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NEWS
Jun 23, 2005 16:53:53 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 23, 2005 16:53:53 GMT -5
this is a complete listing of news articles from AMW covering this case. It starts with the latest.
Paul van der Sloot Arrested Paul van der Sloot- the father of a suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway- has been arrested in Aruba Thursday, June 23. Prosecutors in Aruba say van der Sloot is being viewed as a suspect in Natalee's case. He was arrested about 2 p.m. Thursday.
"He's a suspect," Mariaine Croes, from the Aruba Prosecutor's Office said. "There's a reasonable suspicion that he knows something."
Police questioned van der Sloot over the weekend in connection with the case. A law enforcement source close to the investigation said at the time that the judge was interviewed as a witness.
He spent about five hours in the police station Saturday for questioning and was brought in again on Sunday while his wife, Anita, visited their 17-year-old son Joran.
Holloway's Family Members Take Matters In Their Own Hands
In an emotional meeting, Natalee Holloway's mother confronted the parents of one of the suspects in the case of the missing 18-year-old. Beth Holloway Twitty has been searching for her missing daughter for more than three weeks and has vowed to stay in Aruba until her daughter leaves with her. Tuesday, Holloway Twitty went to the home of Joran van der Slooth, the Dutch teen who is now behind bars. Hoping to speak with the parents of the boy, Holloway Twitty took matters into her own hands and approached the suspect's parents.
Holloway Twitty got more than she expected - a 90-minute conversation inside the van der Sloots' home. Paul van der Sloot- the father of Joran van der Sloot who has been questioned in the case - invited Holloway Twitty in his home. The pair emerged an hour and a half later.
Holloway's Family Seeks Help From Texas Search Team
Family members of Natalee Holloway are taking matters into their own hands. They've hired a Texas company to aid in the search for the missing 18-year-old.
The missing girl's uncle, Paul Reynolds, told Court TV Monday that the family has contracted the thingyinson-based Texas EquuSearch Mounted Search and Recovery Team to carry out a search of the island. Texas EquuSearch, made up of volunteers, said on its Web site that a team is traveling to Aruba this week.
"They are going to help us search for Natalee in ways we couldn't before," Reynolds said without offering details.
The missing honor student's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, told The Associated Press on Monday that the family has contracted an Aruban lawyer and was preparing a lawsuit demanding access to all information and potential evidence that police and prosecutors have gathered.
"I want to see the police record from May 30th," said Holloway, who has insisted the three young men hold the key to the investigation and that authorities should press them harder to tell the truth.
Also Monday, a judge ruled there was enough evidence to keep the fourth person detained in the case in custody. The court ordered that Steve Gregory Croes, 26, a disc jockey on a party vote, be held for eight days, said the attorney general's spokeswoman Mariaine Croes, who is not related to the detainee.
Fourth Person Detained In Holloway Case
On Friday, June 17th a new person was detained in the disappearance of Natalee. According to sources he is a 26-year-old Steven Croes, a friend of Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot, who was with Natalee the night she disappeared, has been detained but not charged. Family described Croes as a quiet man who is divorced and has a 2-year-old son. He said he was not aware of any connection between Croes and the other 3 men in custody.
Reportedly van der Sloot made calls to this person the night Natalee disappeared. Sources in Aruba say police are also looking into a fifth person of interest who van der Sloot also phoned the night of Natalee's disappearance.
Meanwhile, the judge on the case ruled that the father of 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, also a judge, can visit his son.
Police Search Suspect's Home
On June 15, 2005 Aruban police searched the family home of Joran van der Sloot. Two cars were towed from the property.
Two police officers walked through the one-story, yellow-beige home, while others guarded the entranceway to the house. Seventeen-year-old van der Sloot lives in an attached apartment.
Authorities towed a blue sport utility vehicle and a red Jeep from the house, which is surrounded by a low stone wall and fronted by an expanse of trees and cactus.
FOX News is reporting that authorities also may be looking into the possibility that some kind of a "date rape" drug was used on Holloway. Police intend to question some of van der Sloot's friends to see if he has a history with the drug, sources told FOX News.
FOX News has reported that the three young men changed their stories after being moved to separate jail cells. Changing Stories FOX News has reported that the three young men changed their stories after being moved to separate jail cells.
Van der Sloot, the Dutch son of a judicial official, has claimed his two Surinamese friends - who are brothers - dropped him off at his house after he exchanged e-mail addresses with Holloway and said goodnight.
The brothers have also changed their story, saying they left their friend with Holloway at the beach that night.
When first questioned, the trio told police they brought Holloway to a lighthouse beside the island's Arisha Beach, but didn't get out of the car.
Police Search Beach Front
On June 14, Aruban police along with FBI agents and officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department searched an area of tropical vegetation next to the Palm Beach Marriott Hotel, as firefighters pumped water from the site. But they came up empty-handed.
The search was reportedly based on information from a former security guard who said the three suspects may have lied about what happened to the missing student.
Antonius "Mickey" John told reporters that he spoke with one of the three young men while he was detained in an adjacent jail cell. He claimed that Deepak Kalpoe told him that he, his younger brother and van der Sloot lied about returning 18-year-old Natalee Holloway to the Holiday Inn on the morning of May 30, the day Holloway disappeared.
