Details revealed about U.S. woman found dead on Panama island
SCARSDALE, N.Y. -- A 23-year-old American tourist found dead on a Panama island last weekend was from Westchester County, New York and graduated from Columbia University.
Panamanian authorities say the body of Catherine Johannet of Edgemont was found Sunday on a wooded trail not far from a beach on Bastimentos Island.
The U.S. Embassy in Panama City confirmed her death. No cause of death was provided.
CBS New York reported that in a Sunday evening Facebook post, Johannet’s sister Laura thanked her friends for their support as they tried to find Catherine.
“My family is thinking of all our beautiful memories with our laughing, adventurous, warm little girl,” the post continued. “She was always there to listen to you and just enjoy life with her loved ones.”
The Journal News says Johannet had posted online that she graduated from Edgemont High School in 2011 and Columbia in 2015, and had worked as a teacher in Vietnam until last October.
Officials say she had been staying at a hostel on nearby Colon Island. Johannet’s family says she traveled to Bastimentos last Thursday.
Panamanian authorities and the FBI are investigating.
