Scared Monkeys Welcomes Richard as Contributing Editor: Discussing his thoughts on Missing Persons

Scared Monkeys asked me to do some occasional articles on the general phenomenon of missing people, and on individual cases.  Needless to say, I’m honored and pleased to do so.  Being asked to do these articles does not imply endorsement of my thoughts on Natalee Holloway or any other missing person case.   I am no expert in this area and make no claim to be one.

Those people who have read my posts in the last two years know that I work with the family of Amy Bradley, missing in the Caribbean since March 1998.  I also do volunteer research for International Cruise Victims, which is dedicated to promoting safety on cruise ships and alerting the public to the difference between the benign image the cruise industry presents and the level of crime that actually exists.  And I have done similar Internet research for the International Safe Travels foundation as time has allowed.
 
This weekend the world is awaiting the revelation of the fate of Harry Potter and other characters in that series.  People are lined up to buy the last book; enterprising or unscrupulous individuals are competing to release the details of what happens; and the media are prepping us for a full-scale assault on bookstores by fans, money in hand, raging to know who lives and who dies.
 
I wonder how many of these people will give a thought to the plight of families in the “real” world who want to know the same thing about their loved ones?  Harry Potter is fiction; the agony of these families is not.
 
According to Crime Library , 2,300 Americans are reported missing each day.  I don’t know if that’s a running total or if it is the number of new cases.  This source also says that 150,000 Americans were reported missing in 1980; the latest figure is 900,000.  To some extent, the higher figure may indicate that more attention is being paid to these people.  But whatever the accurate number may be, multiply it by the grief that any family must feel and be daunted at the thought.
 
Anyway, exact numbers are not important; the despair of the families is.  These essays are not about me, but I want to share one experience.  I began my interest in this field when Chandra Levy went missing in 2001, a case that gripped the nation then and that remains unsolved.  Before that I had never thought much about missing people; it was something outside of my experience, and had never happened to anyone that I knew.

Susan Levy, shown in her Modesto home with a portrait of her daughter Channdra

As I became interested in Chandra’s case, it occurred to me that there must be other missing people as well.  So one Saturday morning I went to the office where I was working and did random Internet searches for missing people.  Within half an hour I had seen more than I ever wanted to; hundreds – hundreds! – of smiling photos were on file, each a life that had value, each a life that may or may not have been ended, each a life that now was shrouded in mystery.  The answers were out there, but I didn’t know them.

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Dave Holloway on Geraldo At Large … Seems Geraldo Back Peddling on Cocaine Overdose Story

Geraldo Rivera seems to be doing some back peddling on his original story that Natalee Holloway overdosed on cocaine. Funny how one changes their point of view when they are confronted with facts and the obvious, the police investigation. Also the fact that a date rape drug overdose would make sense as to why one would hide a body, not cocaine. Its also comical how Geraldo backs down from smearing Natalee Holloway especially when confronted with her dad, Dave Holloway.  

Geraldo: Let’s bring in her dad, Dave Holloway who’s on the phone from Mississippi. Dave believes that if drugs were involved, it wasn’t cocaine and Natalee didn’t take it voluntarily.

Welcome, first of all I want to apologize if our reporting or O’Reilly’s has caused you any pain or suffering but tell me, if drugs were involved, I suspect that you believe that it was the date rape drug, is that right?

Dave Holloway then points out the obvious which Scared Monkeys actually put forth as well when we first heard the ridiculous interview from Bill O’Reilly this past week.

Why would anyone make an accidental overdose into an international affair by hiding a body? Answer: They wouldn’t

But they would try to cover up an accidental overdose of XTC and an assault. (SM)

More from tonights interview with Dave Holloway on Geraldo at Large:

Dave: That’s right, I think they got their drugs mixed up. There was a whole lot of discussion about the date rape drug, the allegation about the cocaine is just ludicrous and false. Natalee wasn’t a drug user and there’s not a shred of evidence in the police files that would suggest any drugs at all were used. Certainly this information didn’t come from the Dutch police. Even Joran’s own lawyer, Joe Tacapino categorically denied this theory.