Instead, Kalpoe said, they dropped the Dutch youth and Holloway off near the Marriott, about 10 blocks north of the Holiday Inn, according to John. John and another security guard were detained after Natalee's disappearance, when they were implicated by statements from the three young suspects.
The two Surinamese brothers had told police that the 17-year-old Dutch youth and Holloway were kissing in the back seat of a car, and that when they dropped her off about 2 a.m., they saw a black security guard in a black security jacket approaching her.
John swore he was never in the area at that time of the night and said that Kalpoe apologized to him in jail. "He told me, 'Sorry,' and told the police I should be free."
No one has been charged in the case. Lawyers for the three young men still in custody and the two freed security guards all say their clients are innocent.
The release from jail of John and another former hotel security guard, Abraham Jones, 28, came after Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, told The Associated Press on Sunday that she believed they were innocent but that the three other youths knew what happened to her daughter.
Tracing Natalee's Steps Natalee Ann Holloway had just graduated from Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham, AL. She was looking forward to attending the University of Alabama on a full academic scholarship.
On an unofficial annual senior trip Natalee and approximately 130 of her classmates ventured thousands of miles away to enjoy the white sands and blue waters of Aruba.
For five days the recent graduates and seven chaperones relaxed, sun bathed and enjoyed the Aruba nightlife.
Dressed in the same blue and green striped low-cut blouse and jean miniskirt that she wore at the beach earlier in the day, Holloway spent Sunday evening partying at Carlos 'N Charlie's, a popular restaurant and dance spot where tourists and locals meet in the capital, Oranjestad.
Monday morning, May 31, 2005 when the rest of the group gathered to catch their flight, Natalee was no where to be found.
Carlos N' Charlie's master of ceremonies, Jose Hernandez, saw Natalee leave about 10 minutes before the restaurant's 1 a.m. closing. He reports that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, some of Natalee's friends say they saw her getting into a vehicle outside the nightclub.
According to Natalee's stepmother, Robin Holloway, friends say Natalee was last seen with a local resident who claimed to be a foreign exchange student (AP).
One important clue -- police found Natalee's passport inside her hotel room, narrowing the possibility she left the island.
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NEWS
Jun 24, 2005 13:09:14 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 24, 2005 13:09:14 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — Aruban police arrested the father of a young Dutch teen already in custody in connection with the disappearance of a young Alabama woman, and said Thursday that he was considered a suspect in the 3-week-old case.
The teen's mother, meanwhile, told The Associated Press that her son had changed his story, admitting to her that he was alone with 18-year-old Natalee Holloway on a beach the night she vanished --and that he left her there, not at a Holiday Inn as he earlier stated. But Joran van der Sloot, 17, insisted that he did not hurt her, Anita van der Sloot said.
Paul van der Sloot, 52, a justice official on this Dutch Caribbean island, was arrested Thursday shortly after he and his wife left the San Nicolas prison where Joran is being held, Anita van der Sloot told the AP.
Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said she was pleased with the development.
"We are very pleased that the investigation is progressing," she said. "We feel like this will lead to more information to give us the answers we need for finding Natalee."
But Anita van der Sloot insisted her husband had done nothing wrong and said Aruban authorities arrested him because they were under pressure.
"My husband is a man of integrity who has been working in the justice system 15 years and was taken without evidence," she said, describing him as "the most honest, beautiful man."
"How can this happen? This is not about Natalee anymore. It's about enormous pressure from the (United) States and the media," she said.
Authorities did not immediately respond to van der Sloot's allegation.
The elder van der Sloot "is a suspect in the disappearance" of Holloway, said Mariaine Croes, spokeswoman for the Aruban Attorney General's office.
Authorities have described all five men currently in custody as "suspects." But it was not clear if each was suspected in the woman's disappearance or if some were suspected only of a lesser crime in connection with the case, such as withholding evidence.
Contacted by the AP hours before his arrest, Paul van der Sloot declined to comment on the case.
While Anita van der Sloot had been allowed to visit her son occasionally at the San Nicolas prison, authorities denied similar access to Paul van der Sloot, saying they believed contact between the two could damage the investigation.
Anita van der Sloot said she and her husband received a call from neighbors saying police were waiting for them at their home in Noord, northwest of the capital, Oranjestad. She then called Police Superintendent Jan van der Straaten, who asked them to come to the police station. When they arrived, authorities "took my husband into custody as a suspect," Anita van der Sloot said, adding, "I don't know what to think."
Repeated searches of the island have produced no trace of Holloway, who vanished in the early hours of May 30, the last day of a high school graduation trip with 124 other students. Her passport and packed suitcase were found in her hotel room.
Joran van der Sloot has been in custody since June 9, along with two Surinamese brothers, Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, in connection with Holloway's disappearance.
Authorities also have arrested a 26-year-old party boat disc jockey, Steve Gregory Croes.
Police say Joran met Holloway at a casino two days before her disappearance. He and the Kalpoe brothers told authorities they took her from a popular restaurant to a beach, where Joran and Holloway were kissing in the back of the car, then dropped Natalee at the Holiday Inn about 2 a.m.
But Anita van der Sloot said Joran has since changed his story, telling her that he was alone with Natalee on a beach.
