. conveniently claims to have been in David for a hospital visit at the time when Kris and Lisanne disappeared. An alibi of sorts. Pitti should have immediately investigated this... It is so frustrating. They could have proven or disproven so easily whether or not he was bullshitting here. Hospitals are full with CCTV. But it is all too late. The CCTV will be overwritten by now and guide F. no doubt has long ago already replaced his mobile phone. There were also no investigations into any other potential suspects or persons of interest. And the phones of Kris and Lisanne were only investigated for their use on April 1st 2014 and onwards. There are no files or details known about their phone use in the days leading up to their disappearance... What a missed opportunity. It's enough to make a grownup cry.

And why wasn't there a case official sent to accompany the locals who were searching for the girls' remains? Can you imagine the FBI asking locals to do the work for them, without even a single officer in place to oversee the operation? (No). Autopsy reports weren't all properly shared in the official case files. Why were the houses of potential suspects never checked with luminol for traces of blood? Private land of people of interest should have been scanned for the presence of bones. Local soil samples were never properly commissioned, the soil on and in the backpack was never analyzed or linked to a specific spot. The blue shoe was never forensically investigated or had its bleached colour explained. Same for Kris' bleached bones. We have no idea still why they looked like that and were found near Lisanne's bones which were in an early stage of decomposition. Why? Nobody knows and Pittí wasn't interested, as it was all already ruled aan accident by her. Dutch search and rescue dogs were somehow never allowed or able to search beyond the Mirador. We still don't know what type of water remnants were left in the plastic water bottles that were found in the girls' backpack, because the forensic testing was never requested by Betzaida Pittí. We should have known where these girls last filled their bottles; was this in a river? Was it last filled with tap water in a house? Was there still commercial 'supermarket water' inside? Why do we not know these things? Crime scenes weren't secured, a private bedroom was trampled and raided before police even got there. Locals who should have been people of interest were protected and witnesses were cast aside. Specialists who offered their help were ignored. Police wasn't sent right away up the trail(s) to interview potential witnesses, when their memories were still fresh. Instead, local volunteers like Lee Zeltzer took that initiative and were nevertheless ignored by Pittí and her team. The prosecutor seemed more interested in parading bones found by unsupervised locals in front of the cameras. And let's not forget this: despite having been fired in 2015, Pittí later betrayed the parents by trading THEIR daughter's private case files, against their will and probably illegally, with a bunch of opportunist "authors" who tried to clean her reputation for money and who went about just as wishy-washy. Absolute corruption. After forcing them to stay quiet about the content of the camera and phones of their own daughters, as to 'not jeopardize the investigation'. The Kremers really wanted to share this information, at a time when Kris and Lisanne could still have been alive, but were heavily influenced not to. As a thank you, they could wait for months and months and months for the autopsy reports, and were not informed about other important findings by Betzaida Pitti. They were bitterly disappointed by this and felt betrayed, and complained about it in Dutch TV programs in the autumn of 2014, when it had become clear that nothing more could be expected of 'Panama'. And neither of the Dutch NFI, for that matter. Yes, really an investigation to be proud of... It baffles me how some people still take her word for anything.   

But let's forget about #509
And Pitti never offered an official mentioning or explanation of the mysterious disappearance of photo 509. The Dutch NFI claimed on public television that it was deleted. How did they arrive at this? Where are the exact details? How come Panama did not know this? This deletion should have been front and center in the case report, but reportedly it is not. Why did Pitti not cover this topic properly? What were she and her detectives doing in Boquete? Pittí did not even mention the missing file #509 in the media, nor offered an explanation for this. Just like she neither touched upon or explained how it is possible that while she and her team looked at the personal belongings, the EXIF data of the night photos were suddenly overwritten and changed in a photoshop-type of program. Pitti and her team handled the camera and phones of Kris and Lisanne before they were sent to the Netherlands, to the Dutch forensics institute NFI. How can we be sure that Pitti did not decide to turn on Lisanne's phone without taking the precautions outlined in the mobile forensics manual? If she decided to do that out of curiosity and a sense of importance, then the first thing that would have happened was the clearance and loss of the cache of any phone application data that was set to clear cache on a power on/off cycle. This is not hypothetical and is a blatant requirement when handling phones in a crime scene or possible crime case. I can very well see Pitti making this blunder as well, if she was left to her own devices. As she is clearly not versed on this type of forensics. Let's hope Pitti did the right thing and actually sent the phones to the computer forensics department for analysis who would have known how to handle them.

