A globetrotting 23-year-old who had already visited six continents was having the time of her life on a Caribbean island before she was strangled to death with her own sarong.
“I found paradise and it’s called Isla Ina!” American tourist Catherine Johannet wrote in what would be her last-ever Instagram post. The comment was posted Jan. 28 — days before she disappeared — alongside a selfie that showed a beaming Johannet at a beautiful beach with tall palm trees.
I found paradise and it's called Isla Ina!🏝☀️
Panama’s Civil Defence said Johannet’s body was found Sunday on a trail in a wooded area not far from a beach on Panama’s Bastimentos Island. The U.S. Embassy in Panama City confirmed the New York native’s death.
An autopsy found that Johannet was strangled to death, and local TV station Nex Noticias reported that the murderer used her pink sarong (pareo rosado) in the attack. A massive manhunt is underway to catch the killer.
The FBI flew to Panama to help local authorities search for Johannet throughout the weekend, and will continue investigating the case, the U.S. Embassy said.
Johannet went missing last Thursday after she traveled to Bastimentos from nearby Colon Island, where she had been staying. It was supposed to be a day trip, but she never returned. Her hostel filed a missing persons report Saturday morning, Johannet’s sister Laura Johannet wrote in a Facebook post. Her family flew to Panama to assist in the search, but by Sunday they were identifying a body.
“Unfortunately the worst has been confirmed. She passed away. We said goodbye to her today,” her older brother, Paul Johannet, wrote in a Facebook post Sunday night. “We love and miss her dearly. She was a world traveler — by the age of 23, she had already visited 6 continents and innumerable countries, including a recent 18-month trip to Vietnam where she taught English Literature to local students. She was cheerful, adventurous, thoughtful and warm — all qualities I strive towards. I’ll always look up to my youngest sister.”
Johannet’s siblings said in separate Facebook posts that they were grateful for all the help they received from her friends around the world, who helped coordinate the search with people living in Panama while the family was travelling to the island.
“Thank you for your support as we tried to find my baby sister. All your shares and contact with others helped us feel like we were doing something while we were stuck getting there. We will always appreciate that,” Laura Johannet wrote in a Facebook post.
“My family is thinking of all our beautiful memories with our laughing, adventurous, warm little girl. She was always there to listen to you and just enjoy life with her loved ones.”
Johannet graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor’s degree in comparative literature in 2015. She worked as an English teacher in Vietnam between July 2015 and October 2016, according to her LinkedIn profile. She graduated from Edgemont High School in 2011, and the school’s superintendent Dr. Victoria Kniewel told the local paper lohud.com that the community is “saddened by this tragic news.”
“Catherine was a joyous and bright young woman, with a promising future ahead of her. Edgemont was Catherine’s home for so many years, and it’s so distressing to learn of her passing,” Kniewel said in a statement. “We have her and her family in our thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.”
A funeral service will be held for Johannet at Scarsdale Congregational Church at 11 a.m. on Saturday. Laura Johannet encouraged her sister’s friends around the world to light a candle in her memory if they cannot make it to New York for the funeral.
“I know she would love that.”
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With files from The Associated Press
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