"He says, 'Mom, I dropped the girl at the beach. I walked with her. I left her there because she wanted to stay there. I left and I don't know what happened. There my statement ends,"' Anita van der Sloot said.
Anita van der Sloot didn't say which beach.
When asked if Joran had changed his initial story, she replied, "Joran changed his story only one time. I think he was scared because he sneaked out of the house that evening. I think he was scared and wanted to cover other people too. He changed his story once and added details."
Nadira Ramirez, the mother of the Surinamese brothers appeared to back the new story. She said her son told her they had dropped the missing girl with Joran near a beach. She told Fox News Channel Thursday night: "I asked Satish why (to) you lie to mama."
"He said he's our friend and we tried to lie to, you know, to cover him or something"
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NEWS
Jun 25, 2005 3:47:23 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 25, 2005 3:47:23 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- A team of Texas search specialists will begin hunting for Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in earnest Saturday, the same day the five suspects in the Aruba case are to appear before a judge.
Tim Miller, director and founder of Texas Equusearch, said most of the 24-member search team, including eight divers and one dog, had arrived by Friday night. Three more dogs and their handlers were to arrive Saturday.
The dogs, considered highly trained, will wear booties to protect their paws from cacti needles. At least $25,000 has been contributed for the search so far through the nonprofit group's Web site, Miller said.
Meanwhile, an Aruban judge in police custody in connection with the 18-year-old's disappearance faced more questioning Friday. Paul Van Der Sloot, 53, and four other suspects, including Van Der Sloot's 17-year-old son, are to face a judge who will decide whether they are to remain in custody.
Prosecutors decided Thursday to keep Paul Van Der Sloot in jail for 48 hours. The other suspects are his 17-year-old son, Joran; Satish Kalpoe, 18; his brother Deepak Kalpoe, 21; and disc jockey Steve Croes, 26.
Although the suspects were arrested at different times, Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten told CNN the judge will consider their continued detention at a single hearing. Paul Van Der Sloot, who is relatively new to the bench, has been denied access to his son since the youth was arrested.
Van Der Straten would not say if Paul Van Der Sloot was being cooperative.
The FBI and Aruba's coast guard searched a lake Friday for Holloway, but found nothing, Van Der Straten said. Nearby residents said the search lasted two or three hours.
Holloway's stepfather said that with the arrest of the elder Van Der Sloot, he is hoping answers will be forthcoming concerning her disappearance.
"How would you like to be there, in prison, knowing that your father is now under arrest, and think: Hey, your dad may be going to jail now because of something you may have done?" George "Jug" Twitty said.
None of the suspects has been formally charged, and it was unclear when charges might be filed.
Prosecution spokeswoman Mariaine Croes told CNN's "American Morning" on Friday that charges will not be filed until the investigation is complete and evidence is reviewed by prosecutors.
Under Aruban law, authorities can arrest a suspect based on reasonable suspicion, unlike in the United States, where police must have probable cause. Prosecutors can ask judges to approve three eight-day extensions of detention, followed by two longer extensions.
Croes has said suspects may be held up to 116 days -- and in rare cases, even longer -- before charges are filed, to allow evidence-gathering to continue. Defense attorneys for the original four have said their clients maintain their innocence.
Croes said Friday that authorities believe Paul Van Der Sloot was "somehow involved" in Holloway's disappearance, but would not elaborate and stopped short of saying investigators are focusing on one person.
Holloway, from the affluent Birmingham, Ala., suburb of Mountain Brook, was last seen about 1:30 a.m. May 30 as she left a nightclub with Joran Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers. She was on a trip to Aruba with about 100 classmates and a few parent chaperones to celebrate her high school graduation.
The Kalpoe brothers and Joran Van Der Sloot initially told prosecutors they dropped Holloway off at her hotel. But police have said that story disintegrated under questioning, and there has been no evidence to show Holloway ever returned to the hotel.
The Kalpoes' mother told CNN Thursday one of her sons had admitted lying to protect Joran Van Der Sloot, and said he and his brother took the Dutch youth and Holloway to a beach and dropped them off.
Anita Van Der Sloot, the mother of Joran Van Der Sloot and wife of Paul Van Der Sloot, said her son had also changed his story and admitted being alone with Holloway on the beach, saying he left her there because she wanted to stay there.
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NEWS
Jun 25, 2005 13:44:09 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 25, 2005 13:44:09 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- Five suspects in the case of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway are expected to appear before a judge on the island of Aruba on Saturday.
The suspects, who are Judge Paul Van Der Sloot, 53; his son Joran, 17; Satish Kalpoe, 18; his brother Deepak Kalpoe, 21; and disc jockey Steve Croes, 26, will face a judge who will decide whether they are to remain in custody, Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten said.
No one has been formally charged in the case -- which began after Holloway, 18, went missing during her Aruba vacation with classmates on May 30.
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NEWS
Jun 26, 2005 20:11:21 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 26, 2005 20:11:21 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- Aruban police Sunday released the father of a suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, hours after a judge ordered him and another suspect let go.
Paul Van Der Sloot, 53, was arrested Thursday. At a hearing Sunday, the judge ordered him released after finding "no sufficient suspicion for guilt," defense attorney Arie Swaen said.