But we simply don't know, as Pitti hasn't been open about her methods and errors. She never made mention either of the crazy timeline for instance, or the dozen+ witnesses on the trail who all provided the 'wrong' details. Pittí never mentions those either. She nitpicks from this case whatever suits her narrative. No attempts to come up with a reasonable timetable with the nighttime photos included. We still don't know how she explains the widely scattered remains, the absence of most other remains, the inexplicable fact that large scores of searchers couldn't find these girls in a relatively small area; the incompatibility of many solid seeming witness statements with the official timeline. No scientific evidence that they fell off a cliff, no signs of a slide down a mountain on the personal belongings... Their belongings were found mostly undamaged, as far as we know. But the official story is that Kris and Lisanne simply got lost and fell to their deaths or drowned. Never mind that the rain season hadn't started yet at the time, never mind that the rivers weren't swollen yet, that these two athletic girls could swim or at the time could have even hopped over river rocks from one side to the other, or wade to the other side.

Totally unproven end verdict
Pittí's end theory was never proven, not even partly. In this Panamanian article from 2017, it is stated that journalists who spoke with the families of Kris and Lisanne, reported that they were not sure about the official version of events either. Given the Froon families' insistence on the accident theory, this was surprising for me to read. For all that Pittí does talk about online, there are a ton of topics she does not mention. In my opinion, all sorts of efforts have been made to wipe the facts that do point towards a crime under the carpet. Including the mass of skin, which hardly anyone reported on or ever mentions. And notice how there is no official report on the factually established bleach on Kris' bones. As to why nobody can find Lisanne's autopsy report in the case files, we can also only guess...

And some more information on just how shoddy some aspects of the case were managed by Betzaída Pittí, see this news article

'Serious doubts arise about the Prosecution's evidence. Prosecutor Betzaida Pitti attached to the file a blue shoe that, supposedly, belonged to Kris Kremers.'

By Adelita Coriat

"On June 18, on the banks of the Culubre River, located in the province of Bocas del Toro, a shoe was found in the style of a short, dark blue boot with a white sole. The footwear was dry and showed great deterioration. Seen through the photographs taken by the media in situ, it seems to correspond to the right foot. This was the second footwear found by locals on the banks of the river. Two days earlier, on June 16, a brown boot containing skeletal remains had been found. The blue shoe was handed over to the Public Prosecutor from David, Chiriqui, where an investigation into the case of the missing Dutch girls was being conducted. The prosecution was interested in determining if the skeletal remains belonged to any of the girls, Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers, who disappeared on April 1 while they were walking the El Pianista trail in Boquete, Chiriquí. Since then, the trail of the girls has been reduced to the belongings and skeletal remains that have been appearing spontaneously on the banks of the Culubre River, located at a twelve hours walk away from the path that the girls initially took. The first found brown boot contained bone remains from Lisanne, verified by a DNA analysis by the Biomolecular Laboratory of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (IMELCF). The forensic reports indicated that it contained soft tissue and was degraded. But errors were made. According to forensics, consulted by La Estrella de Panamá, these tests should have been subjected to analysis of fluid, cell or other traces that could be related to the young women and shed light on what happened. The Office of the Prosecutor [Pittí] seems to have skipped these steps. Prosecutor Betzaida Pitti, in charge of the case, also obviated a basic procedure in this type of investigations: ordering the same DNA tests on footwear. This new blue boot has been attributed by the prosecution to the other girl, Kris Kremers. According to news reports, this shoe was found by Ángel Palacio and guide F., two residents of the area. In this case, and despite the fact that there is no forensic scientific evidence that links both shoes to the girls, the Office of the Prosecutor saved it as part of the body of evidence. [..] Now doubts are leaking about blue shoes. The main one is that the Prosecutor's Office lacks a DNA test to prove that the boot belonged to Kris. The Star of Panama confirmed that the IMECF, the only laboratory in the country where biomolecular analysis of the required type is practiced, has not received the shoe in question to submit it to the tests. Nor is it known if the prosecutor has shown the shoes to the Kremers family to recognize it as part of their daughter's belongings. In the photos where Kris appears, both at the airport and during the visit to the trail on the day of his disappearance, it is clear that he is wearing brown boots, with sole and black laces. Can the prosecution prove that this was the shoe that Kris wore, despite the change in colour? How would the prosecutor explain the transformation from brown to blue? (Pitti said that it had been laying in the sun and that this caused the severe bleaching of the shoe: I think that is nonsense as the shoe was bleached in colour all over, not only on one side that faced the sun). What size is the boot and what brand is it? Was the shoe presented to the Kremers family for recognition? What was their response? And, if not, why? The doubts would vanish with adequate expertise, which, among other things, contemplates a forensic examination."

