From SM 2005: This Can’t Be Good For Tourism, Where’s Natalee Holloway?

FROM 2005 COMES THE FOLLOWING POST IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY THAT STARTED IT ALL …

It started out as a simple post of a missing teen on vacation with her high school classmates and would become the top story of 2005 and one of the most covered missing person cases in history. Today marks 10 years since Natalee Holloway went missing in Aruba, her body has never been recovered and no one has answered for her death. JUSTICE FOR NATALEE!!!

For an Island paradise that prides itself on sandy beaches and a constant trade wind, the last thing they would want is bad publicity of an unsafe island. However, An Alabama high school student, Natalee Holloway, disappeared during her graduation trip to Aruba.

Natalee Holloway, 18, was among 125 graduating seniors from Mountain Brook High School, near Birmingham, on a five-day trip to the Caribbean island.

She was last seen getting into a vehicle and leaving a nightclub in the capital, Oranjestad, before dawn on Monday, deputy police chief Gerold Dompig said. She did not show up for her group’s return flight later in the day.

“We went to check in for our airplane, and she wasn’t there, and she’s been missing since then,” classmate Jay Weinacker said.

Having lived and worked there, people really need to understand that island’s like Aruba have their fair share of crime as well. Once you are away from the hotels and in Oranjestad it is no different than any other city in the US. Sometimes even worse.

Aruba police said Wednesday that they had questioned and released three local men who said they dropped the teenager off at her hotel late Sunday night. Officials said the girl’s parents were unable to spot her on a hotel surveillance tape.

There will be much, much more to come, check back during the day.

Former ‘Saved By the Bell’ Star Dustin Diamond (Screech) Convicted of 2 Misdemeanors … Cleared of the Most Serious Felony Charge of Second Degree Reckless Endangerment

SAVED BY THE BELL JURY …

Dustin Diamond, better known for his role as Screech in the TV show ‘Saved by the Bell’ was found guilty of two misdemeanors; however, was cleared of the most serious felony charge by a Wisconsin jury. Diamond was convicted of two disorderly conduct and carrying a concealed weapon; however, was found not guilty of second-degree reckless endangering safety. You might say he was “saved by the jury. Diamond faced up to 11 years in prison if convicted on all three counts. Instead, the two misdemeanors carry a maximum one-year term. The charges stem from a Wisconsin bar room incident on Christmas Day when a group of intoxicated people started behaving in a rude and insulting manner to Dustin Diamond and his girlfriend, Amanda Schutz. Diamond claimed that he did not intentionally mean to stab anyone, everything occurred amidst the chaos.

Dustin Diamond seems to be getting more TV face time these days than when he played Screech.

Diamond, known for his role as Screech in “Saved by the Bell,” was convicted of two misdemeanors but cleared of the most serious felony charge in a Wisconsin barroom stabbing.

The jury’s verdict came hours after the child-actor took the stand in his own defense at trial Friday, reenacting the moment before he allegedly stabbed a man at a bar to protect his fianceé from an attack at a Port Washington, Wis., bar on Christmas Day.

Former New Orleans Saints Player Darren Sharper Pleaded Guilty to Drugging & Raping 3 Women in New Orleans

FORMER SAINTS PLAYER DARREN SHARPER PLEADS GUILTY …

Former NFL player Darren Sharper plead guilty to federal charges to drugging and raping three women in New Orleans, Louisiana. In doing so, Sharper entered a plea deal. The U.S. Attorney’s Office on Friday released a document called a “factual basis” which spells out what the government would have proved at trial, had Sharper not opted for his guilty plea. Read the “Factual Basis” HERE.  Darren Sharper was wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hands and feet shackled together when he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute drugs to commit rape and two counts of distributing drugs to commit rape. However, sadly with this plea deal Sharper will only be doing a fraction of the time that he should be. The charges against Sharper carry a maximum 20-year sentence per count, but as part of his plea deal, Sharper’s sentence would be capped to nine years in prison. U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo scheduled Sharper’s sentencing for August 20, 2015.

