- [Narrator] What is up EWU crew. Today we will be covering our top five most sinister examples of why
you should never travel alone. The following tourist horror stories will make you rethink your
upcoming solo adventures. Starting at the bottom of our list is a story that begins in
Costa Rica in November of 2018, with Venezuelan American Instagram model and social media
influencer, Carla Stefaniak. In celebration of her 36th birthday, Carla and her sister, April Burton, planned the perfect Costa Rican vacation. The two scheduled sightseeing expeditions, made reservations for delicious dinners, planned to enjoy cocktails by the beach, and were raring to go and have a fun time. In general, their vacation went well. However, a day before their trip was over, April needed to head back to Miami where the two sisters lived. Carla's flight was not departing until the following afternoon, so she opted to stay the night
in Costa Rica by herself. This seemingly minute decision would change the course
of her life forever. After April left for Florida, Carla decided that there
were still a few things left for her to see in Costa Rica. Being an Instagram model
and social media influencer, a lot of her career focused on getting the best
photos out of a vacation. With her sister's help
throughout their trip, Carla had been able to
get some great pictures that ended up on her Instagram page. After an unforgettable
day of solo exploration, Carla returned to the Airbnb that she had been staying
in with her sister. However, when she arrived
at the rental home, she realized that none
of the light switches in the hallway were working. After trying everything
to turn the lights on, she concluded that the
power must have gone out. With the little battery she had
remaining on her cell phone, Carla managed to send
a text to her sister, letting her know that the
power was out on the property and that she felt a
little uneasy about it. Throughout their stay, Carla
and April had often remarked that the area around their
Airbnb did not seem the safest but that it was good enough for the price. Little did either of the sisters know that that would be the last text message Carla would ever send. November 28th, 2018 was the last time anyone ever heard from Carla Stefaniak, well, except for one person that is. On December 3rd, 2018,
just days after her family had lost contact with her and she missed her flight back to Miami, Carla's remains were found. Tracker dogs had discovered
her remains wrapped in plastic and half hidden on a sloping
path near the Airbnb property. It did not take long for
local law enforcement to find the monster behind Carla's demise. After all, her remains had been dumped just 200 feet from the rental property. Investigators quickly learned of a man who had direct access to the Airbnb unit that Carla was renting. Bismarck Espinoza Martinez,
a local security guard became the first and only suspect in Carla Stefaniak's murder. It is assumed that Martinez
attempted to assault Carla in a certain way we cannot say on YouTube. During the struggle,
Carla tried to fight back, leaving scratch marks and
bruises on Martinez's arms. It is believed that
during this altercation, Martinez fatally wounded Carla for not doing exactly what he wanted. Martinez then disposed of Carla's remains on a remote part of the grounds where she was later discovered. After committing such a heinous crime, it is rumored that
Martinez called his wife and told her what he had done. Not long after hearing his confession, his wife called the police. Martinez's DNA was found
at the scene of the crime and he was arrested for the
murder of Carla Stefaniak shortly after. Bismarck Espinosa
Martinez was later charged with the Costa Rican equivalent
of second degree murder because there was not
enough substantial evidence to prove that the murder was premeditated. He was sentenced to
only 16 years in prison. The next story we have for you today coming in at number four on our list is that of Katherine "Kate" Chappelle. If that name sounds familiar to you, it might be because she was a
senior visual effects editor who worked on various popular
films and television shows, most notably HBO's "Game of Thrones." As evidenced by her work, Kate loved film and had a variety of other
passions and interests. One of these passions was
wildlife conservation. In June of 2015, Kate went on a trip to Johannesburg in South Africa to advocate for wildlife conservation and raise funds for the Wildlife Act. The Wildlife Act is a conservation charity and one of the many endeavors
that Kate was devoted to in her spare time. While in Johannesburg, Kate decided to visit
Johannesburg's Lion Park to get up close and
personal with the animals she so desperately wanted
to protect and save. While at the park, on the
afternoon of June 1st, Kate was given the opportunity to ride through the reserve in an SUV. This was a common practice
for the Lion Park, in which a driver who
worked on the premises operated a vehicle containing tourists. The Lion Park had only one firm rule, the car windows had to remain up for the duration of the drive. When the SUV containing an
excited and eager, Kate Chappelle began driving through the
park, everything was normal. After driving for a while,
Kate's SUV briefly stopped to better look at a pride of lions. A tourist in the car just behind Kate's watched in awe as a pair of
lions approached Kate's vehicle. The male lion brushed up
against the side of the SUV like a house cat between its owner's legs. For a moment, the lioness by his side, propped herself up against the vehicle curious to get a better look inside. Usually the saying goes that
curiosity killed the cat, unfortunately for Kate, the
