Rita Cosby, New leads discovered in Aruba in case (Sand Dunes)

From Rita Cosby, Live & Direct: Sand dunes may link investigators to Natalee Holloway’s last whereabouts

Investigating a new lead, Aruban police are searching sand dunes along Aruba’s northeast coast in attempts to make a break in the case for missing Alabama teenage Natalee Holloway.

The island’s deputy police chief now says credible information lead to this latest hunt for clues. These sand dunes could be the very last place where Natalee Holloway was seen alive by three young men previously held by Aruban authorities in her disappearance.

Video available

RITA COSBY, HOST, ‘LIVE AND DIRECT’: Jossy, starting with you, what do you know about this search? What was sort of the tip to go back to the sand dunes?

JOSSY MANSUR, “DIARIO” NEWSPAPER: The tip hasn’t been revealed to us. There is a tip that one witness gave to the police that started this whole search at the area of the dunes. They have been searching yesterday. I think they were searching today. They still have about 20 more hours of searches to do.

COSBY: Jossy, you say one witness, who is this witness? When did this information come forward? Is it a new witness?

MANSUR: It’s a witness the police recently interviewed. He gave an alibi, the alibi didn’t work out. So, that started the police on this new search of the sand dunes. In the meantime, Tim and his people, are searching the oceans for a fish trap.

COSBY: You know, Jossy, you say he gave an alibi. Are you suggesting that police were talking to him as a possible suspect or having some involvement in the case?

MANSUR: The police did talk to quite a range of Joran’s friends in the last few weeks. One of them apparently turned out to be of interest to them. They questioned him further. He gave some kind of an inkling or clue that they believe in that the girl was buried or is buried somewhere in the dunes.

COSBY: That’s really significant. John, let me go to you. John, what have you heard? Hearing now this is one of the things I was hearing a lot what we were down in Aruba, that his friends could have some information or connection—are you getting a sense, as a representative of the family, that there’s a representative here?

JOHN Q. KELLY, HOLLOWAY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Yes, I talked Karen Janssen yesterday and Gerold Dompig today, and as I understand it this is a new tip that came in within the last week. They felt it was fairly credible and it was very detailed. They would have been remiss not to follow through on it.

What they’re doing it they’re going to search the entire sand dune area with their probes, their metal probes. And hopefully there was some involvement, today we’re trying to coordinate getting the FBI in there with cadaver dogs immediately afterwards to go through the turned up sand and soil.

(Complete Transcript)