RSSNatalee Holloway; June 8, 2005 Part II
AP: Aruban Prosecutors have stated that they will have to come up with more evidence on the two suspects in custody if they are going to be able to hold them after next week.
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) – Prosecutors investigating the case of a missing Alabama honors student said Wednesday they would have to come up with some evidence – thus far lacking – if they want two suspects to be held beyond next week.
Attorney general spokeswoman Vivian Van Der Biezan also told a news conference that three “persons of interest” who were questioned and released last week were considered “witnesses,” not suspects.
Investigators have not found any solid proof of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway’s death, despite extensive land and water searches since her disappearance May 30. Land searches continued Wednesday, but water searches had yielded no results and were halted, police spokesman Edwin Comemencia said. Holloway’s parents were holding out hope that she was still alive.
One begins to wonder if she is on the island.
Judge J.S. Kuiperdal will review the case against the suspects, two former hotel security guards, again next Wednesday and every eight days after that until there is a final resolution.
One really begins to wonder what evidence the authorities do have on these two suspects that would implicate them in the crime. Why have the 3 “person’s of interest” become “witnesses”? The last people to see Natalee are only suspects?
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23 Responses to “Natalee Holloway; June 8, 2005 Part II”
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We are given pieces of the pie to eat, with some ingredients missing, im not so sure what to think, although, I have many thoughts. My main interest here is her safe return. Living in Alabama and having family in Birmingham, this hits hard, I want so bad to hop a boat and go there, but all I have to offer at this time is thoughts and prayers for her, family and friends!
Donna – Finally an intelligent and thoughtful post. Thank you! I’ve been reading all the various posts here and many are jumping the gun about guilt, probability, etc. I’m not from Birmingham but have very close friends there. We all must try to refrain from passing judgement on who’s detained, suspects, etc and let the law enforcers do that. We can only continue to offer our thoughts and prayers to Nataee and her family. God Bless.
My opinion:This girl with some friends no adults with them,i really don`t think that they are going to behave themselfs,like they behave themselfs around adults!So ofcourse there gonna get wild and drunk!and then who steps into the car with 3 strage guys,hmm NATALEE,why didn`t she invite few other friends to come with her,or why didn`t she invited the boys to the hotel?She was “hot” and wanted to love,and now why is a lot of people blaming aruba and the arubians for her stupidity?why are people talking so bad about aruba,cause it`s definetly not our fault that she stepped into the car……al though i hope she`s allright,but this all looks like it was planned….And to mickey`s mom and the other secuirity guards family,strength…i really believe and think that they are INNOCENT!!
this is my opinion
I pray for natalee and her family and i hope she`s oke,i hope they find her safe and sound….but another thin why didn`t her friends tol dher to just come with them and not going with 3 strangers?
am i on the right page here?
I believe that Natalee is dead. The more I read, the more I blame the parents for sending their 18-year old to booze it up in Aruba. What happened to Natalee is what happens WHEN DADDY HAS TOO MUCH MONEY. I was on a plane today and a number of us spoke (men and women) about the situation. Without exception, all 5 of us thought that the problem started when Mom and Dad sent Natalee on a drinking excursion to celebrate her graduation. They parents should be up on charges!
Also, where were these 7 chaperons? Probably boozing it up too.
Where were the 100-odd fellow partiers — not a one could recognize that Natalee was heading for diaster?
This is a sad, sad situation with blame landing right at the feet of he rich parents.
I hope they learned a good lesson! I’d love to debate them on their decision.
Deputy
Donna, I hope you’re on the right page because I’m reading it too.
As a former foreign exchange student, I find myself really wrapped up in this case. As I read more information from several US based news websites and Aruba based sites as well as watch news coverage on stations such as CNN and FOX I become more and more concerned with the integrity of the investigation.
An Alabama government official was quick to say that there were a lot of “disturbing” elements in Holloway’s case, To me, one of the most dirsturbing parts of the investigation is that two men are being held in Aruba “in connection with the dissaperance of Holloway” but the Dutch govt. won’t say what the allegations are. The two men’s lawyer claims they are being held in suspicion of kidnapping and murder even though there is no evidence that Natalee if dead, and there is no forensic evudence suggesting foul play, and there is no witness that links the two men to her on the night she was last seen. In fact, no one has ever even seen either of these two “suspects” with Natalee or even in the same place at the same time as Natalee. One suspect even has a confirmed alabi for the night Holloway went missing.