Former Saints player Darren Sharper pleaded guilty to federal charges Friday (May 29) to drugging and raping three women in New Orleans, the latest in a series of plea deals in four states where he has been accused of assaulting a total of nine victims.

The charges carry a maximum 20-year sentence per count. But as part of his plea deal, Sharper’s sentence would be capped to nine years in prison– a term Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Miller told the judge was longer than what would be called for by federal sentencing guidelines. The federal sentence would run concurrently with a similar sentence in Arizona, the only state where Sharper has been sentenced to date.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo scheduled Sharper’s sentencing for August 20. She told Sharper if she doesn’t agree with the plea deal’s suggested sentence, he would have a chance to withdraw his guilty plea.

Darren Sharper has also been suspected of other rapes and druggings in Las Vegas, Arizona and Los Angeles. A plea deal was announced in March to resolve the charges in all jurisdictions.

On March 23, Sharper pleaded guilty to sexual assault in Arizona and no contest in California. On March 24, Sharper pleaded guilty in Las Vegas to a reduced felony: attempted sex assault. He still faces state charges in Louisiana. Sharper is expected to serve a total of nine years in all the cases he faces.

During the federal hearing Friday, Judge Jane Triche Milazzo listed the counts against Sharper and outlined the plea deal that calls for Sharper to be imprisoned for nine years.

CNN’s Martin Savidge Interviews Eye Witness Jurriën de Jong in the Disappearance and Death of Natalee Holloway in Aruba (VIDEO)

CNN’s Martin Savidge interviews Jurriën de Jong who calls himself an eye-witness to the death and disappearance of Natalee Holloway. De Jong says he saw Joran Van der Sloot bury Holloway’s body on a construction site of what is now the Marriott Aruba Surf Club.  Natalee Holloway went missing on Aruba on May 30, 2015 while on vacation with her high school from Mountainbrook, Alabama.

CNN – New clues, questions in Natalee Holloway case.

Ten years after Natalee Holloway went missing, a Dutch citizen says he knows where to find her. Prosecutors, however, aren’t buying it.

Jurriën de Jong told CNN’s Martin Savidge that the teen’s body is buried in a crawl space at a Marriott vacation property in Aruba, and he believes he saw her in her final moments.

De Jong says he was near Marriott’s Aruba Surf Club, then under construction, on the night of May 30, 2005, when he saw a young man chase a young woman through the construction site.

At first, he thought the two were being playful, but he says a short time later the man reappeared, carrying the woman in his arms. He says her body appeared limp.

“… He pulled (the woman) by the ankles inside the crawl space, stayed inside for a minute and then came out and closed the gap,” de Jong said.

Even though de Jong suspected he had witnessed something serious, he says didn’t go to the police because he was involved in “illegal activities” at the time.

Possible new lead in Natalee Holloway case … Anderson Cooper Interviews Dave Holloway and TJ Ward

Gold Alert Issued for 22 Year Old Crystal Griffith Missing Since 5/20/15 in Bridgeville, DE (Update: Found Safe)

Delaware State Police have issued a Gold Alert for 22 year old Crystal Griffith who has been missing since May 20, 2015 in Bridgeville, Delaware.  Some reports are saying she is 23 years old. She was last seen at her home at 9508 Rifle Range Road. Griffith is reportedly described as a white woman, standing 5′ 8″ tall, weighing 170 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Crystal Griffith is described as a white female, 22 years old, standing 5 feet 8 inches tall, 170 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen at her home at 9508 Rifle Range Road.

Sgt. Richard Bratz said there is “real concern” for her safety. Bratz said there is the possibility she could be in the Bridgeville area and there is also some indication she was going north to New Jersey but hasn’t returned as expected.

Any information should be directed to Troop 4 at (302) 856-5850. Information can also be provided to the Delaware Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 847-3333 or at www.tipsubmit.com. Anonymous tips can be sent by text message to 274637 using the keyword “DSP.”

UPDATE I: Missing Bridgeville Woman Found Safe.