Female Decomposed Body Found in Bocas del Toro

The Bocas del Toro Regional Prosecutor’s Office, through the Homicide and Femicide Section, ordered a genetic profile (DNA) extraction procedure on a body found Friday, July 27, 2024, on Isla Carenero, Bocas del Toro to confirm the identity.  After the body was removed, the Homicide and Femicide Section of the Bocas del Toro Prosecutor’s Office was able to establish that it was a woman; however, due to the advanced state of decomposition, it was necessary to comply with the protocols to confirm her identity.  The results of the autopsy carried out by the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences are also awaited to establish the cause of death in this investigation, as well as the probable date of death. 

The discovery was made by foreigners who were walking and found the woman in the middle of some palm trees; she was wearing shorts and her body was decomposed.  Residents of the area, notified the police authorities and, subsequently, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, opened the investigation.  They suspect that the dead woman is a Spanish tourist who was reported missing July 23.  The tourist with the surname Argintxona, born in Erandio de Vizcaya, Basque Country, was staying at a hostel on Carenero Island, in the Bocas del Toro archipelago, and disappeared on Tuesday, July 23, 2024.  On Friday, Argintxona’s relatives went to the Basque Country’s regional police, who contacted the Panamanian authorities to try to clarify whether the lifeless body found corresponds to the Spanish tourist.