opposite was true in this case. The driver of the SUV failed to realize that at some point during the drive, Kate had rolled down her window to snap the best pictures possible. Instead of rolling the window back up, she continued to reach her arms and cell phone out of the
vehicle to take more photos. In one swift movement,
the ever curious lioness lunged through the open window of the SUV. Kate had no time to react as the lioness bit into her
shoulder and then her neck, severely wounding her. The driver of the vehicle quickly began trying to fend off the lioness,
in an attempt to save Kate. When the lioness finally
retreated from the vehicle, the driver tried to apply
pressure to Kate's wounds to keep her alive. By the time, more park
employees and paramedics arrived on the scene, it was
already too late for Kate. Kate Chappelle lost her life in the passenger seat of the SUV before help could get to her. The lioness sauntered off. The third story that we have for you guys begins in Isla Colon
off the coast of Panama. In 2017, 23 year old Catherine Johannet was just a young adult
exploring the world. She had previously graduated from Columbia University with honors, and worked her first teaching
job abroad in Vietnam. Catherine loved learning, which is why when she found
herself with some free time over a winter holiday, she
jumped at the opportunity to travel around Central
America for the first time. Panama was somewhere Catherine
had always wanted to visit, so she decided to plan a vacation there chock full of educational experiences. She intended to explore
Panama's various archipelagos and provinces, and learn
as much as possible about the country's culture. Towards the end of her trip, Catherine decided to
venture away from her hostel on Isla Colon, the main Island in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago and head over to the
popular Bastimentos Island. She decided to make her
visit to Bastimentos, a simple day trip, and informed the hostel
staff on Isla Colon that she would be back by evening. She did this to ensure that her belongings would remain untouched, and at the space she'd been sleeping in would stay reserved for her. She packed up a few of her things and stuffed them into her
trusty travel backpack, and then she was off on
her latest adventure. Little did Catherine know it
would turn out to be her last. Late in the evening on February 2nd, the same day Catherine set out, employees at the Isla Colon hostel realized that she had yet to return. By then, it was already
getting darker and darker as the night rolled in. The staff knew immediately that something was seriously wrong. Catherine was a tourist who
did not speak much Spanish and it was her first time visiting Panama let alone venturing out to Bastimentos. Right away, local law
enforcement was informed of the tourist who had
abruptly gone missing. Not even three days after
Catherine had disappeared, a woman's remains were discovered along one of the beaches in Bastimentos. The woman had been suffocated, it seemed, with the very same pink bathing suit that she had been wearing. Local officials suspected right away that there had to be a connection to the female tourist reported
missing just days before. When investigators arrived on the scene, they were shocked at the
state of the remains. It was evident, the woman had been brutally
attacked by an assailant while walking along an
isolated wooded trail. She had probably been alone and did not even know
she was being followed until it was too late. It was later discovered that the killer of Catherine Johannet was a 17 year old boy native
to the Panamanian Island. The boy whose name had remained anonymous on account of his status as a
minor at the time of the crime was quickly located and arrested
shortly after the incident. At his trial, the boy
was convicted of charges that include robbery and murder. Since he was not yet an adult,
he was tried as a minor, and sentenced to only 12 years in prison. Continuing with our countdown, number two on our list
of eerie stories today is the mysterious case
of Elise Dallemange. The odd chain of events
leading up to Elise's demise and the discovery of her remains, is what makes this case so chilling. Elise Dallemange was a Belgian woman who had been traveling around Asia for a little over two years. During this, time she'd
been staying on and off at a yoga and tantra retreat on the full moon party Island
of Ko Pha-ngan in Thailand. Feeling as though her life
had come to a standstill, Elise decided to mix things up and returned to her native Belgium. On April 17th, 2017, Elise
talked to her mother on the phone and relayed her feelings, letting her know that she would soon be
returning to her hometown. On April 19th, just days
after speaking to her mother, Elise left the Island of Ko Pha-ngan for the Island of Koh Tao. Those following her case are unsure as to why she
decided to detour to Koh Tao instead of taking a ferry
directly to the mainland. But this is precisely what she did. Once she arrived, Elise checked
in to the Triple B Hotel at Maehaad Bay, and asked
for the cheapest room. She only planned to stay at
the hotel for a night or two before heading to the mainland
to catch a flight home. However, when checking into the hotel, Elise exhibited some very odd behavior. She filled in her full name
on the hotel paperwork, and then without reason,
crossed out her last name and replaced it with a fake one. When asked for identification
by hotel management, Elise refused to provide
her passport details. She told them that she would get the
information to them later. Not long after checking into her hut, Elise booked a ferry ticket to Chumphon province on the mainland, scheduled to leave the following morning. But, as she settled into her
