Morning Update, Sunday June 19th

Just got going, it is Fathers day so say a prayer for Natalee’s Father and Step Father. Natalee’s Mom has been leading in the news, but both of these men must be suffering even more today.

Here is a quick review, we will keep looking for more information throughout the day.

Yahoo News

A judge on Saturday ordered the teenage son of a prominent justice official and two of his friends to stay in jail for at least another week while investigators search for clues in the disappearance of a young Alabama woman.

A disc jockey on an Aruban tourist party boat who also has been detained in the case was to appear before a judge Monday, the attorney general’s spokeswoman Mariaine Croes said as the search for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway neared the end of three weeks.

Under Dutch law, which Aruba follows as a Dutch protectorate, authorities can detain individuals for up to 116 days without filing formal charges. A judge must review the case after the first 10 days, and then periodically after that.

A Local Birmingham alternative paper has a great analysis of the Twitty/Holloway initial arrival on the island.

The Black and White

As flyers were posted around the island, the search for Natalee began in earnest. Efforts concentrated around the hotel and at the lighthouse on the north end of the island, where Van Der Sloot, 18-year old Satish Kalpoe, and his brother, 21-year old Deepak, said they had taken Natalee after leaving a local downtown nightclub. As an avalanche of leads and anonymous tips flowed in, friends of the family mobilized into an investigative task force armed with cell phones, two-way radios, and a fleet of rental cars. Psychics, prevalent on the island, began demanding the attention of the family. Each told family associates that “she is in a dark place, and near water.” One claimed that Natalee’s soul was sitting next to her. “Ask her what the name of her dog is,” a family associate asked. “She is crying,” she told him, “she is too upset to talk.” During that early period of the family’s investigation, attempts to get the police involved were unsuccessful. According to a friend of the family, the Police Commissioner actually suggested that they go to Carlos & Charlie’s (the bar Natalee disappeared from) on Wednesday night. “It is Ladies Night,” he said, “and I am sure she will be there.”

As the search became more desperate and the tips became more bizarre, missions into the island’s darkest barrios, including the red-light district and assorted crack houses, were orchestrated. The editor of the island newspaper informed the family that a group of drug dealers were holding Natalee for a $10,000 ransom (an odd amount considering that the posted reward was in excess of $50,000). A late-night rendezvous between the drug dealers and family friends was arranged, and after a wild series of events an American girl was rescued by the police, who called to report that “they are 98-percent sure they have Natalee.” The family raced to the police station only to discover that the female in custody had dark hair, brown eyes, weighed about 130 pounds, and looked to be about 45 years old. Natalee had blonde hair, blue eyes, weighed 110 pounds, and was 18 years old. That was the first of many letdowns and false leads.

Dan Riehl raises some disturbing questions.

NBC 13: Father Of Dutch Teen Questioned In Holloway Case

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Police in Aruba have questioned the father of a Dutch teenager who is detained in connection with the Natalee Holloway case.

They said they are hoping the man may have seen something to help them find out what happened to the 18-year-old from Alabama, missing since the end of May.

Paul van der Sloot, the man who was questioned Saturday night, is in training to be a judge. The island’s police superintendent said van der Sloot was “questioned as a witness.”

He is the father of a 17-year-old, who was one of the last people seen with Holloway on the night she disappeared.