All experts say it was an accident, random townspeople excited for international attention concoct a crazy story that makes no sense, and no one will go on record.

Without any evidence of foul play, uses hearsay to draw conclusions. If this podcast had been made during the Salem witch trials, they’d have concluded that more witches got away with witchcraft because many people they talked to said that they saw someone who saw something.

hilarious they kept saying their sources fear for their lives and are only agreeing to talk if their identities are kept secret. Then, they proceed to say the source is the forensic anthropologist that analyzed their remains and they reveal where he lives. They also use the first name of another woman and use her real voice in interviews. 🙄

Not sure what the point of this series was. It really stretches to seem like there was a conspiracy to this story and ends up no where. At one point in the show a producer even says the hosts are trying to drum up drama for a good story rather than investigate the tragic story of two women going missing. There could be something there to investigating women being victimized but this stories angle is a stretch to brining that awareness.

The narrator’s vocal cadence and hoary accent made this unlistenable.

I don’t usually listen to podcasts, but wow, this is a good one! The recent episodes have been fantastic- the shift from the first season is noticeable, but it’s a welcomed change. I love the way the stories are being narrated, and the mix of the host’s voice with the interviews creates a captivating experience. Highly recommend giving it a listen!

Extremely sensationalist, adding little to the story apart from gossip (often reported as if it were fact). I felt increasing sympathy for the supposed “suspect” as time went on and they continually harassed him and besmirched his reputation on basically no evidence. The hand wringing over missing and murdered indigenous women read as completely performative, since this was an entire show about two murdered white women. Why not cover one of those cases instead? Especially since they uncovered absolutely nothing here.

The overall mystery is intriguing but they just use that to catch your attention and go off on their own wild goose chase of assumptions and speculation. If I was Feliciano I also would not have wanted to talk to these guys and I didn’t think there was anything in his involvement that made him as guilty as she treated him, to the extent that she says she’s too scared to be alone with him and he MUST have something to do with the disappearance. Maybe he’s involved in the case because it’s a small jungle town and he’s a big character there? Maybe he doesn’t want locals to talk to media and speculate about foul play because his livelihood is tourism and rumors of the area being dangerous to tourists and him being a murderer will destroy that? It’s borderline defamation and setting up a “sting” operation to corner a person who doesn’t want to talk to reporters and hasn’t done anything wrong IS wrong. Also the “kill” email, if not planted by the podcasters themselves, was wildly dramatized. Immediate thinking “death threat” is so dramatic AND once again assuming it’s Feliciano.

You learn nothing new about the case - just hear a ton of speculation that makes no sense. I spent hours going down a false trail about two missing white women only to be encouraged to spend my resources to find missing indigenous women in the same region - not sure why couldn’t have used their resources to help a case that actually could be solved….

I was furious that I wasted so much time listening to a podcast where you basically learned that they had an idea of who it was before they got there, which was reaffirmed while they were there, but nothing was proven. Also, the focus on the white women while there are all of these cases she talks about that get no coverage because there are tons of women of color who are murdered and no one bothers to figure out why. Why do they not matter just as much? Why not cover their cases instead of the one that so many people have heard about? Right back to square one with this podcast.

This podcast is excellent.. Mariana is captivating! her voice and accent as a Latina journalist it’s a breath of fresh air .. mas por favor, muchas gracias

The podcast was great until they started talking about rumors surrounding an imaginary drug cartel that also did not kill the girls…….just left me very very confused.

The conversations and the ever repeated questions are just doll and the only reason is to drag out the series. The English translation from Spanish is just bad. When someone says no, how do you translate it to definite no?

Incredible storytelling. Binge-able series with as many whispers as there are truths. Listen!!

I thought from the MANY ads I’m hearing this must be worth it. I was wrong. The episodes drag on with no real progress or new information on the case. 0/10 recommend.

This is really well done! If you love a true crime podcast that is binge worthy, add this to your must listen to list now! The way the story is told with compassion and enthusiasm is riveting and demonstrates care for the subjects of the story. I’m obsessed. I thought it was one way and then I questioned everything again!

The reporter's vocal rhythm is really irritating. The way she speaks is so unnatural. It's a shames bc I'm really interested in this case, but I won't make it through.

Hosts travel the same path and lead listeners through fascinating clues and interviews with on-site residents and forensic professionals. Excellent quality production.

Truly awful rambling podcast amounting to little more than gossip with no revelations. Possibly even slander with no proof. Mostly I’m sad that a podcaster who keeps lamenting the lack of reporting on crimes against local and indigenous women uses her time and resources to make a podcast about a missing white women case that already got a lot of attention even though her investigation revealed no new information. And then failed to refocus our gaze and that to investigate stories of locals. Unclear how it got published in this form. Seems like they should have scrapped it or refocused on ongoing issues impacting the women in Panama. What a waste.

This is incredible lazy journalism that centers sensationalism over integrity and an actual investigation I made it to episode five and will not finish. This is dishonoring these girls lives and pigs witnesses in danger you provide clear information to identify sources that begged for their identities not to be known but the journalists say things like this person wants to his their identity because they fear for there lives and then say this is the neighbor of who we think killed the girls or this is the coroner who did the autopsy if there is a murderer they would easily be able to find out who the coroner is. This is lazy and uninformative.

