Natalee Holloway; 3 More People Arrested (Breaking News)

According to Fox News, The three “person’s of interest” then witnesses, have been arrested overnight in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

Much of the discussion yesterday from many was how could the last people ever to see Natalee Holloway alive only be witnesses and not suspects. Even more so how could they not be arrested?

From Fox News

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — FOX News has learned that three more men have been arrested in Aruba in connection with the disappearance of American tourist Natalee Holloway (search) — the same three young men who were previously mentioned as possible witnesses in the case.

Carla Caccavale, a Holloway family spokesperson told FOX that Aruban authorities had informed them of the arrests.

One of the men, a Dutch citizen whose father is said to be a prominent official in the Aruban justice system, was apparently romantically involved with Holloway the night she disappeared.

On Wednesday, a judge ruled that authorities had enough evidence to hold two former security guards in connection with Holloway’s disappearance.

From the AP

Aruban police arrested three more suspects in the case of the missing American honors student Thursday, the attorney general said.

Attorney General Caren Janssen said police arrested three men that police had previously questioned and released in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway.

Authorities have described the three as students – two Surinamese and a native of the Netherlands – who told police they dropped off Holloway at her hotel around 2 a.m. on May 30. Hotel employees, however, say that security cameras did not record her return.

From one of our commentors: Pay Bas, explains the Dutch judicial system differs from the US system, and our interpretation of these arrests may be off base:

only work from this information, so I have to be careful. But this has to do with the dutch justice system. If you are considered a witness in this case you will be taken to a policestation to make a ‘proces verbaal’ a statement. If the police, after reading your statement do not trust you a ‘officier van justitie’, like a DA will be called. If the DA is conviced that you are in someway maybe guilty he can order your arrest for a maximum of three days. In those three days the police has to gather evidence that you had something to do with a crime. If more evidence is gathered or the police is still conviced that your are guilty that arrest can be lenghted by the DA.
However, if your statements do seem sound, and apperently in this case they were at first, the police has to let you go. Naturally you should make yourself aviable (how do spell that?) to the police.

From CNN:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) — Three more suspects have been arrested in connection with the disappearance of an 18-year-old Alabama student in Aruba, bringing to five the number of men in custody, a prosecutor said Thursday.

The three men just arrested were the last people seen with Natalee Holloway as she left the Oranjestad nightclub Carlos ‘N Charlie’s about 1:30 a.m. May 30, according to the chief prosecutor.

Searches were under way of the suspects’ homes Thursday, the prosecutor said.

(Full CNN story)

Update: 10:15 am - From the Birmingham News:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — Aruban police arrested three men Thursday who admitted giving a ride to an Alabama teenager who has been missing for more than a week, the attorney general said.

The three men were previously questioned in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, and described as “persons of interest.” They told police they dropped off Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Ala., at her hotel early May 30, but Holiday Inn employees say security cameras did not record her return.

Attorney General Caren Janssen said the three were arrested at 6 a.m. She refused to identify the three, but authorities previously have described them as students — two Surinamese and a native of the Netherlands.

The attorney general’s office had said previously the three were considered witnesses and not suspects.

Janssen refused to say whether the three were connected to two men previously detained in Holloway’s disappearance, saying more information would be released later Thursday. A judge ruled Wednesday that there was sufficient cause to keep holding the two former hotel security guards.