Young Woman from the U.S. Missing in Bocas, Found Dead

[Querencia]

2 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

After reading this review / warning from Trip Advisor it's abundantly clear to me that no one should head down this trail alone, regardless of gender.

You really have no idea how many attacks there has been on the trail and beach, so so many. 

[JimAndNena]

22 hours ago, JudyS said:

My first thought was that she had been killed somewhere else, and her body was dumped in this remote spot.  Odd that several men on the forum assumed she was a foolish woman who went where she shouldn't have been, got lost, and died there.

I got the same "vibe" Judy.  Usually the reaction by those who have some business interest to protect is to blame the victim for bad judgement.  It has become a standard response to save Panama's "paradise" illusion.  Panama is a great place to visit; it is just not a place where one let their guard down, especially Bocas.

[Uncle Doug]

A mugging is one thing.  It's a violent robbery.  This incident is different because the strangulation shows a definite intention to kill.   The violence here is far beyond what was necessary to obtain whatever valuables she might have had with her.

Someone there is willing to kill a perfect stranger for fun. I don't think there is any other conclusion we can draw.

 

[BlueBird]

6 hours ago, JimAndNena said:

I got the same "vibe" Judy.  Usually the reaction by those who have some business interest to protect is to blame the victim for bad judgement.  It has become a standard response to save Panama's "paradise" illusion.  Panama is a great place to visit; it is just not a place where one let their guard down, especially Bocas.

 

Maybe my English is not good but why do you and Judy S. say men on this forum and business owners blam the victim for bad judgmet. i do not understand.

[Roger B]

2 hours ago, Uncle Doug said:

A mugging is one thing.  It's a violent robbery.  This incident is different because the strangulation shows a definite intention to kill.   The violence here is far beyond what was necessary to obtain whatever valuables she might have had with her.

Someone there is willing to kill a perfect stranger for fun. I don't think there is any other conclusion we can draw.

 

People

 

All what we are doing here is SPECULATE.  We are not conducting the investigations, we are not part of the investigation so all our opinions here are only that... opinions and speculations.   I suggest to wait for what the investigations will reveal.

Speculating like all here do, I would say that I found very interesting the comments done by Uncle Dog.  Strangulation is a very personal way of killing a person.  It is something done close to the victim until it is dead.  Usually the robbers or maleantes in Panama do not kill their victims unless the robbery turns bad.  They do not take additional care of killing a person and dumping the body somewhere else.  They usually leave the body where the robbery occurs and run away from the scene.  

If it is proved that the poor girl was killed in other place and the body was left on that trail then  It is more the kind of crime that the person who commited it would like to hide it as much as possible until he/she dissapear without suspect.   It is trying to hide the crime.  Could be a person close to the victim in the last 24 hours before was killed.  

Panamanians serial killers are very rare in this country.  In my 57 years in this country I have only heard about two cases.  I knew one of them because one uncle I did have was the state assigned attorney of the criminal.  A sexual crime?  It could be possible a Rape that went bad.

What if the criminal was not a local person but another expat?  Foreign people tend to not trust a 100% on locals but open too much to other tourist and trust on people of their same country.  

As I said we have to wait for the investigations results.  I do really hope this case be solved quickly and sending the criminals to prison.

[JudyS]

Roger - "a rape that went bad"?  Is there such a thing as a rape that turned out well?  I know what you mean, but that was jarring.

[Marcelyn]

On 2/10/2017 at 1:42 PM, Roger B said:

People

All what we are doing here is SPECULATE.

...

 

Thank you, Roger. Your postings are always excellent with good insight about Panama. Thoughtful material based on experience and knowledge.

[Moderator_02]

Given now that two CL members are misinterpreting some of my earlier content, I feel compelled to clarify my words and logic. Not chastising here, but simply commenting about how people interpret words differently. Life's experiences have taught me that two people can look at the same set of data and make totally opposite conclusions. Further, sometimes their conclusions are based on their life experiences and they don't realize that they are biased.

I am disappointed that JudyS thinks that I was blaming the victim. Refer to her posting:

On 2/9/2017 at 8:28 AM, JudyS said:

My first thought was that she had been killed somewhere else, and her body was dumped in this remote spot.  Odd that several men on the forum assumed she was a foolish woman who went where she shouldn't have been, got lost, and died there.

I was the source of the second sentence that JudyS quoted. And then JimAndNena came to the same conclusion as JudyS. Maybe I could have worded the troubling sentence in a better way:

On 2/6/2017 at 7:08 AM, Moderator_02 said:

Moderator comment: The reason for posting this amplifying news article about this tragic loss is to show another image of the location where the body was located. One has to wonder why an unaccompanied female would be in such a location. There has to be more to this story.

