The search for two Dutch women missing in Panama is being stepped up with the arrival on the scene of a new justice official and plans to send Dutch tracker dogs.

Lisanne Froon (22) and Kris Kremers (21) went missing on April 1 after making plans to go on a country walk near the mountain town of Boquete. They were in Panama to learn Spanish and were staying with a local family.

No trace of the girls has been found since.

At a press conference on Monday, justice official Betzaida Pitti said she would do ‘everything possible’ to find the two women, news agency Novum reports.

This includes the possibility of sending tracker dogs from the Netherlands to help in the search, something the women’s families have requested.

Pitti said a new search would begin as soon as the dogs have been flown out, although so far no date has been set, says news agency Novum.