By Associated Press - Tuesday, February 7, 2017

SCARSDALE, N.Y. (AP) - 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.



The Journal News (https://lohud.us/2lfgGa3 ) 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.

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