Van Der Sloot, an Aruban judge himself, is the father of suspect Joran Van Der Sloot, 17, who has been in custody since June 9 along with brothers Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21.
The three youths, who were with Holloway, 18, when she was last reported seen in the early hours of May 30, also appeared in court Sunday and will remain detained for at least another eight days.
Earlier Sunday, the attorney for Steve Croes -- a 26-year-old disc jockey arrested in the case June 17 -- said his client would be freed by Monday afternoon due to a lack of evidence against him.
Croes' mother collapsed from emotion outside the courtroom after the judge announced his release.
No formal charges have been filed in the case. Prosecutors said Croes and the three younger suspects were held in connection with possible charges of first- or second-degree murder and kidnapping resulting in death.
Attorneys for Croes, the Kalpoes and Van Der Sloot have said the men are innocent.
Asked whether Holloway's relatives felt the releases were a setback, the girl's father, Dave Holloway, said his focus remains on finding his daughter, not on the investigation.
"I still feel like he ... has some answers," he said of Paul Van Der Sloot. "But if we find Natalee, that will resolve the whole thing."
Croes was arrested after one of the three youths named him, Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten said at the time.
The party boat where Croes works docks about 1,000 feet from the Holiday Inn where Holloway was staying.
The judge presiding in Sunday's hearings was flown in from the nearby island of Curacao to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
He heard the case against each suspect separately in a proceeding lasting more than four hours.
Paul Van Der Sloot, who is relatively new to the bench, had been denied access to his son since the teen was arrested. (Full story)
He was questioned twice by police before his arrest and underwent interrogation afterward as well, authorities have said.
Van Der Straten refused to say if Paul Van Der Sloot was cooperative. His wife, Anita Van Der Sloot, dropped some towels and other items off at the jail Saturday, but was not allowed to see her husband.
Fourth release Four people have now been ordered released from custody in the case. Security guards Abraham Jones, 28, and Mickey John, 30, were released June 13 after eight days in custody.
David Kock, defense attorney for Satish Kalpoe, said Sunday he felt the investigation was moving in the right direction, noting that police scrutinized cell phone records and Internet traffic as part of the probe.
Kock said those records show Joran Van Der Sloot called Deepak Kalpoe about 2:40 a.m. on the morning Holloway disappeared.
The lawyer said in that call, according to Deepak Kalpoe's statements, Joran Van Der Sloot told Kalpoe he left Holloway on the beach and was walking home.
Koch said that about 40 minutes later -- about the time it would take him to walk home -- Joran Van Der Sloot text-messaged Deepak Kalpoe to tell him he had arrived.
"I just think this goes to show that the story that Deepak and Satish are telling ... is substantiated by facts," Kock said.
Antonio Carlo, defense attorney for Joran Van Der Sloot, said Sunday his client was in good spirits, but was "shocked and disturbed" by his father's arrest.
Team continues search Elsewhere on the island Sunday, a 27-member team based in Texas continued its search for Holloway.
Sunday's plans included using side-scan sonar on a dive boat, said Texas EquuSearch spokesman Joe Huston.
Four dogs that accompanied the team were to work most of the day -- skipping the middle period when their sense of smell is less acute, Huston said.
He said the group would like more volunteers and hoped residents would donate drinking water and some meals.
On Saturday, part of the team searched a wetlands and the northern tip of the island near a lighthouse, using a dog to comb the beaches.
Shifting stories Prosecution spokeswoman Mariaine Croes said charges -- if any -- will not be filed until the investigation is complete and evidence is reviewed by prosecutors.
Under Aruban law, authorities can arrest a suspect based on reasonable suspicion, unlike in the United States, where police must have probable cause.
Prosecutors can ask judges to approve three eight-day extensions of detention, followed by two longer extensions.
Mariaine Croes said suspects may be held up to 116 days -- and in rare cases, even longer -- before charges are filed, to allow evidence-gathering to continue.
Holloway, from the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook, was last seen about 1:30 a.m. May 30 as she left a nightclub with Joran Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers.
She was on a trip to Aruba with about 100 classmates to celebrate their high school graduation and were accompanied by a few parent-chaperones.
The Kalpoe brothers and Joran Van Der Sloot initially told prosecutors they dropped Holloway off at the Holiday Inn, were she was staying.
But police have said that story fell apart under questioning, and no evidence has been found to show Holloway ever returned to the hotel.
The Kalpoes' mother said one of her sons had admitted lying to protect Joran Van Der Sloot, and said he and his brother took the Dutch youth and Holloway to a beach and dropped them off.
Anita Van Der Sloot said her son had also changed his story and admitted being alone with Holloway on the beach, saying he left her there because she wanted to stay there.
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NEWS
Jun 27, 2005 15:13:20 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Jun 27, 2005 15:13:20 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- Aruban police released Steve Croes from jail Monday after a judge ruled on Sunday there was not enough evidence to hold the a 26-year-old disc jockey arrested in the case of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
Croes has been in custody since June 17. Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten said at the time that one of the three youths still in custody implicated him in the case.
Croes works on a party boat that docks about 1,000 feet from the Holiday Inn where Holloway, 18, was staying when she disappeared May 30.
