2009 backpacker disappearance similar to recent tragedy

WHILE the weather-delayed search for clues to the death of two Dutch young women tourists in Boquete the family of a British backpacker who vanished in Panama five years ago in almost identical circumstances in the same area are still awaiting answers.

A reader forwarded this story from the Manchester Evening News:
Alex Humphrey, from Stockport, went missing while on holiday in Central America in the summer of 2009 and has never been found.
His disappearance has caused endless torment for parents Gill and Denver, who know it is highly unlikely he is still alive and worry he fell victim to a violent crime.
Their pain has been brought back into focus after two Dutch backpackers vanished from the same, small Panamanian town as their son.
Lisanne Froon, 22, and Kris Kremers, 21, went missing from Boquete in April after dumping their belongings in their hostel room and going out for a walk. …remains found in a river bed an eight-hour walk away have been identified as theirs. It is unclear how they died, but their families suspect foul play could be to blame.
The case has haunted Gill and Denver Humphrey because of the similarities to Alex’s disappearance.
The heartbroken parents, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, have now contacted the Foreign Office, calling for a travel warning about Panama.
Retired Stockport College teacher Gill, 65, said: “We want the Foreign Office to wait to see if foul play is confirmed in the case of the Dutch girls, and then come out and say Panama is dangerous.
“We’re coming towards the time of year when people go backpacking and they are going to go to Panama because they won’t be aware of the risks.
“I feel for the families of the Dutch girls. They have closure, at least, but it is the most dreadful news.” Alex vanished from the mountainous town of Boquete in August 2009, aged 29, after checking into a local hostel. He is one of around 500 Britons who go missing abroad every year.
Gill, who has two other sons, said: “Every time there is a family gathering, there’s one person missing. There’s a hole in our lives. And it actually gets worse with time.”
Denver and Gill, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, are realistic about what has happened to their ‘6ft 2ins baby’. They know it’s highly likely he is no longer alive.
.“Alex was a gentle giant. There’s not one moment I regret when it comes to him – not a thing I wished I hadn’t said or not one thing I wish he hadn’t done. I miss him all the time.”
Alex has mild Asperger’s syndrome, which can make people more trusting than others, but he had travelled alone in Europe before, so his parents were unworried when he decided to go backpacking on his own in Panama.
He arrived in the capital, Panama City, on August 11, 2009. The next day he travelled to the mountain town of Boquete, a popular place with hikers, by bus.
On August 13, he booked four nights of accommodation in the town before emailing his mum to say he had arrived.
The owner of a hostel he was staying at believes she spotted Alex leaving the following morning, but he never returned.
Two days later, with concern growing, the hostel owner went into his room and discovered his possessions, abandoned but undisturbed. Five days after he was last seen, the hostel contacted the Humphrey family and told them of Alex’s disappearance.
Panama’s search and rescue team, Sinaproc, launched a search for him – combing areas with 30 to 40 men and helicopters.
At the same time, his brothers Martin, 39, and Andrew, 37, flew out, meeting the country’s Minister of Tourism, along with officials from Britain’s Foreign Office.
The brothers took part in national media appeals and distributed missing flyers to bus and taxi drivers around the region.
They investigated a possible sighting of Alex looking disorientated at a bus stop in the small beach town of Las Lajas – 75 miles way from Boquete – but it could not be verified.
Sinaproc scaled back its efforts after a week and Gill arrived in Panama to help with the search. The family hired an American private detective living in Panama – but, again, no meaningful leads were uncovered.
With the trail cold and little left to do in the country, Andrew and Martin left for Miami, where Gill and Denver, a 65-year-old architect, have a home.
The Humphrey family then turned to Greater Manchester Police but officers were blocked from travelling to Panama by authorities in the country.
“I think permission was refused on the basis that no crime had been committed, th , that it was just a missing persons report,” Denver said.