I thought my words were clear, precise, and to the point. Obviously not the case. Apologies, and I will try harder in the future.

Never once did I think Catherine Johannet was a "foolish woman". In fact, I thought the exact opposite. Nor did I ever blame her.

Here is my train-of-thought: Catherine Johannet is reported to be a 23 year old college graduate. From what I have read, she apparently traveled extensively. I would presume her to be experienced in worldly affairs, intelligent, well educated, and discriminating, and would not knowingly place herself in a risky situation. Thus there had to be more to this story -- specifically meaning foul play. But there was no credible information to take the story in that direction until some basic crime scene work was completed and reported out.

As someone accountable for information that I put into the public domain, I have a duty to post only responsible, accurate, and factual information. Speculation is not being responsible. Absent any facts suggesting or confirming a crime, I should not speculate (well certainly not in this forum). Had I written "One has to wonder why an unaccompanied female would place herself  (or words to that effect) in such a location", then I would have been guilty of JudyS's accusation. I did not write those words. Please reread what I wrote. Note that I even prefaced my words with the phrase "Moderator comment:", meaning that I was injecting something additional into the reportage.

Further, I am also a bit concerned over some subtle but inescapable snipes or baiting here. Innuendo that business owners place their pecuniary interests above those of personal security are to be carefully said (much less, written), and doing so could result in liable and/or slander charges against the author. I choose to believe that these comments are not intentional. At least I hope so. I am not so naive to believe that such does not occur, but documentation is really called for and availing oneself of the proper channels to resolve such activities is the appropriate course of action. Caution is advised.

At the time that I wrote what I wrote there were NO facts indicating foul play. I was being responsible in my reportage. Unfortunately, more facts have now surfaced and the reports are that foul play definitely was involved in Catherine's death.

[JudyS]

I also got some private messages validating what I said, but I saw how I could have misinterpreted the comments.  That's why I posted the story about the woman who worked at Home Depot, to acknowledge that things aren't always as they appear.  I'm glad you cleared that up Bud, because you aren't the kind of person who would blame the victim, so I was puzzled when I read that.  That and a couple of similar comments bothered me so much, I finally had to say something, because I was thinking, "Please people, don't go there!".  Sorry I misunderstood you.

[Bonnie]

3 hours ago, Moderator_02 said:

Further, I am also a bit concerned over the subtle but inescapable snipes or baiting here.

Bud, I think your innate politeness has compromised your ability to understand that people express themselves differently. I don't perceive any snipes or baiting, only posters who tend to speak more directly than you do.

[Admin_01]

28 minutes ago, Bonnie said:

Bud, I think your innate politeness has compromised your ability to understand that people express themselves differently. I don't perceive any snipes or baiting, only posters who tend to speak more directly than you do.

Thanks, Bonnie. Perhaps I should be less polite in the future and more of a curmudgeon. I'll try to do better.

On the other hand, I was taught by my parents that honesty and politeness (in that order) are important personal traits -- for everyone.

[Keith Woolford]

Quote

Moderator preface to Keith's posting: Keith experienced many problems in getting this newspaper article posted here on CL. Part of the problem was faulty HTML coding on the newspaper's website, and part of the problem is that CL can be difficult at times with mixed media. I have cleaned up this newspaper article as best as I can, while keeping the highest fidelity of imagery possible. This editing was done with Keith's permission.

This article today from the National Post includes some of Catherine Johannet's Instagram photos and messages from her siblings and gives a bit of insight into her vibrant young life. I checked out some of her other pics on Instagram, she was an excellent photographer.

---

Globetrotting Columbia grad, 23, strangled to death with her own sarong on Panama island: reports

A globetrotting 23-year-old who had already visited six continents was having the time of her life on a Caribbean island before she was strangled to death with her own sarong.

“I found paradise and it’s called Isla Ina!” American tourist Catherine Johannet wrote in what would be her last-ever Instagram post. The comment was posted Jan. 28 — days before she disappeared — alongside a selfie that showed a beaming Johannet at a beautiful beach with tall palm trees.

Panama’s Civil Defence said Johannet’s body was found Sunday on a trail in a wooded area not far from a beach on Panama’s Bastimentos Island. The U.S. Embassy in Panama City confirmed the New York native’s death.

An autopsy found that Johannet was strangled to death, and local TV station Nex Noticias reported that the murderer used her pink sarong (pareo rosado) in the attack. A massive manhunt is underway to catch the killer.