Seventeen-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot, and two other suspects -- Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21 -- appeared before the judge Sunday and will remain held for at least another eight days. They were the last people reported seen with Holloway.
Van Der Sloot's father, Paul, was arrested Thursday. At a hearing Sunday, the judge ordered him released after finding "no sufficient suspicion for guilt," defense attorney Arie Swaen said.
No formal charges have been filed in the case. Prosecutors said Croes and the three younger suspects were held in connection with possible charges of first- or second-degree murder and kidnapping resulting in death.
Attorneys for Croes, the Kalpoes and Van Der Sloot have said the men are innocent.
Asked whether Holloway's relatives felt the releases were a setback, the girl's father, Dave Holloway, said his focus remains on finding his daughter, not on the investigation.
"I still feel like he ... has some answers," he said of Paul Van Der Sloot. "But if we find Natalee, that will resolve the whole thing."
The judge presiding in Sunday's hearings was flown in from the nearby island of Curacao to avoid the appearance of impropriety. Paul Van Der Sloot is an Aruban judge.
He heard the case against each suspect separately in a proceeding lasting more than four hours.
Paul Van Der Sloot, who is relatively new to the bench, had been denied access to his son since the teen was arrested. (Full story)
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NEWS
Aug 8, 2005 18:08:20 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 8, 2005 18:08:20 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - The mother of an Alabama honors student missing in this Caribbean island for over two months said Monday the investigation into the teen’s disappearance has been marred by ineptitude and more than doubled the reward for help in solving the case to $250,000.
Natalee Holloway’s mother, renewing criticism of authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island, said police had given her copies of statements from witnesses and other documents from the investigation that have led her to believe investigators are on the wrong track.
“The level of ineptness has been incredible,” Beth Holloway Twitty said of Aruban authorities. “The whole thing has been wrong from the beginning.”
She declined to give details on the documents or say how she thinks authorities should be handling the case.
The family is also offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the 18-year-old’s safe return. The other reward was raised from $100,000, and Holloway Twitty wanted to publicize the rewards in neighboring Venezuela and Colombia, even though Aruban authorities and the FBI said they don’t believe the teen left the Dutch Caribbean island.
The family has said the reward is a mix of their own money and donations, but they have declined to give a breakdown.
“I hope more money will help bring people forward,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I still don’t feel like this investigation is heading in the right direction.”
Chief Prosecutor Karin Janssen called the criticism unwarranted.
“I’m positive about our progress and very proud of my team,” said Janssen.
Not a trace Extensive searches by Dutch marines, Aruban police and thousands of volunteers have found no trace of Natalee, who vanished on May 30 during a graduation trip with 124 classmates on the island.
No one has been charged in the disappearance. Seven men were arrested, but all except 18-year-old Joran van der Sloot have been released.
Through his lawyers and family, van der Sloot has acknowledged being on a beach alone with the young woman the day she disappeared but says he left her there unharmed.
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NEWS
Aug 10, 2005 12:53:28 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 10, 2005 12:53:28 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Deepak Kalpoe (search ) filed a complaint against Natalee Holloway's (search ) mother Tuesday, claiming he felt he was threatened by her actions at his place of work, Fox News has confirmed.
Beth Holloway Twitty (search) confronted him Monday at the Internet cafe where he works, spending about 90 minutes peppering him with questions.
Kalpoe's lawyer has sent her a letter warning that if she does it again, he will file for a restraining order against her.
Brothers Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, and 18-year-old Joran van der Sloot (search ) were among the last people to see Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala., before she vanished on the final night of a high school graduation trip to Aruba.
Holloway Twitty said Monday the investigation into the teen's two-month disappearance has been marred by ineptitude, and more than doubled the reward for help in solving the case to $250,000.
Renewing criticism of authorities on the Dutch Caribbean island, Holloway Twitty said police had given her copies of statements from witnesses and other documents from the investigation that have led her to believe investigators are on the wrong track.
"The level of ineptness has been incredible," Holloway Twitty said of Aruban authorities. "The whole thing has been wrong from the beginning."
She declined to give details on the documents or say how she thinks authorities should be handling the case.
The family is also offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the 18-year-old's safe return. The other reward was raised from $100,000, and Holloway Twitty wanted to publicize the rewards in neighboring Venezuela and Colombia, even though Aruban authorities and the FBI said they don't believe the teen left the Dutch Caribbean island.
The family has said the reward is a mix of their own money and donations, but they have declined to give a breakdown.
"I hope more money will help bring people forward," she said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I still don't feel like this investigation is heading in the right direction."
Chief Prosecutor Karin Janssen called the criticism unwarranted.
"I'm positive about our progress and very proud of my team," said Janssen.
Extensive searches by Dutch marines, Aruban police, and thousands of volunteers have found no trace of Natalee, who vanished on May 30 during a graduation trip with 124 classmates on the island.
No one has been charged in the disappearance. Seven men were arrested, including Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, but all except van der Sloot have been released.
Through his lawyers and family, van der Sloot has acknowledged being on a beach alone with the young woman the day she disappeared, but says he left her there unharmed.
