EIGHT  people from Isla Bastimentos in Bocas del Toro have been taken into custody as part of the investigation that is being carried out into  the death of  23-year-old American Catherine Johannet whose strangled body found Sunday Feb. 5  near a hiking trail in a wooded area.

Johannet arrived in the province of Bocas del Toro On Thursday February 2 morning and checked into a hostel. Soon after 10 am she left for Isla Bastimentos. When she failed to return, officials from the Civil Protection authority (Sinaproc), The National Police and volunteers  began a widespread  search.

Over 40 extra police have been drafted into the area to assist in the investigations.