The law system there allows for the authorities to hold these 2 men anyway solely based on suspicion which stems from the fact that these men are “known to the local police” and are rumored to be drug dealers. To me, not having all of the information about the case of course, as well as the suspects families and lower class populations of Aruba, it is blatantly clear that these men are being used as scapegoats for two reasons:
A) Because Aruba cannot afford to not solve the case. Tourism is Aruba’s most important money making industry, and if this case goes unresolved it will be a horrible blow to the tourism industry which hurts the economy, it means job loss. (This is why all Aruban govt. workers were released from their duties last week to take part in the search for Holloway.) The people of Aruba are pressured to resolve the case in hopes to not discourage travelers in the future, even if this means accusing two men unrelated to the case.
The second, more complicated reason that I think these two suspects are being held is B) Aruba works under a strict class system and these two supects are from the lower class (they are treated diffferently socially, and do not have the money/means of much legal power) and they are being framed to save the 3 wealthy, upper class young men (who are from influential, popular families with a lot of Dutch and Aruban political power… the father of one boy is an important Dutch govt, official) that Natalee left with and was last seen with the night of her disaperance. These young men left with Holloway around 1 AM from a bar/restaurant and they claim that within one hour they took her to a beach and had “sexual relations” with her and then dropped her off at her hotel at 2 AM, but no security camera or witness can prove this. So, between the curb and the hotel door how is it logical to think that these other 2 lower class men came into the picture and were involved in Holloway’s disaperarance? And that the three upperclass men had nothing to do with it? It is not logical.
These three men were questioned early on in the investigation but an Aruban justice was quick to say that they werent suspects, they were witnesses. That is how it leaked to the media. This Justice however, had no basis for her claim and is a friend of one of the 3 boys fathers, a Dutch govt. official. This same justice may have started the rumor that the other2 men, the security guards, were charged in connection with Holloways case yet as of 06/08 the two men are being held but have not been charged with anything. It seems that the upper class powerful class is looking after their own and with pressure to solve the case the Aruban authorities are using to their advantage the fact that the two suspects being held have very little power to do anything or fight back against the allegations due to their poor status in Aruba’s class system.
Another issue of concern… Although Aruba is a relatively place, after checking the Aruba website’s missing persons link I learned of the Amy Bradley case. In 1998, when Amy was 23, she “vanished” during the docking process of a cruise to/from Aruba and the case remains unresolved yet foul play was suspected. There were men “of interest” in the case, but no body, no evidence, no witness. After lookoing into this case there are several striking similarities between this case and the Holloway case.
Even though Aruban authorities promised the case would be resolved quickly after last weekend, it seems to be slowing and getting messier with more rumors surfacing and still no evidence or even witnesses that link the two suspects being held for what their lawyer claims suspision of murder even though no one witnessed either of the two men associating with Holloway at any time or even being in the same place at the same time. FBI divers were requested but they returned without diving because the Aruban govt. couldnt pinpoint an area to investigate.
I would love to hope for Holloway’s safe return but it seems obvious that there was foul play and a lot of “disturbing” details involved in her disapperance. At the very least I hope that the FBI and Dutch and Aruban authorities will be able to shed light on this progressively darker case.
As a former foreign exchange student, I find myself really wrapped up in this case. As I read more information from several US based news websites and Aruba based sites as well as watch news coverage on stations such as CNN and FOX I become more and more concerned with the integrity of the investigation.
An Alabama government official was quick to say that there were a lot of “disturbing” elements in Holloway’s case, To me, one of the most dirsturbing parts of the investigation is that two men are being held in Aruba “in connection with the dissaperance of Holloway” but the Dutch govt. won’t say what the allegations are. The two men’s lawyer claims they are being held in suspicion of kidnapping and murder even though there is no evidence that Natalee if dead, and there is no forensic evudence suggesting foul play, and there is no witness that links the two men to her on the night she was last seen. In fact, no one has ever even seen either of these two “suspects” with Natalee or even in the same place at the same time as Natalee. One suspect even has a confirmed alabi for the night Holloway went missing.
The law system there allows for the authorities to hold these 2 men anyway solely based on suspicion which stems from the fact that these men are “known to the local police” and are rumored to be drug dealers. To me, not having all of the information about the case of course, as well as the suspects families and lower class populations of Aruba, it is blatantly clear that these men are being used as scapegoats for two reasons:
A) Because Aruba cannot afford to not solve the case. Tourism is Aruba’s most important money making industry, and if this case goes unresolved it will be a horrible blow to the tourism industry which hurts the economy, it means job loss. (This is why all Aruban govt. workers were released from their duties last week to take part in the search for Holloway.) The people of Aruba are pressured to resolve the case in hopes to not discourage travelers in the future, even if this means accusing two men unrelated to the case.