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NEWS
Aug 16, 2005 14:45:19 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 16, 2005 14:45:19 GMT -5
Mother confronts Aruba suspect Holloway's mother questions Kalpoe about disappearance of missing teen
TRANSCRIPT MSNBC
It's been over nine weeks since Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared on the last night of her vacation in Aruba. Since then, her mother Beth Holloway Twitty, has stayed on the island to take part in the search effort.
Her relentless determination for answers brought her face-to-face with Deepak Kalpoe, one of the three suspects involved in the disappearance. Under the guise of developing film, Beth Holloway showed up at the internet cafe where he works.
She tells MSNBC-TV host Joe Scarborough that Deepak avoided her questions and avoided eye contact.
BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, MOTHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: I don’t know how long I was in there. It may have been an hour. It could have been longer. We went in there to develop some pictures, just trying to give Deepak an opportunity to talk to me. We know that he has some answers. And I think one of my biggest questions that I have is that Joran committed a sexual assault against Natalee in the car and we know Deepak and Satish were there.
I just asked him, did you try to help Natalee or did you participate? He can’t even answer that. He would just either refer to it with silence or his attorney told him not to speak with me. And I just can’t imagine, given that opportunity, that he would not want to take advantage of it to clear his name, with Natalee’s mother standing right there in front of him.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, ‘SCARBOROUGH COUNTRY’ HOST: So, you went to this Internet cafe and asked him about the reports of the sexual assault or the rape in the car, and he just simply refused to answer?
HOLLOWAY: Now, I can’t refer to it as rape, but I can refer to it as sexual assault. That’s as far as I can go with it. I know that some was occurring. He would either answer me with silence, or would not look at me. I had to keep telling him over and over again, pick your head up. Look at me when I’m talking with you. I’m trying to help you. You know, look at the damage, look at what he’s doing to Aruba.
The citizens, I’m sure, are outraged at how he is just disregarding any type of respect for maintaining Aruba’s integrity. There are a lot of people that have been watching, and even from the U.S., and we all want answers and we’re giving him every opportunity to clear his name. And he can’t do it.
SCARBOROUGH: Did you, at any point in this meeting, just simply say, hey, listen, I don’t think you’re telling the truth; your story that you’ve been telling the police, or I guess I should say your stories, just don’t add up? Did you call him a liar?
HOLLOWAY: I didn’t call him a liar, but I can tell you, in that hour or hour-and-a-half I was there, I asked him repeatedly. I was very persistent. I did not stop. I kept reminding him that we’ve got a $250,000 reward for the whereabouts of Natalee. We are offering $1 million for her safe return.
We, as her family, are doing everything we can to make this worthwhile, to come forward. We’re giving him lots of choices and opportunities to come forward and do the right thing. I offered him to please come on one of the shows with me, yours tonight.
But that just shows, some huge level of guilt and involvement. He cannot even look at Natalee’s mother. He can’t even deny it.
SCARBOROUGH: Yes. I think it’s absolutely fascinating that you go in there and he can’t even make eye contact with you, that, here you are, the person that’s obviously anguished by the disappearance of your daughter and possible death of your daughter, you go try to talk to him, and you’ve got to tell him, make eye contact with me; look in my eyes.
So you sensed that he looked guilty to you? Was he obviously intimidated by your presence in there?
HOLLOWAY: I’ll tell you, he looked sick to me. He looked sick with worry.
All I saw were his eyelids the entire time, except when I would tell him he had to look at me. That’s all I saw. His head was down. He was nervous. I mean, he was just continually going back and forth to the computer, just frantically typing, just senseless typing. I could see where I was seated that it was just senseless typing. He was just that fright or flight that someone gets, but he couldn’t flight, so all he had was fright in there.
SCARBOROUGH: Now, is he following your campaign?
HOLLOWAY: Obviously, he was on duty.
SCARBOROUGH: Yes, obviously on duty, trying to stay away from your questions.
Is he aware of the campaign, the aggressive campaign that you’re going through every night on TV? Does he understand that you’re not going away, that you’re going to keep going back on TV time and time again until you get justice for your daughter?
HOLLOWAY: You know, I think he is truly aware of it. I’m encouraged by the fact that he is watching. I think he’s got a vested interest in this case, I thought it was amusing.
The one question that he did ask me, and this was probably 10 minutes before I was leaving. He told me that the media has not seen this side of you. I told him, I’d been saving it for you, Deepak.
SCARBOROUGH: What side is that?
HOLLOWAY: I think it’s just the side that, I will stop at nothing to get answers. There is nothing that I won’t do. There’s nowhere that I won’t go. I’m going to ask every question. I don’t care how painful it is. I will do it, because I’m not going to have any regrets.
There are too many people that have been supporting me and they want answers too. So, if I’m in the position to ask them, I need to take advantage of it. I had the opportunity and I did the best I could, because, it’s a tragedy for Aruba and it’s a tragedy for all of us involved. These citizens deserve better than that. They’re good people here. They do not deserve to be put through what Deepak and Satish Kalpoe and Joran Van Der Sloot and the father, Paulus, are putting them through. They’re subjecting their country to this. It’s a tragedy. It is a shame.
SCARBOROUGH: Did you ever ask him questions like, where is my daughter? Is my daughter still alive? Did you kill my daughter? Did it ever go to that level, where you were really asking just the tough, tough questions?