Some comments below the article (translated): "This is serious, because look at the time that has passed, and previous months only spread the big lie that the girls died accidentally; a big lie that Holland has not been believing, because they are still looking for answers. And as a citizen of this town boqueteños, I think the same thing that has come out of the investigations, that they were murdered. I think more than the clues and testimonies of the people who contributed the missing MP, I do not see them have an interest to communicate the truth. That lady that brought them to those teaching practices [Eileen], where is she??? She fled??? [Yes she did] Where is the guide?? What doctor cared for those girls??? What restaurant did they visit? What friends did they call??" And: "I always saw this prosecutor as an actor, I think that for these cases there should be a multi-disciplinary team and not a television crew."

Why would an investigator not do that simple research? 
In the case files, the shoes were described as follows: "a black sneaker with pink edges, a dark shoe with a green sole." The first mentioned shoe belongs to Lisanne and is a left-hand sneaker in size 39 from the brand "Wildbeast", with pink edges and black and white laces. After the DNA analysis of the foot, the sneaker is matched to Lisanne using optical photo comparisons, and no further genetic tests of the shoe are carried out. It is easy to visually match it with the photos of Lisanne's shoes. The same cannot be said of the shoe attributed to Kris. It is described in the chemical laboratory as a "left black boot" of the brand "Colorado" in size 39. Soil segments and plant material were found in the fibers of both shoes, which were not examined in detail. Stearic acid was also detected in both, which is a saturated fatty acid that was linked by the scientist involved in the autopsy to skin cream, but which more likely was a byproduct of the decomposition of the skin.. Since neither of these shoes have been forensically investigated, we don't know if the shoe is really from Kris though. Some have doubts about this, given the visual metamorphosis it seemingly has underwent over time. It looks alike in shape and size and the way the laces are tied, but it does not look "dark" but in fact BLUE in the photos. It turned blue in colour and the sole went white, not green. Hardinghaus and Nenner write that Pittí did send an instruction to the IMELCF on August 29. "It states that the girls' shoes should be taken to the laboratory for examination "so that the presence or absence of chemical substances that slow down or accelerate the decomposition process of the human body can be analyzed."[75] But here, too, there are no results or answers in the files. Panamanian journalist Adelita Coriat may have discovered the reason for this. She writes about the handling of the shoe: "La Estrella de Panamá confirmed that the IMELCF, the only laboratory in the country where biomolecular analyses of the required type are carried out, did not receive the shoe in question to submit it for testing." "[76] - Scarlet: Thank god Coriat was on top of it all at the time, and was clearly leaked a lot of inside info. For that, Pittí has tried to publicly destroy her in LITJ. I do not understand how the files can mention Pittí ordering scientific testing of both the water bottle and this shoe, but NOTHING in the end being actually investigated. It seems like Pittí had it documented that she wanted this research to be done, but then cancelled things off record. As the laboratory staff have been documented to have been waiting for that shoe from 'Kris' for instance, in vain! Pittí must have changed her mind, but left the 'good intentions' in the case files. 

