Murderous Vacations: Serial Killers Stalking the Panama Highlands
A series of unsolved murders and disappearances in Panama have baffled authorities, claiming the lives of two young Dutch women, an American, and others.
Since The Daily Beast’s original “Lost Girls” investigation last summer, additional evidence and archives have been unearthed in the case. More than two dozen other victims were also reported in the same region of Panama, including a young woman from the United States found murdered earlier this year. Now a return trip to the scene of events—as well as renewed sleuthing by best-selling author Dr. Kathy Reichs and other forensic specialists—provide a fresh take on this cold case.
BOQUETE, Panama—Everyone knows everyone in a town this small. And that should make it hard to keep a secret for long. Or so you'd think.
From the quaint two-story courthouse to the outlying villages on the slopes of the Baru Volcano, the Boquete rumor mill runs all day, every day. The local buzz can make it difficult to separate genuine fact from tropical fiction, although the town boasts just a single paved street and fewer than 10,000 residents.