The second, more complicated reason that I think these two suspects are being held is B) Aruba works under a strict class system and these two supects are from the lower class (they are treated diffferently socially, and do not have the money/means of much legal power) and they are being framed to save the 3 wealthy, upper class young men (who are from influential, popular families with a lot of Dutch and Aruban political power… the father of one boy is an important Dutch govt, official) that Natalee left with and was last seen with the night of her disaperance. These young men left with Holloway around 1 AM from a bar/restaurant and they claim that within one hour they took her to a beach and had “sexual relations” with her and then dropped her off at her hotel at 2 AM, but no security camera or witness can prove this. So, between the curb and the hotel door how is it logical to think that these other 2 lower class men came into the picture and were involved in Holloway’s disaperarance? And that the three upperclass men had nothing to do with it? It is not logical.
These three men were questioned early on in the investigation but an Aruban justice was quick to say that they werent suspects, they were witnesses. That is how it leaked to the media. This Justice however, had no basis for her claim and is a friend of one of the 3 boys fathers, a Dutch govt. official. This same justice may have started the rumor that the other2 men, the security guards, were charged in connection with Holloways case yet as of 06/08 the two men are being held but have not been charged with anything. It seems that the upper class powerful class is looking after their own and with pressure to solve the case the Aruban authorities are using to their advantage the fact that the two suspects being held have very little power to do anything or fight back against the allegations due to their poor status in Aruba’s class system.
Another issue of concern… Although Aruba is a relatively place, after checking the Aruba website’s missing persons link I learned of the Amy Bradley case. In 1998, when Amy was 23, she “vanished” during the docking process of a cruise to/from Aruba and the case remains unresolved yet foul play was suspected. There were men “of interest” in the case, but no body, no evidence, no witness. After lookoing into this case there are several striking similarities between this case and the Holloway case.
Even though Aruban authorities promised the case would be resolved quickly after last weekend, it seems to be slowing and getting messier with more rumors surfacing and still no evidence or even witnesses that link the two suspects being held for what their lawyer claims suspision of murder even though no one witnessed either of the two men associating with Holloway at any time or even being in the same place at the same time. FBI divers were requested but they returned without diving because the Aruban govt. couldnt pinpoint an area to investigate.
I would love to hope for Holloway’s safe return but it seems obvious that there was foul play and a lot of “disturbing” details involved in her disapperance. At the very least I hope that the FBI and Dutch and Aruban authorities will be able to shed light on this progressively darker case.
Has anyone looked at the other students that were with her on this trip? Was she dating anyone or did someone on this trip have a crush on her? Would they be furious if she left with other men?? I am not trying to take away from the fact the government has arrested two locals, but I find it strange this girl was just left to go off by herself and no one, not even a friend went with her. Usually young women travel in packs, that is just a given. I just find it odd no one from the group has any information about her or where she was and was left to catch the plane on her own. They didn’t even know she was missing until she didn’t show up at the airport??? I’ve been on school trips before to other countries and we were NEVER allowed to go anywhere without a “buddy”. If we did leave, we could only be gone for a certain length of time and always had to give a prospective return time. We were checked on by the adults if we did not return by that time and we had better not be alone. I just find all of this really weird and suspicious. We were not allowed to “roam free” for a week in a different country. We had planned activities and meals where we were with the group, no exceptions. And there definitely was no bar hopping. We were 15-19 years old, so basically her age and a little younger. If we were caught doing anything wrong, we would be sent home. I think the school group needs to be looked at before we go on a witch hunt for the locals. I know my comments will probably not be popular, but we need to look at everything first and then make a decision.
Natalee *WAS* a tramp!
Natalee *WAS* a tramp!
Last night, Larry King had the mayor of Mountain Brook, Alabama, on as one of his guests. When asked about the chaperons, the mayor said there were seven but they were not chaperones and everyone understood prior to the trip that they were not chaperones. The mayeo said that their role was to act as “facilitators” during the trip to Aruba. He specifically said that the seven were not chaperones and everyone who took the trip knew this up front.
I have never posted on this site before, but I feel the need to write a reply.
I would like to answer the thread that was written by the former sheriff’s deputy. I don’t understand why anyone would blame the parents. I’m sure that either one of the parents would gladly trade places with their daughter if only they could, as would most parents. As far as bringing the parents up on charges for letting their daughter go on a graduation trip…… well I have several comments to that one.