So without any forensic results (like with the water bottle!) making it into the case files in the end, we still do not know if Kris wore it, yes or no. Or why the shoe has discoloured so significantly while Lisanne's didn't. What external factors could have been at play here? Pittí seems to not have had any curiosity in this respect... She did not even mention this shoe issue publicly. But also important to me seems this: Could chemical bleaching (say, phosphates or lime or lye) have caused the brown shoe to go blue in colour, and its sole to go white-ish? It enters the trail as brown and comes out blue with white sole. What is wrong with verifying whether it is the same shoe that Kris was wearing on April 1st and whether/how it has changed colour? Why should you not do that simple piece of research as a general prosecutor and chief investigator? When the pathologists are reported to have been waiting for the shoe and the order from Pitti. Without this research, we also don't know if the dramatic change in colour could 'just' have been the result of bleaching from water and sunlight. Although, with sunlight you would expect more of a one-sided bleaching effect; not evenly all over the shoe. Which I do not see in the photo to be honest. Or could it have been bleached by something else? Given that Kris' bones looked bleached and have been confirmed by forensics in the morgue to contain amounts of phosphates (which weren't present in the local soil), a substance used to bleach and dissolves carcasses and such, why would we be surprised that her shoe is also looking... very bleached? Or perhaps it is possible that Kris had dyed her shoes brownish, and that the blue rim visible on the close up photo #507 shows us the blueish original colour of the cuff of the shoe, the top rim so to speak, enclosing her leg above the ankle? Could that shoe polish (?) dye (?) have been washed off in the tropical forest? All new sort of questions.. Kris' father does seem to think that it was in fact the shoe from Kris. He included in an interview shared further down below this blog post, that he and his partner do not want to cremate "a few bones and an empty shoe". But Betzaída Pittí and the Panamanian investigators left some opportunities here, if Adelita Coriats article is telling the truth. And something else that suddenly stands out to me now: have there been two photos circulating by the Panamanian investigators of TWO different blue shoes? Incredibly I never realized or noticed this in the past months. Both these two shoes have both been attributed to Kris. One seems (?) to be a left shoe and the other a right shoe. I may be mistaken but they look different in both photos. Perhaps it has to do with the photo angle that distorts the image, and the brightened colours though. The photos are also taken against a similar type of background. So we have by all accounts now, and unlike what I initially wrote myself in this blog, not just one shoe from Lisanne found, but quite possibly also a left (but empty) shoe from Kris.

By the way, the brown shoes that Kris wears in those photos of her, may be Dr. Martens boots, going by these examples of Dr Martens footwear:

CHECK THE KNOT IN THE LACES
And in this close up of Kris' shoe Juan and I both noticed the almost marine like knot in those laces. It is like looking at a very old boot and she has very peculiar thick boot laces visible. There is no denying that the blue shoe is the same one, with the same laces and knot... only turned blue. We have two such photos,  which strengthens the notion that this isn't just due to poor photo quality. Sun-bleached leather looks very different, and online I found nothing about brown leather turning blue in the sun: UV effect on leather: if it's exposed to sunlight for long enough, will turn almost white, with a slight tan coloring. ... As leather remains exposed to UV light, it will begin to dry out. This is due to the fact that UV light evaporates the moisture from it. - Besides, this wasn't the Mojave desert where the boot and bones were found, but a cloud forest approaching the rain season. And sun bleaching does not typically happen evenly spreaded all over the object. What caused this massive and odd discolouration? What stings me most of all is that we never got an explanation for the blue colour! And that Adelita Coriat has written that forensic specialists were waiting in David for this blue shoe to investigate it, and Pitti refused to send it over!!! Didn't she want to know why it had turned from brown into blue?!

Tharindu messaged me: "This video shows“What Happens If You Spill Sulfuric Acid on Your Shoes?” See how the color of that shoe changes from brown to light purple. This might explain the condition of their bones and the blue color of Kris’s shoe. Sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is actually a strong acid and highly corrosive. It dissolves human flesh. There are other strong acids and weak acids like concentrated Hydrochloric acid (HCl), Nitric acid (HNO3) and Phosphoric acid (H3PO4)."