HOLLOWAY: Joe, I’ve got a lot more days on this island, so I’m not going anywhere. I’ve got plenty of time. I’ve got lots more pictures to be developed at the Internet cafe.
SCARBOROUGH: Here we have, again, people writing around the United States, thousands of miles away, and yet they’re taking the posters down there. Did you mention that to him? Did you mention it to anybody in the store?
HOLLOWAY: Oh, absolutely. There was a customer at the counter at the same time I was there. The man knew who I was.
I had to explain that the reward for the $1 million for a safe return and the $250,000 for her whereabouts, because, you know, the tourists that come here, they ask me, where are her posters? Why don’t you have her posters up? And, if I put them up, I can’t help it if this business owner took her poster down.
It saddened me greatly, because we are trying everything we can, as her family, to bring forth a resolution. But we’ve got to have some help. And, for the most part, they remain in these businesses on the walls and on the glass doors, and that’s where we need to get the message out. But, if I put one up and his owner, this is what Deepak told me, that his manager or boss made him take it down. So, the only thing I know to do is to go back and try again.
SCARBOROUGH: Do it again. You were with Deepak for an hour, at least an hour. You saw him avert his eyes from you. You saw him look down. You saw him type nervously. Let's go back to the first night you got to the island, You immediately figured out that Joran and Paulus Van Der Sloot were involved just by reading their body language.
After being in the presence of Deepak for an hour earlier today, are you convinced that he is involved in the disappearance of Natalee?
HOLLOWAY: Oh, absolutely. Anybody that was in there and saw him would agree 100 percent. There wouldn’t be one person that didn’t believe that he had involvement if they would have been in there and witnessed and been in his presence. There’s no one that wouldn’t believe that he has involvement.
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NEWS
Aug 16, 2005 14:46:21 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 16, 2005 14:46:21 GMT -5
Monday, August 15, 2005 · Last updated 7:02 p.m. PT
Man says he saw suspect night girl vanished
By PETER PRENGAMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
ORANJESTAD, Aruba -- A man who claimed he saw a suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway driving with two friends the night she vanished appeared in court Monday to give sworn testimony, days after police said he may have fled the country.
The witness had been summoned to appear in court last week, but authorities were unable to locate him and said he might have left the Dutch Caribbean island.
Police found the man and brought him to court, police spokesman Edwin Comenencia said, declining to say where or when they located him.
The man, whose name has not been disclosed, told police last month that he saw Joran van der Sloot, an 18-year-old Dutch high school student who has been detained in the case, and two Surinamese brothers driving near the Marriott Hotel around 2:30 a.m. on May 30.
The man's account is significant because van der Sloot told authorities that he was already at home at 2:30 a.m. that night. Van der Sloot has admitted he was alone with Holloway that night, but said he left the 18-year-old from Mountain Brook unharmed at a beach near the Marriott Hotel.
Van der Sloot was brought in by police to attend the closed-door session, while the brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, came in voluntarily.
Under Dutch law, which governs Aruba, a sworn testimony is considered more credible because it allows the judge and lawyers on both sides of a case to question the witness.
"We are very satisfied with the interrogations," of the witness, said Ruud Oomen, a lawyer for Deepak Kalpoe, after the session. "The judge gave us the opportunity to ask the questions we wanted." Oomen declined to comment further.
Chief Prosecutor Karin Janssen and other defense lawyers declined to comment upon leaving court.
The man was escorted out the court's side door in an unmarked police car with heavily tinted windows, making it impossible to see his face.
Last week, lawyers for Satish Kalpoe and the Holloway family said officials in the Attorney General's office told them the witness was a Colombian national living in Aruba illegally and working as a gardener.
Police had said the man was not considered a fugitive, but if found in Aruba, he would be arrested, made to testify in court and turned over to immigration officials.
It was unclear if the man had been arrested or would face legal action.
Based on his account, police partially drained the pond near the Marriott Hotel. They found no evidence.
Holloway disappeared on the last day of a vacation to celebrate her high school graduation. Numerous searches by police and volunteers have found no trace of her.
Also Monday, a judge struck down an appeal by defense lawyers to prohibit Aruban authorities from sharing information with the FBI about Holloway's case, said Attorney General spokeswoman Mariaine Croes.
Lawyers for Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoes have argued the American law enforcement agency, which is acting in an advisory role, didn't have jurisdiction and shouldn't have access to the investigation.
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NEWS
Aug 16, 2005 14:48:00 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 16, 2005 14:48:00 GMT -5
Holloway Witness Feared Missing Gives Testimony
POSTED: 6:17 pm PDT August 15, 2005 UPDATED: 6:32 pm PDT August 15, 2005
ORANJESTAD, Aruba -- A man who claimed he saw a suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway driving with two friends the night she vanished gave sworn testimony in court on Monday.
Police had said earlier that the man might have left Aruba.
Holloway, an 18-year-old from Birmingham, Ala., disappeared while on a senior trip to Aruba.
The witness' name has not been disclosed. He told police last month that he saw Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers driving near the Marriott Hotel at about 2:30 a.m. on May 30.
Van der Sloot is an 18-year-old Dutch high school student who has been detained in the case.
Van der Sloot has admitted he was alone with Holloway that night, but said he left her unharmed at a beach near the Marriott Hotel.