First, let me just remind you that at the age of 18 a person is considered an adult. Therefore the parents could not keep her from going if they wanted to. And it’s just my guess that the parents were just rewarding her for a job well done in school (4.0 GPA), never thinking that anything like this would ever happen. And as for your statement of bringing the “Rich parents” up on charges, Well that is just ridiculous…… While we’re at it why don’t we just charge the “100-odd Fellow partiers” that were on the trip also. Lets go ahead and charge the so-called “chaperons”, the airlines that transported her to the island, the school for not teaching all the graduates better judgment. Lets just go as far as to find out what she had been drinking so we can charge the manufacturer of the alcoholic beverages that she had consumed. Oh and don’t forget, all the high school as well as college graduates that flee to Florida for spring break every year. And their parents and grand parents as well.
Its becoming a sad world when loving parents get second guessed for trying to do something nice for their children. I guess there will always be people out there that would rather point the finger of blame than to concentrate on prayers and hopes for the victims.
I am a parent of a daughter that is almost 16 years old, I am from Birmingham Alabama and I also was a visitor to the island of Aruba in March of this year. Along with my husband and his mother, we took our daughter and two of her friends to Aruba for spring break. Yes it is very upsetting to hear of such a thing that has happened to this girl. The families of Natalee Holloway’s has to be going through a living hell wondering what has happened to her. Living every second not knowing if she is alive or if she is dead. My heart goes out to them. The many things that have been said by people either condemning the parents for allowing their daughter to go off should remember that don’t they think the parents have given that a second thought of allowing their daughter to leave and go to another country. If they had to do that all over again don’t you think they would have different thoughts? So for this, don’t you think people need to stop putting these parents down for allowing their daughter to go on that trip. I’m sure these parents would agree that they would have hoped that Natalee would have thought that situation out better than she did, but one fact remains, she didnt use good judgement. But this doesnt change the fact that this girl is missing and no matter what bad judgement was used, Natalee or any other human being doesn’t deserve what has happened. I hope that the person or persons responsible for whatever has happened to this girl will confess to what did happen to her and where she is. You may ask the question would I have let my daughter go off on a trip such as this without me, the answer would be NO!!! I went with mine and her two friends. The people of Aruba are very nice but just like in Aruba, here back at home or anywhere else in this world, there are alot of very mean people and this could have happened anywhere to anybody. So to all you negative people, instead of condemning this person or that person, why don’t you PRAY alot harder for Natalee, her family and everyone else involved with this awful situation and remember it could happen to anyone and that anyone could be yourself and someone you love very much!
I wonder if such a big deal would’ve been made if the girl was 18, fat and ugly?
I wonder why there’s so much emphasis put on this one potential murder when over 100 people are murdered in the USA daily! We are so caught up in every other country except our own. It’s almost like we’re numb to it. But if it happens in another country…..OH MY GOSH! Sounds like she was wild and wanted to party. She obviously partied with the wrong people. Sad.
Everyone certainly has an opinion. And it amazes me that you would even think to believe these three boys (men). IF they were partying with her, they could have easily slipped something into her drink…ever hear of the date rape drug. She may have looked “drunk” because of that. And yes, she could have been sowing her wild oats too. Who knows what happened? No one is perfect. The fact remains, Natalee is missing. Stop slamming the family. And stop slamming the media for focusing on this one particular case…take a look at your ownselves and realize the mistakes that you have made…then say a prayer to whatever God you believe in that Natalee is safe and that her parents have the strength to get through this ordeal that none of us would wish on anybody. In the name of the Light, Dear God, please bless Natalee…
My job is to accompany groups of teenagers on cruises (not any one specific cruise line). What happened to this girl is my biggest fear as cruise director. I accompany high school music and dance groups as well as graduating classes. The graduates are my biggest challenge with drinking and partying, as their chaparones have no real leverage for good behavior after they’ve received their diplomas. The least likely to join in the heavy drinking and rule breaking are those students with high GPA’s…the ones with academic scholarships.
From my experience with hundreds of students, it seems highly unlikely that a young lady with Natalee’s qualifications would consider a sexual liason with a boy she just met. When I read about her leaving in a car with three young men, I immediatly wondered if she had been drugged. The cardinal rule for all travelling students is to travel in groups. Students with 4.0 GPAs are not rule breakers! This type of student is goal oriented and does not make flippant choices. This is not the type of person that would take off with three boys on a whim. Even boys she has known a few days. Students like Natalee are cautious, think things through, and consider the future. This is the type of child that would say to herself, “What would momma think about this?”
