Creepy theory about what happened to friends who disappeared while hiking and left disturbing photos

In March 2014, two friends embarked on a life-changing journey to volunteer at a school in Panama.

But after a hike through the jungle ended tragically, her story became one of the most sinister missing persons cases in history.

Kris Kremers, 21, and Lisanne Froon, 22, traveled from the Netherlands to Panama to volunteer at a school and immerse themselves in the culture.

On April 1, 2014, the couple set out to hike the Pianista Trail near Boquete. They were never seen again.

After their disappearance, the authorities launched a large-scale search operation to find the friends.

Two months later, a pelvic bone and a foot, still in a hiking boot, were found next to a blue backpack.

DNA tests confirmed that the remains belonged to Kremers and Froon; the backpack contained their belongings, including a camera and two phones.

Six hours after starting the hike, the two men tried to call emergency services using both mobile phones, but the calls did not go through due to a lack of signal.

And although the couple has been missing since April 1, authorities found a series of disturbing photos taken on their camera just seven days later.

The images, many of which were taken at night, included shots of scattered belongings, from odd angles and of the back of Kremer's head.

What exactly happened to Kremers and Froon is still a mystery even years later, but many crime fans have expressed their suspicions.

A series of strange photos were found on her camera, taken days after her disappearance (TVN2)

According to a frightening theory, the women fell victim to a crime because they believed someone had found them on the hiking trail, kidnapped them and murdered them.

They cite the strange behavior as well as the phone and camera activity as “evidence” for the theory.

The images on the camera are completely unexplained – although some claim they may have used the flash to scare away animals – and after the first day's distress calls, they stopped trying to contact the outside world.

In addition, an extensive search of the area after the disappearance found no trace of the missing women. However, some photographs were taken a few days later.

And their remains and belongings suddenly turned up months later. Some theorists believe that if they had simply suffered a terrible accident, the extensive search efforts would have turned up something earlier.

The photos have led some to believe that the women were victims of a crime (TVN2)

Although the remains did not show any obvious signs of a crime, such as the use of firearms or sharp objects, this can never be completely ruled out given the small number of bodies recovered.

After a thorough examination of all the evidence, the Dutch authors Marja West and Jürgen Snoeren – Lost in the jungle – believe that the girls died in an accident.

However, they admit that there are many “unknowns”.

“We don't know if anyone was involved – we can't rule it out,” Snoeren told The Sun last year.

“We believe the most likely explanation is an accident, but we are not 100 percent certain.”

“We can't draw a final conclusion until we find the remaining bodies. I think there may still be remains of the girls out there in the jungle. But it's a hell of a job.”