Oddities with Lisanne's shoe

And how come Lisanne's shoe looks clean and dry when it was pictured right after it was found. But once the shoe is taken to the police office and is officially photographed, it is suddenly looking exactly like you would expect a shoe to look after having been 10 weeks into a rainy muddy jungle? Why is that shoe looking so different for the official photo session? There may be a rational explanation for it, but we couldn't find one in the official data. And are parts of the fabric of the shoe lit up in the jungle photo because of the sun shining on it? Or does the fabric look bleached in parts? (Photo credit to Juan)

(Thanks to Power-Pixie for the last photo collage)

Two very important articles from pit-bull journalist Adelita Coriat on this disappearance, screen saved in full and translated. 

For criminologist Octavio Calderón it is impossible that the river took the bones remains of the two young women, and deposited them next to each other again. From Adelita Coriat. 

"No matter how many times you repeat the story from the prosecutor about Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers being swept away by the river current, the prosecutor has no evidence to prove it. ‘It is an assumption without scientific basis, it is not based on anything,’ said criminologist Octavio Calderón. The specialist compares the results of forensic analyses to the bones, clothing and electronic equipment from the youth with the theory of fiscal Bethsaida Pittí, who assumed that after getting lost on the El Pianista trail, the girls were swept away and killed by the river Culebre, on whose banks their bones were found. Octavio Calderón is blunt in refuting the hypothesis of the prosecution with some key points: ‘nothing indicates that they were near water; besides: two bones from different parts of the body of two different people never just end up washed on the same sandbank, together. This shows that someone placed them there. There is no other possible reason. The version that they were supposedly in the river has no foundation; no proof. The fact that the clothes and wallet were found intact contradicts the hypothesis of the prosecution, Calderón insists. La Estrella de Panama tried to contact the Prosecutor Pittí Bethsaida, but the PR team for the prosecution did not return calls. The criminologist Calderon also rules out that the girls have been attacked by wild animals. It is based on the report submitted by the National Environmental Authority, which states that there are snakes, lions and tigers in the area. In any case, Calderon says, if the beasts had attacked, then where are the girls' skulls? These animals do not swallow a skull. Cougars, he adds, are solitary animals who avoid interacting with humans and if it had been a snake then it would have attacked one person, not both at the same time. The lawyer for the Kremers family, Enrique Arrocha, agrees. ‘If these young women were attacked by animals then why was there clothing found intact? If these attacks had occurred, there would be clearly visible markings on the clothes, and this is not the case, said the lawyer. Another shocking issue is the phosphorus found on Kris' rib. Arrocha requires an extension of the report, stating that the rib seems to have suffered the consequences of phosphates elements, as the environment where the bones were found is not volcanic soil. Calderón says that the phosphorus found on the remains could point towards the use of fertilizers or chemicals on the remains. Desperation may have led the attacker to use such substance to make the evidence ‘disappear’, he said. He didn't dare to draw a profile of the murderer. ‘The way in which the ankle and the bones have been found, could indicate that he is a young person who is inexperienced in these types of situations. An amateur improvising once presented with obstacles’. This could explain the presence of a pelvis and a wallet in the same place, he said. The Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences revealed that the bones do not show traumas from the effect of the use of sharp objects, firearms or laceration, caused by a dismemberment."

The Dutch remains 

contain fingerprints and DNA 

From Adelita Coriat. 

"13 samples were taken from the backpack, and it was possible to determine that two of them belonged to two unknown women. A dozen fingerprints were found on the Apple and Samsung phones owned by Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers, The Dutch who died in unclear circumstances after traveling the Pianist trail, in the district of Boquete, Chiriqui. The report prepared by the Netherlands Forensic Institute reveals that three of the fingerprints were found on the self-adhesive tape that connected the camera and the phones. One of the prints, of which a photo was sent to the Panamanian authorities, can be matched in the database of Panama. This fact seems to have gone unnoticed by prosecutor  Pittí Bethsaida, who so far has not controlled and checked the fingerprint with the locals inhabitants or other possible suspects, who may have manipulated objects. According to the lawyer Enrique Arrocha, advocate for the Kremers family, the prosecutor has also not taken statements from people who gave the belongings to them, and the prosecutor also did not  collect other DNA found on clothing and items of the girls. The Dutch forensic report failed to detect DNA profiles on the phones and camera. However, six samples have been taken from the bras found on the bank of river Culebre. Five of them were not good enough to allow to have their DNA extracted from. profiles; a sixth was from one of the employees of the Institute. From the backpack 13 samples were obtained, and it was possible to determine that two of them came from two unknown women. 