Drinking is legal at age 18 (and younger) in most Caribbean countries. This is many of these U.S. students’ first alcohol experience and they tend to drink in excess, not realizing that they will become more drunk as time goes by, downing sweet fruity drinks as fast as they would a glass of Koolaid. Mix alcohol with tropical heat and too much sun, and you will get very drunk very fast. Carlos & Charlie’s is a popular nightclub/restaurant found at most tourist spots in the Islands. It is loud and fun with booming Caribbean music, a great DJ, drinking and dancing contests with prizes. Dancing is fun, drinking is legal, and the kids don’t want to leave! Natalee and her friends were probably very very drunk. It happens. Locals usually don’t drink, and if they do, it is very little, with alcohol not being the taboo novelty our kids see it as. It is my opinion that these local boys took advantage of her situation and “helped” her out of that bar with bad intent, sober enough to drive a car to the other end of the island. Natalee’s drink could have been drugged.
I hope they find her body in time enough for tests to prove these points and also to see if she was raped. It is my guess that she was sexually assaulted, threatened to tell, and was quieted with death.
Natalee was 18 years old. She can do pretty much what she wants. People often try to blame someone for this type of thing because it is so tragic, but how can we blame the parents? The only person person who can be blamed is the one who did whatever they did with her. Some irresponsibility often lies in parents hands and I’m sure that now they would not send her, if they could go back. It really doesn’t matter what she was, or did, the fact that someone did something with her is more the problem.
Aruba is a small island as I have been there, it would seem to me that she would not be too hard to find. Makes me think she went to another island, but then why would she leave her belongings behind? I believe exactly as Marty says above as i think the sexual story is a ploy, that if they find her body and there are traces of sexual intercourse the person can say , “well yeah I told ya we had sex.” In reality she was raped. If you had sex with someone why would you kill them? Only if you were trying to silence them.
Wow…reading all of these comments really makes me wonder. I’ve been following this case since the beginning and only one person has commented on the Amy Bradley case. Why aren’t investigators and the media commenting on Amy Bradley? Another American woman who went missing 7 years ago while on a cruise with her parents. She completely vanished from the ship while in port in Aruba. She was spotted a few months later in Curacao by a naval officer in a brothel, but he didn’t know who she was until later. She asked him for his help and he did nothing. When he finally came forward with the details the brothel had burned to the ground. Why are they not trying to find clues that may possibly tie these 2 cases together? There is more than a $200,000 reward for information on Amy Bradley adn only a $55,000 combined reward for Natalee Holloway. I would think the money alone would be some incentive. All I pray for is resolution in these cases – there is nothing worse for these 2 families than to “not know” anything. Amy’s family has lived 7 years through this “not knowing” whether their daughter is alive or dead. Please Lord, shed light on these situations.
Just want to point out that Aruba is probably on par with Hawaii in terms of crime, and drugs.
However, we should not demonize Aruba, for we have the same or worse problems here in good ol’ USA. We don’t demonize Hawaii, our local paradise. And if you don’t know, Hawaii is a state in the US. On the other hand, we should not think Aruba is without drugs, rapes, murders, etc. I’ve been to Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, and I can tell you while generally it makes for a pleasant vacation, there are dark sides too.
As for Hawaii, it is sold on TV as a paradise for vacation. And it can be, but there is a serious dark side to Hawaii that most don’t see.
Hawaii has a HUGE problem with ICE. It is all over this place. It is cheap, easy to make, highly addictive, and causes irreversible brain damage. It drives people to crime & violence. Tourists are constantly getting their stuff stolen and cars broken into by these ICE heads. ICE is the worst problem Hawaii has. It is near impossible to stop. One hit of this stuff and you are instantly hooked.
Hawaii also has a large growing problem with homeless people, and most are addicted to ICE. Hawaii does little to deal the homeless problem, they push them from park to park, issuing citations and banning them from here and there.
In addition, there are rapes and murders in Hawaii, not a whole lot, and probably much better than most cities in the US.
I am not saying that Aruba has an ICE problem, but drugs are probably easy to obtain being so close to S.A. border. I merely wanted to point out that our sweet little Hawaii is NOT.
From Foxnews.com
Aruba Official: Body Not Needed to Prosecute
ORANJESTAD, Aruba Aruba’s attorney general said Thursday she could prosecute a case in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway even if the Alabama teenager’s body is not found.
>>>
I don’t want to disappoint you but this you can forget. No body will mean no case. Only in very special occasions it is possible to have a case without a body but then you need very good other evidence. Regrettably there doesn’t seem to be much other evidence, not even a clear suspect.
Maarten Mannee
http://www.bloggie.nl/engish
I pray that Natalie’s family finds out what happened to their daughter. The judge’s son KNOWS what happened to Natalie along with the father. Now, if the boy would be found missing and the last person to see him was Natalie’s mother, then I believe the truth would prevail. As Natalie’s mother would address the issue “Now, Mr. Van Der Sloot; let’s talk….
I know God doesn’t give us more than we can handle. This is why I see “good things happening” for the Holloways.
My prays are with the Holloway family!!!!