FacebookCatherine Johannet in a 2013 Facebook photo.

The FBI flew to Panama to help local authorities search for Johannet throughout the weekend, and will continue investigating the case, the U.S. Embassy said.

Johannet went missing last Thursday after she traveled to Bastimentos from nearby Colon Island, where she had been staying. It was supposed to be a day trip, but she never returned. Her hostel filed a missing persons report Saturday morning, Johannet’s sister Laura Johannet wrote in a Facebook post. Her family flew to Panama to assist in the search, but by Sunday they were identifying a body.

“Unfortunately the worst has been confirmed. She passed away. We said goodbye to her today,” her older brother, Paul Johannet, wrote in a Facebook post Sunday night. “We love and miss her dearly. She was a world traveler — by the age of 23, she had already visited 6 continents and innumerable countries, including a recent 18-month trip to Vietnam where she taught English Literature to local students. She was cheerful, adventurous, thoughtful and warm — all qualities I strive towards. I’ll always look up to my youngest sister.”

Quote

Paul Johannet

on Monday

Hi everyone. Thank you for your amazing efforts to search for my youngest sister Catherine, who went missing while traveling in Panama last Thursday. It brought comfort to our worried hearts knowing that you were already looking for her while we were still flying to Panama. Unfortunately the worst has been confirmed. She passed away. We said goodbye to her today. We love and miss her dearly. She was a world traveler - by the age of 23, she had already visited 6 continents and innumerable countries, including a recent 18-month trip to Vietnam where she taught English Literature to local students. She was cheerful, adventurous, thoughtful and warm - all qualities I strive towards. I'll always look up to my youngest sister.

Johannet’s siblings said in separate Facebook posts that they were grateful for all the help they received from her friends around the world, who helped coordinate the search with people living in Panama while the family was travelling to the island.

“Thank you for your support as we tried to find my baby sister. All your shares and contact with others helped us feel like we were doing something while we were stuck getting there. We will always appreciate that,” Laura Johannet wrote in a Facebook post.

“My family is thinking of all our beautiful memories with our laughing, adventurous, warm little girl. She was always there to listen to you and just enjoy life with her loved ones.”

Quote

Laura Johannet

last Sunday

hey friends. thank you for your support as we tried to find my baby sister. all your shares and contact with others helped us feel like we were doing something while we were stuck getting there. we will always appreciate that. unfortunately we have learned today that she has passed away. my family is thinking of all our beautiful memories with our laughing, adventurous, warm little girl. she was always there to listen to you and just enjoy life with her loved ones. we will keep you posted on funeral plans.

Johannet graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor’s degree in comparative literature in 2015. She worked as an English teacher in Vietnam between July 2015 and October 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. She graduated from Edgemont High School in 2011, and the school’s superintendent Dr. Victoria Kniewel told the local paper lohud.com that the community is “saddened by this tragic news.”

“Catherine was a joyous and bright young woman, with a promising future ahead of her. Edgemont was Catherine’s home for so many years, and it’s so distressing to learn of her passing,” Kniewel said in a statement. “We have her and her family in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.”

A funeral service will be held for Johannet at Scarsdale Congregational Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Laura Johannet encouraged her sister’s friends around the world to light a candle in her memory if they cannot make it to New York for the funeral.

“I know she would love that.”

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/globetrotting-columbia-grad-23-strangled-to-death-with-her-own-sarong-on-panama-island-reports

Edited February 11, 2017 by Moderator_02
correcting HTML coding issues that resulted in missing images

[Brundageba]

I know all of us here in Boquete who were living here when the two gals form Holland went missing are saddened and dumbstruck at the same time that a tragedy such as happened to this young woman could yet again happen here. I say this because so much was publicized of the dangers of hiking alone.  She was young bright and no doubt saw no danger in a jungle trail off in the middle of nowhere.  She most likely may have trusted a person she should not have.  I was like that when I was her age.  All I can say is I'm sad...period.  This is such a shame. My heart goes out to all those who mourn for her .

[Moderator_02]

Quote

Serial killer speculation denied

Posted on February 10, 2017 in Panama

Post Views: 208

SPECULATION that there is a serial killer in Bocas Del Toro has been denied by Panama’s  Security Minister Alexis Bethancourt.

Meanwhile the FBI is assisting local investigations  into the murder of  23-year-old, American tourist Catherine Johannet whose strangled body was found  in a wooded area on Sunday, February  5

Lisannre Froon and Kris Kremers

Panama America reports that according to a source who works as a criminologist for a state institution, there are similarities in the cases of the American and the young  Dutch women  Lisanne Froon and Kris Kremers whose remains were found  in Bocas del Toro in 2014.