In the fifth sample a DNA profile profile was found which was a mixture of two unknown persons, of which at least one is a male. The theory of prosecutor Bethsaida Pittí is that the Dutch got lost during their hike on the trail and that they were killed during an accident. The prosecutor also referred to a report prepared by the National Environmental Authority which established the presence of wild animals in the area that Kris and Lisanne explored. However, in the report to the Netherlands no evidence of an attack by a wild animal was detected. The backpack and bras of the girls showed traces of leaves and soil material. The Dutch forensic institute failed to determine the source of these plants for lack of reference. The task was forwarded to the Panamanian prosecution, but, to date, Pittí has also not compared these botanical results with the vegetation at site where these objects from the girls were found, or the surrounding area. For criminologists, the evidence gathered so far is enough to begin a homicide investigation. The findings are indicative that the women were not lost, as claimed by the prosecutor, but that they were killed and their remains, bones and belongings, were intentionally planted on the banks of river Culebre -a 12 hours walk from the road where they were last seen. Arrocha reported that anthropological examination of the skeletal remains of young women determined that the rib from Kris was found in an area with the presence of phosphate, which would explain the whitish color on the bones. However, the prosecution has not established whether the bone was subjected to a chemical process intentionally or circumstantial. Recently, Pittí gave the bones (evidence for the prosecution) to Lisanne relatives. At the same time, she said that she was waiting for the Kremers family request to deliver Kris' remains to them. Arrocha said he will not make that request, because those bones are essential to complete the research evidence [and thus they must stay in Panama and Pitti should not get off further investigation so easily]. The European forensics also revealed that the girls made ​​several calls to Dutch and Panamanian helplines, 112 and 911, respectively."

Here the local Panamanian TV channel TVN-2 simply confirms that they had early insight into the memory card of Kris and Lisanne's digital camera 

They aired it on June 17, 2014, the date that also mysteriously appeared in the EXIF data of some of the photos on the girls' digital camera. The backpack and the camera was found on June 11th 2014, and ended up at the police desk about a day later. Juan viewed the photo data of these photos coming from the memory card and noticed on many this same date of June 17th 2014 (around 17:00 PM) as well as the field 'Microsoft Photo Viewer 6.30' added - opening up the possibility that some of these photos may not only have been viewed and shared by Panama before the Dutch officials could do the actual investigation into these photos, but that they could theoretically also have been worked on and altered. Either by TVN (who showed them before the family even saw those photos, damnit) or perhaps by Betzaida and her team.. So, it looks like Panamanian journalists were allowed to view photos from the memory card from Kris and Lisanne's camera, despite Panama having made a promise to the Dutch forensics institute (NFI) that they in fact would be the one to get the card and were the ones to investigate these photos. I wonder if TVN paid some good money for this. TVN also explicitly say that they have exclusive insight in these photos at the 0:45 minute point of the video. So what TVN wrote about for their article is that their journalists viewed this memory card and noticed that the girls met two young men from Costa Rica during the two weeks they first spent in Bocas del Toro. The fact they shared these photos in the video (you can see them at 02:10 - 02:15 but I also add screenshots on the right here), dating also June 17th 2014, proves that they were in fact given access by Panamanian authorities to view the photos from the girls' camera. They may have paid for it, but still. It shows once more that these photos were seen and possibly even worked on before they made it to the Dutch forensics institute.

Eventually it was also confirmed in the case files
that yes, Betzaida Pittí and her team did admit to viewing, rotating and 'brightening' (in photoshop) some of the photos on the girls' Canon SD card before sending the evidence to the NFI: the actual forensic specialists who were asked to do the investigation of the phones and camera. And the Dutch NFI professionals were NOT informed that Pittí and her people had already examined, at minimum, the data from the electronic devices and that they had edited some of the photos on the SD card on June 17, 2014. The originals are therefore not available for the NFI's investigation. And get this: the NFI investigators were also unaware that text messages and contacts from Lisanne's phone were already backed up. So they weren't able anymore to read out her phone in a safe and controlled manner either. Juan was right all along. 

