>>1353613>>1353824>>1355288>>1355308>>1355357https://www.thedailybeast.com/did-a-serial-killer-stalk-the-lost-girls-of-panamahttps://imgur.com/a/ITPQCMore recent independent investigations point to the possibility that they were stalked and murdered, not necessarily at the same point in time. It coincides with numerous similar disappearances and murders of women in the same area the following months. The local authorities seem very keen on hushing it down, since a scare could damage the tourism which they are highly dependent on.
In the article above, wilderness forensic expert Carl Weil also mentions how hikers rarely turn back once they've psychologically committed to keep going along a path. Furthermore, one image appears to have been securely deleted from the memory card in the girls' camera (which would require hooking it up to a computer), for some reason.
Pic related was taken in complete darkness, 10 days after their disappearance. There are also pictures of Kris Kremers bloodied head, but her face is not visible so it is hard to tell if she was alive or dead when the photo was taken.