room at the Triple B Hotel, something peculiar happened. A fire broke out among
several hotel rooms, including Elise's. In fact, officials were suspicious that Elise had started the fire herself, or that it had originated in her room. Regardless, she was forced
to flee from the hotel as three different huts
began to burn down. After the fire, Elise
continued 2.5 kilometers through the jungle to Tanote Bay and checked into a room
at the Poseidon Resort. There she booked another ticket to Bangkok that was scheduled to leave on April 24th. Looking back at her journey, it is clear to see that
she was anxious to leave. The following morning when the ferry from Maehaad Bay arrived in Chumphon, Elise was nowhere to be found. All that was discovered on the ferry was her unattended luggage. No one had any idea what had
happened to Elise for days, nor do they know where she had ended up. Her unattended suitcases were
enough cause for alarm though that search parties had been
sent out to look for her, but they consistently returned
with no valuable information. And then, there was a strange discovery made in the jungle of Koh Tao. The locals living near Tanote Bay where Elise had been staying, began to see a monitor
lizard acting strangely. The lizard repeatedly
wandered back and forth from a remote part of the jungle over the course of the day. This was odd because it
meant that the lizard was feeding on something, but that something was too large for him to finish in one sitting. Curious as to what the
lizard had preyed on that would last him so long, the locals decided to
head into the jungle. When they came to a clearing, they were shocked to find the
remains of Elise Dallemange hanging from a tree. When the discovery was
reported to the police, local law enforcement immediately ruled that Elise had taken her own life, with hardly any questions asked. Though that is what
appears to have happened, the ruling was deemed suspicious because Elise was the seventh
foreigner to meet their end under mysterious circumstances on Koh Tao in the past three years. Koh Tao holds the nickname Death Island because of the various tourists who've lost their lives
throughout the jungle. According to local law enforcement, the victims were ruled to
have taken their own lives or simply been unlucky
in almost every case. In some cases, the victims appeared to have attempted to end their lives under similar circumstances, but they suspiciously had their hands tied behind their backs. These incidents, including
the mysterious demise of Elise Dallemange, were
never fully investigated and have never been considered
anything more sinister by the local police. Finally, number one on our list is the case of Azusa "Shita"
Ino, in Kalalau Valley, Hawaii. Shita, a 31 year old woman visiting Kauai from her hometown of
Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, was enjoying her vacation when things took a turn for the worse. Kauai is notoriously
beautiful place to visit, and a frequent tourist destination for those hoping to get
away on a tropical vacation. That was exactly what Shita had in mind when she arrived on the Island. Immediately, she began taking in the sites and adventuring on the local trails. After exploring for awhile, Shita began frequenting
one trail in particular, the Kalalau trail. While on this solo vacation, Shita met a man named Justin Wynn Klein. Justin had just moved
to Hawaii from Oregon, for reasons he would
not disclose to Shita, but she did not seem to mind. Justin was handsome and charming, so a few missing details here and there did not bother Shita. She let her attraction to
him get the best of her. After all, she was on
vacation, in a beautiful place, with a good looking man, who wanted to sweep her off her feet, and sweep her off her feet he did. On the afternoon of December 16th, 2012 Shita and Justin went for a
hike along the Kalalau trail as it was Shita's favorite. The scenery was perfect for a vacation that it turned into something straight out of a romantic
film, or so Shita thought. When the two hikers reached one
of the peaks along the trail they stopped to look out
at the beautiful horizon. Suddenly Justin seized Shita by the arms. At first Shita, thought
he was being playful and trying to fake scare her, and then she was properly scared. Justin inched her closer and
closer to the cliff's edge, holding her out away from him so that she could not fight back. It would not have mattered
much anyway if she had, Justin was far larger and
stronger than she was. In a split second, Justin
suddenly let Shita go. She fell 15 feet down
into the valley below, a fall that Justin had
anticipated would end her life. But that was not the case. Miraculously Shita managed to survive. She was rescued in critical condition and spent time in the
hospital before recovering and returning home to Japan. Local police began a manhunt
that lasted four months until Justin turned
himself in as a fugitive. Once the police arrested him, they investigated his background and discovered that he had
already been on probation for various crimes in Oregon
before he came to Hawaii. Shita, as it turned out, had narrowly avoided becoming
Justin's first murder victim. In March of the following
year, Justin pleaded guilty to a lesser charge than
attempted murder to avoid trial. As a result, he only had to
serve five years in prison before walking free. We urge you to use these
cases as examples of times when it would have made all
the difference to these victims if they'd had someone accompanying
them on their adventures. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to hit the like
button and subscribe. A playlist is going to pop up right now with more videos you'll love. See you guys the next time.
