Disappearance Stories
A Warning To Travelers Visiting Central America
Below I’ve outlined some well known stories of disappearances in Central America.
I live in Central America. I know how fun it can be to travel to different cities, visit ruins, swim in crystal clear water and go “off the beaten path”. The best experiences of my life are from my backpacking trips in Mexico, Central America and South America.
However, it would be dishonest for me not to offer a serious token of caution to my fellow backpacker friends. My goal is not to sensationalize the stories below. My goal is to create awareness and ensure that everyone is safe.
Even experienced travelers have gone missing. Many are never found. The vast majority of disappearances and deaths are the result of crime. The jungles are sometimes dangerous, but most disappearances are the result of human involvement.
Countries in Central and South America are very different from your home country. It’s absolutely critical for you to respect your surroundings.
Cartels, gangs and individual criminals do not care who you are. Even if you don’t have any money, they will think you are rich…because you are rich by their standards. Most criminals are poor. The mere fact that you can afford to travel means that you are a target.
Drug trafficking, human trafficking, organ harvesting, rape, human sacrifice and murder have all been in the news. People are sometimes killed simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
If you go missing, it will be very hard to find you. The rainforests are endless. The jungles are thick. Police are often unhelpful or untrustworthy. Investigators often lack proper training and mishandle evidence. Locals are afraid to talk, out of fear of retaliation. Government officials often cover-up murders to protect their precious tourism industry. Search teams often take too long to organize and yield no results. It’s 100% your responsibility to be careful.
The vast majority of victims are people that travelled alone.
Explore with people you can trust. Never be alone in public at night. Be very cautious while traveling.
Notable Disappearance Stories
German Tourist Sexually Assaulted After Being Lost In Panama’s Jungles
In 2017, a German tourist was traveling through a lesser-known town of Panama's Veraguas Province called Santa Fe. Her disappearance story is eye-opening and should be a message of caution to travelers. After she was found alive, she had a chilling story to tell. Her...
“They were greeted by men with tire irons and machetes”
Justin Booska, 27 years old, was a man from the United States that disappeared in Guatemala in 2018. Justin was traveling with friends in Guatemala prior to his disappearance. Perhaps the most unsettling part of his disappearance was the way in which the locals...
Two Surfers Killed In Mexico On “Highway Of Death”
In 2016, Dean Lucas and Adam Coleman, both 33 years old, were surfers traveling down the pacific coast to surf the best waves they could find. They were driving a classic surfer mobile, a 1992 Chevy van. They made numerous stops in California, then later crossed the...
Holger Hagenbusch – A Disturbing Murder and Exposed Coverup in Mexico
In April of 2018, German cyclist Holger Hagenbusch disappeared at the same time as Krzysztof Chmielewski, another cyclist traveling through Mexico on his bike. Holger Hagenbusch was from Germany and had previously cycled through 34 countries. Krzysztof Chmielewski was...
Kris Kremers Bleached Bones – Deeper Insights
Kris Kremers bones are discussed less often regarding the disappearance case of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon. When Kris Kremers bone fragments were found, forensic investigators claimed that Kris's bones were bleached in some fashion, that phosphorus was discovered...
Jesse Galganov’s Disappearance on Peru’s Santa Cruz Trail
Jesse Galganov disappeared in Cordillera Blanca mountains during a 4-day hike in Peru. The last day anyone heard of Jesse Galganov was on September 28, 2017. He was an experienced traveler. After he went missing, his family launched several search campaigns in Peru to...
Unsolved Mystery: Flight TC-48 Vanished in Costa Rica
On November 3rd, 1965, Flight TC-48 was traveling from Argentina to the United States. After a stop in Panama the plane was in route to its next checkpoint in El Salvador. However, the plane never made it further than Costa Rica's Talamanca Mountains. The 68 Argentine...
Rocco Acocella – Italian Sailor Lost In Caribbean Sea On Catamaran Boat
Rocco Acocella was sailing through the Caribbean Sea during June of 2019, visiting numerous Caribbean islands with plans to sail south to Barranquilla, Colombia. While en route, his emergency signaling device (PLB1) went off 250 miles (385 km) from Barranquilla. It...
Remains of Alaskan Backpacker Found In Costa Rica Jungle
Cody Roman Dial, known as "Roman" to his friends and family, went missing in 2014 while exploring Costa Rica. He was an avid outdoorsman similar to his father. Before visiting Costa Rica, he had also visited Guatemala's mountains and Nicaragua to go surfing. He was 27...
Disappearance of Carla Valpeoz In Peru (Full Story)
Carla Valpeoz disappeared in Peru on December 12, 2018. She was a native from San Antonio, Texas and later lived in Detroit before traveling to Peru where she mysteriously vanished without a trace. The unsolved mystery is nothing less than a tragedy that continues to...
Body of Nathaly Ayala Possibly Dumped Into a Peru River After Zipline Accident
Nathaly Salazar Ayala was visiting Peru from her home country of Spain, although originally born in Ecuador. She was visiting the famous salt-mines of the town of Maras, in southern Peru’s Sacred Valley. On the morning of January 2nd, Nathaly left her hostel wearing a...
Joe Dunsavage Went Missing in Honduras, Was Never Found
Joseph Dunsavage disappeared one day in 2009 when he went sailing for a solo day-trip off the island or Roatan, Honduras. Dunsavage boarded the small catamaran and set off for his brief trip alone. He was visiting from New Jersey. He left his wallet, keys, passport...
Jet-ski of Missing Vacationers Found – Oscar Suarez and Magdalena Devil
On June 24th, 2019, Oscar Suarez and Magdalena Devil went missing while vacationing in Barbados. Their week-long trip was on the western coast of Barbados in the town of Holetown. The young couple had left together on one rented jet-ski. Both were wearing life...
Unsentenced Mexican “Stewmaker” Was Dissolving Bodies In Caustic Soda
In 2009, Santiago Meza López, known as “el Pozolero” was caught dissolving bodies in Lye to make them disappear for cartels in Mexico. He dissolved more than 300 bodies for Teodoro Garcia Simental, the leader of a Mexican drug cartel that wanted him to utilize this...
Harry Devert’s Motorcycle And Body Found In Michoacan, Mexico
Harry Devert was a world traveler, often taking on risky travels and visiting remote parts of the world. Harry was a businessman, only 33 years old, that worked in Pelham, New York. He was on top of the world. In 2014, Harry decided to do a motorcycle trip from the...
Yvonne Baldelli’s Body Found In Panama After Ex-Marine Boyfriend Killed Her
In 2011, Yvonne Baldelli and her boyfriend Brian Brimager moved their lives to Bocas Del Toro, Panama to start a new life together. They had lived there for two months. Brian Brimager was a retired United States Marine. The two took pictures having fun, dancing and...
Unsolved: Kris Kremers And Lisanne Froon In Panama (FULL STORY)
Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon hit international headlines in 2014 as search teams organized and canvased the jungles of Panama for these two missing Dutch girls. People around the world have been analyzing the details of their disappearance. To this day the story of...
Travel Safety Tips For Central & South America
Check out the travel safety tips for people traveling specifically to Mexico, Central America and South America.
How to Avoid Disappearing – Travel Tips That Will Save Your Life
In order to ensure that you are not a victim of crime, please at least be aware of these tips!