Juans opinion on this: "Yes, officials may have done a lot of things. Just like the data on these photo files indicate. Including the deletion of file 509 for example, potentially Those pictures of Bocas del Toro that are shown in the TV video come directly from the Canon Powershot camera. And this at a moment in time when the parents had not even seen them yet. You know how they after a long time managed to see these photos? They were given to them on some antique CD-ROM.. With a maximum size of 650 MB. What a puppet show. Just like they were so nice and friendly over there to throw images from all the remains found of these two girls live on the national TV."  -  Imagine you have a child involved in this disappearance and you have to hear from others that bones have been found in Panama and have been paraded in front of the camera, shown on national TV and with pictures sold to the newspapers. While you yourself know of nothing and hear nothing from the authorities. And then you see your daughters broken pelvis for all to see on Panamanian national TV. What a shitshow. Same thing happened with the finding of the backpack; instead of sealing it for investigators, those involved reportedly washed the bag (like, for real I don't even believe this!), jolly spread the entire content out on a table, hung the backpack on the wall, made a video of it and shared it immediately with the media. To earn some money over other people's misery? Trophy hunting at its finest? Same now with the memory card. 

Transcript of what is said in the video: TVN: Chiriqui prosecutor Betsaida Pitti left to the capital to visit laboratories specializing in legal medicine, to analyze the procedure that follows now that items were found in the backpack of the Dutch. Computer forensics will try to obtain a clue or photograph that can determine the location of the Dutch. Man 1; They have been able to take pictures of the places where they were travelling before the battery will be used, no. And this will allow us to know effectively what was the route they may have taken or if they left a recorded message or something of their situation in the area in which they found themselves strayed. TVN; TVN News exclusively had access to the photographs of Lisanne Froon's belongings found inside a small blue backpack of turquoise blue colour. Inside the backpack were two sunglasses, two bras ... plus a camera, two cell phones and $89 in cash. Betsaida Pitti; The coincidence where L & K entered and the place where the backpack was found ... TVN; aks a question that is hard to hear. Answer Betsaida Pitti: Look, it's that now I say ... we have to see if it can be probable or not probable then in this we are ... The MP can not rule out anything. TVN: Private investigator Mr. Mosquera says it could be something else. Man 2 (Mosquera); We also have to see the possibility that some elective cell will fall in the area of ​​Chiriquí that is committing this kind of situations with people. There are many disappearances in Chiriqui, where delinquents make mistakes and the authorities must take advantage of the opportunity to make operations based on information they have and that also other knowledge and repertories are handling this crime, we know that these girls are alive.

   

And on November 9th 2014, the following article appeared in newspaper Panamá América 

IMELCF REQUESTS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE UPCOMING INVESTIGATIVE EXPEDITION
Panama America reports: "A formal request to join the new expedition that will go to the community of Alto Romero, Bocas del Toro, to gather more evidence in the case of Dutch Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers, was presented by the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science to the Public Ministry. The reason for this request is because the specialists of IMELCF need to carefully observe the soil where the previous evidence was found. "We need to perform an inspection of the area to find other factors that have not been reported to us before," Diomedes Trejos, head of the Unit Biomolecular Analysis of IMELCF, said. The urgent demand released by the official will permit to determine, for example, whether the larvae that were found in one of the bone tissue of the hips of Lisanne Froon breed on the site where this bone was collected. While in one of the garments, also of Froon according to Trejos, a type of vegetation was found of which it is not known within IMELCF whether it is indigenous to the location where the first investigation was conducted or if it belongs to a secondary location, the source said. Trejos also clarified that at first certain details that are vital to the investigation were unavailable, like soil type, temperature, moisture, insects or plant species that exist in the region." This information about the area is needed to interpret some results of the findings," he said. Furthermore, Trejos confirmed that DNA analysis that will be practiced to the left boot and sock of Lisanne may contain bodily fluids (saliva, mucus or blood) that might provide favorable data for generating hypotheses, provided such garments have been preserved properly. "The preservation of that evidence is key to the investigation," he said. Finally it was known that Bethsaida Pittí , prosecutor in charge of the case, said she has already talked with the representatives of the Dutch Embassy in Panama to carry out the handing over of the skeletal remains of Kris Kremers to her parents."  