This was really well investigated and told. So many twists and turns it had me on the edge of my seat. Such a tragic story but so glad that the journalist were able to expose corruption and get some answers.

Riveting and well told and deeply thoughtful and sad

This is one of the most disappointing podcasts I’ve listened to. The journalism (if you can call it that) practices are highly irresponsible and exploitative. It is sensationalized but presented deceptively in the false spirit of “wanting to tell women’s stories.” Most of what is shared is speculation and based on rumor or hearsay, dragging people’s names through the mud in the process. There is one individual/team member who has sense enough to recognize that the hosts are pursuing drama instead of the truth, but the hosts don't spend time reflecting on this valid point which is a shame - this was a missed opportunity. Sadly I had looked forward to this podcast as this was a new story to me-but wrapped up the series feeling regretful I spent my time listening.

This is murder porn trying to convince us it is responsible journalism.

Might be one of my fav podcasts of 2023. I’m hooked.

I think this podcast is so brilliantly done. You feel like you are there with every step of their investigation. It’s thorough and captivating!

Rehashing existing information, implicating individuals on the flimsiest evidence, false dramatics and rank sensationalism. This is not journalis. Embarrassing and reinforces the poor journalist reputation of the Daily Beast. Joke.

This is a great podcast, well researched, and great at balancing journalistic integrity with the desire to tell a great story. There is only one problem but it’s a big problem. Many of the translations from Spanish to English are SO CRINGEWORTHY! I can’t stand when people translate from Spanish and put a bizarre infection in. It’s like a pleading or doubtful tone, randomly placing a huge and urgent emphasis on words that are meant to be important. It sounds so childish! You can hear the Spanish they are translating from in the background and there’s no hint of that weird inflection. I have never known anyone with a South American accent to use that bizarre intonation pattern, but it’s very common from actor/interpreters. It’s very patronizing! Please just stop, it really detracts from an otherwise awesome podcast.

I listen to podcasts everyday on my day to day shifts while working for 8+ hours a day and so I go through many very fast. For months I have struggled to find one that truly wrapped me up in it and this Podcast (lost in Panama) has me in a chokehold. I have become the biggest fan of Kast podcasts and truly have been the best channel I have come across this far. If you enjoy this podcast I highly recommend their “The Opportunist” series. Very well written, great research and you can truly feel the passion and drive in each of their voices for finding the truth and uncovering as much as they can within the perimeters of sense. Highly highly recommend

There is no point to this investigation. There is no indication that there was foul play — but the hosts keep trying to suggest there was and get shut down. The forensic anthropologist in particular was like “no, it’s not likely that the killer chemically bleached a single rib bone and then brought it back to the forest to leave with the other bones.” Are you kidding me? These people are trying their hardest to make a murder where getting lost in the jungle literally explains everything. And so many ads packed into this pointless show!

The first part of the podcast, which discussed the facts and circumstances of the disappearance, was quite well done. But it’s telling that a podcast which seems to exist to investigate and fuel theories of foul play ended up convincing me that they suffered a tragic accident. The hosts rely entirely on speculation and innuendo and break a very specific journalistic principle; despite the fact that most of the individuals mentioned were never charged with a crime, they use real names and hearsay to imply they committed heinous crimes. This is deeply unethical. The experts interviewed provide testimony which suggests an accidental cause of death, but the hosts completely disregard their opinion and weave complex and implausible tale of murder. In order to justify their shoddy journalism, they cynically invoke the very real issue of femicide in Latin America, and pay lip service to the idea of justice for victims in order to advance the drama necessary to keep a relatively “thin on the facts” story going. All in all, while this originally showed promise, I ended up disgusted and very disappointed.

They got lost or hurt and eaten by animals, and I say that with kindness and love to their memory. This show and host is just grossly telling the story. Her inflection and emphasis on words and phrasing throughout would be embarrassing if it weren’t so disgusting. Shameful.

Seems like the are taking a sad circumstance and trying to gain from it. Rather than focusing on the details and the young women, the host are focused on themselves and how “heroic” they are being in trying to find the “truth.” It appears that all their “truth” is wild speculation, trying to keep the story alive, which can only be harmful to the loved ones left behind.

I had high hopes, but it becomes clearer and clearer that the journalists are simply choosing who to believe and who not to. The mother who says her son was a good christian boy until an attrative single mother led him astray was a breaking point for me. She doesn't care about the Dutch women, she wants to memorialize a version of her son and push her case. Which is fine, but how are these journalists not smart enough to suss it out? Nevermind the fact that they believe every bit of small town gossip/conspiracy theories that people are coming up with EIGHT years later. This is honestly embarrassing for their careers.

I appreciate them traveling to Panama to conduct this investigation. However, there was not enough evidence to make this into an entire podcast series. Perhaps, one episode would’ve done the trick. The theories discussed were a big stretch, and it definitely felt like most episodes were just filling space.