Bpth cases are being  closely followed by FBI agents who are in Panama says Panama America.

The criminologist source  says a serial  killer could be a man between 25 and 35 years of age, and  a man with strength since the three victims were women weighing more than 120 pounds.

In addition,  says Panama America  investigators suspect the existence of one or more persons engaged in the murder of foreign visitors alone.

“The ages of the three victims are almost similar. Lissane Froon was 22, Kris Kremers 21; Catherine Johannet was 23 years old. They were young white women on vacation in Panama.

“Our source assured that the possible serial killer either lives in the area or arrives in Panama every summer. This hypothesis coincides with the time of the year in which both events were reported. The deaths of the Dutch young womwn   happened in April of 2014; That of the American in January 2017.

The source said that the FBI asked the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) for a list of people who enter the country as tourists in the dry season or whose  name appears more than twice in the checks of clients of hostels in Bocas del Toro sice  2014.

Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro have been scenes of murders, kidnappings and disappearances, that the authorities  do very little investigate says Panama America.

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/serial-killer-speculation-denied

[JimAndNena]

19 hours ago, BlueBird said:

 

Maybe my English is not good but why do you and Judy S. say men on this forum and business owners blam the victim for bad judgmet. i do not understand.

Robin, you list US and England as your birthplace.

I did not state anyone blamed the victim. What I did state was the the Spanish news reported the body was dumped AND the homicide chief and his team were called to the scene.  The conclusion would be that foul play WAS involved in this case and it was NOT a case of getting lost while walking on the beach. The usual spin, that IL and others with businesses in Panama that depend on expats and tourists, is that Panama is paradise and safe for everybody. It is just not true.

I freely admit to lacking in politeness but I more than make up for that in honesty, and directness.

[Keith Woolford]

11 hours ago, Brundageba said:

I know all of us here in Boquete who were living here when the two gals form Holland went missing are saddened and dumbstruck at the same time that a tragedy such as happened to this young woman could yet again happen here. I say this because so much was publicized of the dangers of hiking alone.  She was young bright and no doubt saw no danger in a jungle trail off in the middle of nowhere.  She most likely may have trusted a person she should not have.  I was like that when I was her age.  All I can say is I'm sad...period.  This is such a shame. My heart goes out to all those who mourn for her .

Terribly sad, and it would be more appropriate, imo, if people concentrated on the tragic loss of a young life instead of bickering and promoting other agendas.

[BlueBird]

50 minutes ago, JimAndNena said:

Robin, you list US and England as your birthplace.

I did not state anyone blamed the victim. What I did state was the the Spanish news reported the body was dumped AND the homicide chief and his team were called to the scene.  The conclusion would be that foul play WAS involved in this case and it was NOT a case of getting lost while walking on the beach. The usual spin, that IL and others with businesses in Panama that depend on expats and tourists, is that Panama is paradise and safe for everybody. It is just not true.

I freely admit to lacking in politeness but I more than make up for that in honesty, and directness.

 

Thank you. I read the nice answer Judy S. put on here.

[Marcelyn]

On 2/11/2017 at 9:03 AM, Keith Woolford said:

Terribly sad, and it would be more appropriate, imo, if people concentrated on the tragic loss of a young life instead of bickering and promoting other agendas.

I'm in agreement with you.

[Bud]

14 hours ago, Keith Woolford said:

This article today from the National Post includes some of Catherine Johannet's Instagram photos and messages from her siblings and gives a bit of insight into her vibrant young life. I checked out some of her other pics on Instagram, she was an excellent photographer.

---

Globetrotting Columbia grad, 23, strangled to death with her own sarong on Panama island: reports

A globetrotting 23-year-old who had already visited six continents was having the time of her life on a Caribbean island before she was strangled to death with her own sarong.

...

Keith,

Thanks for posting this article about Catherine -- the person. She apparently was an ardent globetrotter as the newspaper article labeled her. And as you said, she was a very good photographer as well. Such a tragic loss of a young person with so much talent and energy. A sad story indeed.

[Roger B]

21 hours ago, JudyS said:

Roger - "a rape that went bad"?  Is there such a thing as a rape that turned out well?  I know what you mean, but that was jarring.

Judy

 

Sorry for my bad English.  I am more than good writing in Spanish and when writing in English my thoughts and ideas become a little difficult to express the way I wanted to.