Interesting to read is just how scathing and strong this coroner speaks out against prosecutor Betzaida Pitti. The coroner said: it is unbelievable that someone as incapable as her was placed there. And what 'garment of Froon' was found? Was this her dark shorts?

I add some comments now (also translated) that were left below the online version of these two newspaper articles.  

"It is important to try to define the approximate date of death. According to the bones of the femur and tibia, they were very well preserved. Because it is important that it can be defined if they were kept somewhere and died at a much later date. With these tests the coroner has obtained a lot of information."

"With the information given by the criminologist Calderón about the mishandling of the evidence by the public prosecutor's office, the lawyer Arrocha has all the reasons for bringing the family members' demands before the international court. I hope Adelita will continue to update us with the latest revelations about the case."

"The prosecution has been disgusting in that process, or has been ignorant, or did it on purpose. That she chooses, but saying that she did her job well is a falsehood."

"The group of criminals must also be informed that they are fighting against the public ministry, so that they realize what happened. The interested party has two great fronts, part of the M.P and the criminals .... And then there is the confidence matter in that Prosecutor, for the good of the investigation they should take her off the case, please. She is on the side of who exactly? Of those interested in seeking the truth, or on the side of the criminals?"

"If the investigation of the disappearance and / or death of two foreign young girls, taking into account the long time elapsed, is full of so much confusing information, without really knowing what happened to them; Panamanians, especially those of us who are not rich, or famous, what can we expect from the so-called "Panamanian authorities" if something similar happens to our relative? My response and opinion: absolutely nothing. As my old man said, q.e.p.d ..: mulio!"

And below this article: "We all know what happened but the Public Ministry is just a group of bureaucrats more."  [..] - "Poor girls ... they found a sad end, in a land so far away ... And as always in panama NOBODY KNOWS NOTHING! Because we have inept people without titles and university studies, and if they have them, witch titles of the internet ... in comment posts ... NPROSTIMACY-CORRUPTION ... it's almost panama from bad to worse ..." 

And here: "Very inefficient and intolerant, she [Betzaida Pitti] is not the one who wanted to investigate, she has done things forced by her position, and because the parents have been there pending, weight to this, she has incurred in fiscal and procedural errors.. I hope that the punishment will be applied to those foreigners, and arrest the criminals who did it." "This lawyer needs a superior support to that Prosecutor, is fighting with her and with the criminals, or is that they have her there to obstruct the investigation, even when this fight. Greetings to the mayor."

More revelations about Betzaida Pitti's remarkable investigation and handling of this case

Radio episode of Een Vandaag of August 4th, 2014. 
Thanks to Juan for unearthing this footage. This short radio interview with Dutch reporter Jildou van Opzeeland preceded the TV airing of the Answers for Kris video, made by her parents. In this short radio interview, the reconstruction video of Hans Kremers and Roelie Grit is analyzed. Some interesting things that are said by journalist Jildou: 

-"Yes it is remarkable really that the parents are making this reconstruction themselves. It should really be the task of the police to do this. What we do know is that the authorities in Panama have walked the Pianista as well last week. They then found new bone remains of the girls. The parents had to hear about this news through the media by the way. Officially they still have not been informed about this." 

-"They had a meeting last week with the prosecutor [Pitti?] and not even there they were told about new bone remnants that were found. And now it is leaked again in the media." 

-"But ever since the DNA material was found a month ago, the authorities there have started to say that it is too dangerous to search in that area, we are going to downscale. And now the family is there once more, and the searches are continuing again. But it all remains unclear."

-"It looks a bit like.... what the parents also told me, that whenever they go there, the searches are suddenly started again. And the moment they are physically there in Panama, there is suddenly pressure again to do something. And then the authorities are ushered to take action once more. But I don't believe that the relations are very good, if you [have to] make your own reconstruction. No. And the strange thing is also, and you can see this in the footage, that the official search team passes the Kremers family at some point. But they don't speak a word with one another. They don't even wave at each other or acknowledge the other."

You can now read about my personal suspicions and beliefs about this case and the official detailed case timeline here