Remains identified as Dutch tourists who were missing in Panama

Forensic tests have confirmed that the bodies of two women found in a dense patch of cloud forest near the Costa Rica-Panama border are Dutch tourists who had been missing since April.

Lisanne Froon, 22, and Kris Kremers, 21, had traveled to Boquete, Panama, to do volunteer work with a group of local children. On April 2, the pair went on a hike down a mountain path bordering Costa Rica. They were never seen again, local residents told the BBC.

According to a separate BBC report, an 18-person Dutch search team traveled to the area in May but did not find any sign of the women.

Later, Panamanian police found human remains, a backpack, two cellphones and a pair of boots believed to have belonged to the women.

On Monday, forensic analysts matched DNA from the remains to Froon’s family members, and on Wednesday, Kremers’s family released a statement saying they believed Kremer’s body also was found in the forest.

Investigators have not yet determined the causes of death.