Parents of Slain Teen Meet With Officials

The parents of a slain American college student met with the Costa Rican investigators Friday to discuss the case.

“We wanted to come down here, see for ourselves how she lived and died,” said Emily Eagan’s father, Charles, after the session.

The bodies of Eagen, of Ann Arbor, Mich., and her friend Emily Howell, of Lexington, Ky., were found beside a road Monday in the Caribbean coastal town of Cahuita, about 90 miles east of San Jose. Both were 19.

No arrests have been made in the killings. Jorge Rojas, the director of the country’s Judicial Police, said about 20 agents were working full-time on the case.

“We have a lot of hope in the case. I believe by the end of the week or the start of the next one we could have an arrest,” he told reporters.

Eagen met with Rojas but gave no details of the encounter.

“This is a difficult time for us,” Eagen said in a brief statement, asking reporters to leave the family alone.

Eagen was accompanied by his wife, Shirley, their daughter Sarah and the U.S. consul in San Jose, Janet Webber.

Police still have no motive, though they have discarded robbery as a reason for the killings. Investigators still haven’t determined if the women were sexually assaulted.

Rojas said police had identified a man described as “a friend” who was seen late Sunday with the women. Rojas did not say if the man was under surveillance.

Two witnesses came forward with information on the burning of the sports utility vehicle the women were driving, he said.

The deaths have shocked this Central American country, whose reputation for safety and stability in an otherwise turbulent region has helped attract thousands of U.S. retirees, about $1 billion annually in tourism and more than 1 million tourists.

Eagen said his daughter wrote her family back in Michigan describing a country of “friendly people.”

“In her letters and e-mails, Emily always said how she loved Costa Rica,” he added.