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Since When Does Bill O’Reilly Report Unconfirmed FACTOR News? Natalee Holloway Died of Cardiac Arrest from Cocaine?

Natalee Holloway Died of Cardiac Arrest of Cocaine Overdose???

Why would anyone make an accidental overdose into an international affair by hiding a body? Answer: They wouldn’t

But they would try to cover up an accidental overdose of XTC and an assault

That it’s opinionated, and based on the questionable statement that the authorities ‘believe’ that’s what happened, with no evidence whatsoever to back it up, and that the ‘news’ is not ‘independently confirmed.’ That says it all to me.

 

Last night Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera reported that they had from a credible source how Natalee Holloway really died. After 2+ years of following this case the use of the word “credible source” without a name attached should be laughed away. However, that being said and if one is to believe this “unconfirmed independently” report then please explain the following two simple questions:

2. If as reported from Bill O’Reilly this is what really happened, then the ALE knew this since when, 5/30/05? So they covered up this information all this time, why? There is no good reason why, if this was a case of a simple drug overdose that this story would have played out as it did. So if Aruban officials knew this was the reason why Natalee died then they still partook in a cover-up. What would be the point of the cover-up?

 We asked Jossy Mansur what his take was on Natalee Holloway dying in the ridiculous manner and that the cocaine overdose theory not making any sense. Also, if he had heard any such reports.

I completely agree: if Natalee’s death was ‘accidental’ (from an overdose), why the stories, the lies, the tons of declarations to the investigators? Paul van der Sloot, who knows the intricacies of our penal code, would have immediately instructed his son and his friends to go to the police and come clean with the theory that she died of an overdose.

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Jorge Pesquera, President & CEO of the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association to be Hired by Palm Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, Part I

Palm Beach County, FL thinks its OK not to provide answers for families when it comes to missing persons and crimes committed. That is the message they are sending to the public. Why would anyone want to visit a place with their hard earned money where they embrace and reward a person for helping to spin a crime?

Joseph Pesquera, the president and CEO of the AHATA is reported to to be hired by the Palm Beach, FL Convention and Visitors Bureau. This is just another example of tourism at all cost and the hell with victims rights. No one would even know who Joseph Pesquera was if it were not for the unfortunate story of 18 year old Alabama teenager missing in Aruba. And for that, Joseph Pesquera is praised and rewarded with his efforts in the case of missing and presumed dead Natalee Holloway.

EARTH TO PALM BEACH COUNTY … This is the face of Aruban Tourism. Is this what you want in your county as well?

(Palm Beach: Is this what you want for the face of your tourism?)

Bureau officials point to Pesquera’s 30 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. They also said they were impressed with how he handled himself during a crisis that played out in the national media. (REALLY, may want to read?)

Pesquera was head of Aruba’s tourism agency in 2005 when American citizen Natalee Holloway disappeared while on a graduation trip there. On his résumé, he takes credit for playing “the key role in the establishment of the strategic communications task force, which worked behind the scenes to minimize the impact of the Holloway story and effectively stopped calls for boycott by some U.S. elected officials.” (Palm Beach Post)

Why would anyone hire anyone this controversial for a face of tourism position? Hey Palm Beach, what planet do you people live on and what are you smoking? How he handled the crisis? Aruba was swarmed on by the media and they lost control of the story from the outset. As for the Strategic Communications Task Farce, that went away a long time ago as it was branded useless. The web site ArubaTruth could not even handle the onslaught from on line entities like Scared Monkeys continually asking questions and demanding answers.

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Scared Monkeys.net Forum June-July 2005 Comments Have been Restored

Scared Monkeys.net has restored many of the initial comments regarding the Natalee Holloway case that were thought to be lost. See what many were saying in the beginning and how it has conveniently changed.

Go here and look for Natalee Discussions (2005 ARCHIVE)