(U-WIRE) ANN ARBOR, Mich.-University students from across the country travel the world each year gaining new communication skills and cultural experience. But Sunday’s murder of a 19-year-old Ann Arbor woman and her friend in Costa Rica raises questions about student security abroad.

Emily Eagen, who was admitted to the University of Michigan as a nondegree student for the upcoming fall semester, and Emily Howell, a 19-year-old student at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were found dead Monday on a highway near the tourist town of Cahuita, Costa Rica. Eagen was a 1998 graduate of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.

“They were murdered Sunday night somewhere on the coast,” Eagen’s older sister Sarah said. “We have been told they were last seen leaving the hotel to go get beer or go to a bar.”

“We have been told it is not a sex crime. My sister was found fully clothed,” Sarah Eagen said. “We would like to clarify that.”

Authorities reported finding the girls’ rented sports utility vehicle badly burned several miles away from the bodies. Howell, of Lexington, Ky., and Eagen, a former Antioch student, were found with clothing, belongings and credit cards, authorities said.

Howell was doing a photography project as part of an Antioch College curriculum that requires students to spend five semesters doing co-op work to fulfill graduation requirements.

Eagen had been visiting Howell for 15 days in Costa Rica, and her sister said she had investigated the area before traveling.

“We thought it was okay, it was a peaceful place,” Sarah Eagen said. “Now we have been informed that in the past two weeks there have been five other murders in the region.”

Sarah Eagen said she thinks it is wrong to send students off abroad on their own with no place to live.

“Antioch dumps you with no place to live. Hopefully, due to this tragedy, they will look into changing things,” Sarah Eagen said. “We can’t hold them responsible,” she added.

“My sister’s a smart girl, she would not have gone there if she knew about these murders,” Sarah Eagen said.

Students at the University of Michigan are “given orientations on all programs including extensive discussions on safety concerns,” Office of International Programs Associate Director Jordan Pollack said.

“Safety is a primary concern for students on our programs,” Pollack said. “In many cases we have faculty on site, and on exchange programs we have staff at host universities responsible for safety concerns.”

In addition, the Office of International Programs has guidelines and protocols that cover natural disasters, illnesses and crime of various sorts, Pollack said. The University sends nearly 500 students abroad annually and “has been very fortunate that they haven’t had any major problems,” Pollack said.

LSA junior Audrey Baker echoed Pollack’s sentiments. “The dangers of the U.S. are just the same if not more than abroad,” said Baker, who plans to study in France this summer.

The 1,565 students that go abroad yearly from Michigan State University are required to attend a pre-departure orientation to discuss safety procedures, Michigan State Office of Study Abroad Acting Director Edward Ingraham said. “We have not had any tragedies, but I cannot say it’s all because of our programs. It is a combination of careful procedures and good luck,” Ingraham said.

“Costa Rica is perhaps the safest Latin American country,” Ingraham said. “It is a terrible tragedy and there is no information that was by any sense of negative or unwise acts on the part of the students.”

The University of Michigan has sent students to Costa Rica in the past and will continue to do so, Pollack said.

“The death of a student doesn’t trigger a panic attack,” he said. “We assess the conditions quickly and we make decisions accordingly.”

Despite the tragedy, some University students said they are not concerned about their upcoming overseas journeys.

“I am not really concerned (about safety). I am going with a couple of other guys and we should be able to get out of any situation,” said LSA sophomore Charles Westrin, who is planning to go to western Europe this summer.