What do I wanted to say with a "rape that went bad".  A criminal rapist's original intentions are to satisfy his sick behavior of sexual complacency.  Initially this criminal do not have intention of killing the victims.  How this horrible thing could "go bad"?  If the rapist is well known by the victim or the victim fight so hard with criminal, the criminal could be easily identified and in order to a avoid any penal consecuence the criminal would then kill the victim.  The original intentions were sexually oriented but...Things changed and ended with terrible consecuence.

[Querencia]

Perhaps the Moderator_02 is referencing me in my quote "A sad failure of most hotel and hostel owners failing to warn tourists that some places have known problems" when they state "Further, I am also a bit concerned over some subtle but inescapable snipes or baiting here. Innuendo that business owners place their pecuniary interests above those of personal security are to be carefully said (much less, written), and doing so could result in liable and/or slander charges against the author. I choose to believe that these comments are not intentional. At least I hope so. I am not so naive to believe that such does not occur, but documentation is really called for and availing oneself of the proper channels to resolve such activities is the appropriate course of action. Caution is advised."

I am sorry this comes across as innuendo, I mean it as a fact. I have personally spoken to people and the majority were not warned about Wizard beach. The reasons they were not warned can only be speculation. I suggest you ask tourists that were in Bocas before this tragedy if they were warned, who on earth would have documentation about that. How can there be libel or slander when people are not named? As to the poor girl killed on the trail do you believe she was warned and then went anyway? I am not even blaming the hostel owner where she stayed as they may may be new to the area and not warned themselves. 

[JudyS]

3 hours ago, Roger B said:

Judy

 

Sorry for my bad English.  I am more than good writing in Spanish and when writing in English my thoughts and ideas become a little difficult to express the way I wanted to.

What do I wanted to say with a "rape that went bad".  A criminal rapist's original intentions are to satisfy his sick behavior of sexual complacency.  Initially this criminal do not have intention of killing the victims.  How this horrible thing could "go bad"?  If the rapist is well known by the victim or the victim fight so hard with criminal, the criminal could be easily identified and in order to a avoid any penal consecuence the criminal would then kill the victim.  The original intentions were sexually oriented but...Things changed and ended with terrible consecuence.

I knew what you meant Roger, and your English is just fine.  The statement just made me do a double take, as in "Oh - whoa - what other kind of rape is there but a bad one?"  I too think it might have been a rape and murder.  I hope the police have rape kits here and are in the practice of using them.  There might have been more than one person involved in her murder, and that will help in the prosecution.  We just have to hope that this time the perps will actually be punished, not let loose to live in the community like Marion's attackers.

[Moderator_02]

Quote

President cancels visit to murder district

Posted on February 11, 2017 in Panama

Tourists still arriving

Post Views: 191

PRESIDENT Juan Carlos Varela, beset with problems linked to investigations linked to the Lava Jato and Odebrecht corruption scandals, canceled a visit to Bocas del Toro on Saturday, February 11.

He had planned to make the trip  Isla  Bastimentos, where an American woman tourist was murdered last week.

He was to have been  accompanied by Omar Pinzon director of the National Police who has drafted extra police into the area to assist Investigations to find those responsible for the killing of Catherine Johannet, 23, whose strangled body was found on February 5 on a footpath in a wooded area.

the Public Ministry authorities have not provided information on the progress of investigations.

In spite of the crime, on Isla de Bastimentos there is a

influx of tourists and the tourism authority  has  reported 80% hotel occupancy.

The National Police  have allocated more resources to this province including increased  foot and boat patrols and National Air Service surveillance.

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/president-cancels-visit-murder-district

[Moderator_02]

Quote

Investigators close to naming suspected killer of US tourist

Posted on February 12, 2017 in Panama

Mourners at the funeral of murdered American tourist

Post Views: 208

INVESTIGATORS are close to identifying the  alleged killer of American tourist Catherine Johanet, 23, whose  strangled body was found in Bocas Del Toro  a week ago 

It has been ruled out that the murderer has been involved in the crimes of other foreigners in the region. a police source told El Siglo.

On Saturday, February 17  some  200 people attended a  burial  service in Scarsdale, New York.

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/investigators-close-naming-suspected-killer-us-tourist

[Keith Woolford]

Quote

INVESTIGATORS are close to identifying the  alleged killer of American tourist Catherine Johanet, 23

After reading the source article in El Siglo I perused other media and don't see this info anywhere else.

The comments on the El Siglo article, however, reveal how little faith the community has in their criminal investigators.

Edited February 13, 2017 by Keith Woolford