All all of this for nothing. They make you think in their previews and commercials that this is an amazing whodunit story but there is nothing that shows these girls were murdered. Even their own experts say that their scenarios of a murder and a coverup just don’t fit. Everything that they try to say points to a murder, their experts say they do not. The story just goes nowhere and abouthalfway through you realize that and you realize that they’re just trying to fill time.

I gave this podcast a shot, and the “revelations” and theories end up going nowhere. There was no big bombshell. The “recap” episodes added nothing to the story either. If you don’t mind a letdown or lack of resolution, give it a listen.

Kast Media and the reporters should be embarrassed by this exploitive trash. There was no bombshell evidence and every theory they had was shot down by experts. These poor women died hiking and people need to stop using their deaths for gain. Just let the families move on. Gross. The cynic in me even wonders if everything in the podcast is real. Many conversations felt staged and a lot of convenient coincidences. Their guide just happened to have a friend who knew the farm hand. They just happened upon the prime suspect in a bar who never showed up again. They couldn’t record the tour guide and had to have their conversation relayed by German tourists who they just happened upon on the same trail.

This is a compelling — and tragic — story. Sadly, this podcast leans much too far into supposition and self-aggrandizement to do the story justice.

Thank you for your incredible bravery and perseverance to find facts and truth! Even if justice doesn’t come, the world knows the truth because of this podcast. But praying for justice! Also praying for the safety of those that risked their lives to talk!

Good story but doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. Very theoretical speculations… It’s good author brought light to subject. LOTS of commercials.

The first five episodes of the podcast are really interesting and give insight into the case. However, the theories that they present in episode six and seven are beyond speculation and I was incredulous at how serious the hosts took them. Suggesting that someone killed them that first afternoon and then faked all of the emergency calls, AND phone unlocks and turn on/off, AND the pictures, and then strategically spread out some of the remains, is such a stretch. I do think foul play was involved at some point, but the theory they put forth is just too complicated to be the right answer.

I was very young when this occurred but as a local I mostly heard the government’s version and what people discussed on the streets. I always thought justice would be brought to whoever did this to las Holandesas. Thank you for bringing this case back to light! P.S.: the Ngabe Bugle tribe’s name is pronanounced “nabe buglé”

I think one of the team said it best in episode 6: “I think you guys have got in your head that we’re creating a podcast, it has to be dramatic, so now your goal right now is to create drama for a show, not really solve a case.” I believe this podcast was well intentioned; the team is clearly willing to put in the work and take risks to find out the truth. Unfortunately, I think that the speculation and confirmation biases went a little too far. Of course all possibilities should be considered, but why bring on experts to talk about aspects of the case if they won’t be listened to? The hosts heard what they wanted to hear from the experts, sometimes latching onto the things the experts concede COULD have maybe happened even when the experts clearly state what their experience would lead them to conclude. The podcast hosts know how to weave a compelling story. I’d like to hear more from them in the future, but in a podcast that is more grounded in evidence than this one was.

Seems like the host just accepts any story without skepticism and I had the feeling they were trying very hard to make these disappearances more dramatic for the sake of the podcast.

I live in panama and I hope the case could be re open because boquete is a beautiful place in my country that should be a safe place, bad people should be in lockdown and more should have been done for those girls now I probably won’t be looking to stay anyway near un sabroson or even consider to buy/stay near Palo Alto.

Thought it was very well done. Not sure what the negative reviews are about. The people being interviewed were well aware of the possible consequences and still chose to speak. The host cannot make anyone do anything. These are grown adults who make their own choices. I also didn’t feel the host was leading to anything just stating facts about femicide and how predominant it is there. If it looks like a duck & quacks like a duck… Anyways I definitely recommend listening. Great work!

What was discovered in this case ? nothing but inneuendos about what could have happened and who could have happened. Where are the facts?

This podcast had a lot of promise and seemed to be making strides in the investigation just to leave us all back in the same place it started. Disappointing.

Although the team and host are obviously passionate about this subject, halfway through the “journalism” becomes so ridiculous and irresponsible it’s hard to listen to without getting angry. They turn away from the most reasonable theory (one backed up by experts, scientist, and evidence) and onto a conspiracy based on nothing but far-fetched and often contradictory hearsay and rumor. At one point a “witness” gives them “testimony” of what happened. Which he heard from his uncle. Who heard it from his sister-in-law. Who heard it from her nephew. Come on. (BTW why was there NO follow up on the witness who said he heard the girls screaming and saw men hiding in the forest watching them!?) Their willingness to cast suspicion and project malice onto real people (again, with no evidence) to create dramatic tension is astonishing. At one point they ask a law enforcement officer involved in the case (which they’ve probably been asked about nonstop for years) to be interviewed for this (heavily monetized) show, but the officer said they’d only do it if there was some kind of compensation. My *jaw dropped* when the host said that maybe the officer didn’t care about the victims, or maybe they “had something to hide.” Just….astonishing. This happens way too often in true crime podcasts that cover cases with little information or evidence and don’t have a satisfying conclusion - they try to manufacture it. When that comes at the cost of throwing real people under the bus and accusing them of heinous crimes, unethical doesn’t even begin to describe it. Also, I’ve stayed in the Palo Alto neighborhood in Boquete. There are mango trees *everywhere.*