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NEWS
Aug 26, 2005 14:58:09 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 26, 2005 14:58:09 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Two Surinamese brothers who had been detained and released in the Natalee Holloway case were arrested again Friday based on new evidence, officials said.
Satish Kalpoe and Deepak Kalpoe were arrested after authorities uncovered "new facts and circumstances" in the investigation of Holloway's disappearance, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The brothers were detained on suspicion of involvement, with unidentified "other people," in premeditated rape and murder.
Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21, were released from jail in July after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold them in the disappearance of the 18-year-old American, who vanished in May on the final night of a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island.
Holloway family pleased
Holloway's family said they were pleased about the arrests, which they learned about from the FBI.
"We haven't been told why but I think it's obvious," Natalee's stepmother, Robin Holloway, said by phone from Meridian, Miss. "We've known all along they had something to do with Natalee's disappearance."
Earlier, a lawyer for Satish Kalpoe said authorities had not disclosed why the brothers had been arrested again. "They haven't shown us any evidence," Elgin Zeppenveldt told reporters outside a court where they were to appear before a judge.
Brothers first arrested in June The brothers were first arrested on June 9 along with Joran van der Sloot, 18, who authorities have identified as a suspect in the case, though no charges have been filed.
Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Ala., was last seen leaving a bar with the Kalpoe brothers and van der Sloot in the early hours of May 30. Extensive searches of the island have produced no sign of the teen.
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NEWS
Aug 27, 2005 8:46:07 GMT -5
Post by grassyknoll2 on Aug 27, 2005 8:46:07 GMT -5
Kelly Jolkowski who became involved in missing persons because of her son Jason has started a blog: We need your help. You may be aware of the recent uproar in regards to the lack of media coverage for all missing persons rather than a select few. I run a nonprofit organization which assists families of the missing all over the country. Even with the recent uproar, the media is still ignoring cases that do not fit their tight criteria for what and who is newsworthy. I am making a grassroots effort to go "in the back door" and find a way around the media's non-responsiveness. Right now, blogs are very popular on the Internet. (A blog is like on online journal, in case you are not familiar with the word.) I started a blog that features real stories of missing persons and their families, right from the source, and written by someone who knows and understands what they are experiencing. You will not find another blog like this anywhere on the Internet. In order to have any impact, we need to build loyal readership; people who care and want to help. It is a proven fact that awareness is the key to resolving missing person's cases and reuniting them with their families. We ask you to come visit us, and if you are moved to help, then spread the word about us to others. We're not going to give up on the media, but we're also not going to wait and keep hoping they will respond and help these families. The blog can be seen at voice4themissing.blogspot.com Thank you for any and all help you can provide. Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski President and Founder, Project Jason www.projectjason.org Read our Voice for the Missing Blog voice4themissing.blogspot.com/
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NEWS
Aug 29, 2005 3:47:33 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Aug 29, 2005 3:47:33 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) -- Volunteer divers explored waters off Aruba's east coast Sunday, hoping to find clues in the disappearance of missing U.S. teen Natalee Holloway.
At least eight divers volunteered to search waters about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from a beach near the Holiday Inn where Holloway stayed during a vacation to celebrate her high school graduation, said Eduardo Mansur, co-founder of the Aruba Search and Rescue Foundation.
Although the waters have been searched before, the group claims a radar machine invented by an American has detected human bones in the area. The inventor, Joe Walker, came to Aruba to help in the search but is now off the island, Mansur said.
Extensive searches have produced no trace of Holloway.
On Friday, authorities arrested two Surinamese brothers who had previously been detained and released in the case, raising the Holloway family's hopes for a breakthrough. (Full story)
Satish and Deepak Kalpoe were arrested on suspicion of involvement in premeditated murder and rape, Aruba's prosecutor's office said. Police said the brothers were questioned for several hours Saturday but declined to provide further information.
The missing teen's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, applauded the brothers' arrest, saying she was hopeful the family was "going to get answers."
The family had been angered by a judge's decision in July to release the Kalpoes for lack of evidence.
The brothers were first arrested on June 9 along with Joran van der Sloot, a Dutch teenager whom authorities have identified as a suspect though no charged have been filed.
Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, was last seen May 30 leaving a bar with van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers on the final night of her vacation with 124 classmates.
Elgin Zeppenveldt, a lawyer for Satish Kalpoe, has said defense attorneys will appeal the brothers' detention.
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NEWS
Sept 2, 2005 9:39:12 GMT -5
Post by Sher on Sept 2, 2005 9:39:12 GMT -5
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) -- A judge Thursday ordered the release of an Aruban teenager jailed for nearly three months in the disappearance of an Alabama girl and said he would be freed this weekend, the youth's father and attorney said.
Paul van der Sloot said the judge ruled there was no reason to hold his son, Joran, any longer on suspicion of murder but that the youth remained a suspect in the sexual assault of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway.
Reached by phone later, defense attorney Antonio Carlo, disputed part of the father's statement, saying van der Sloot, 18, remains a suspect in Holloway's murder but will be released Saturday pending the outcome of the investigation.
The decision to release van der Sloot "only has to do with the pretrial detention. The primary condition is he has to remain available to police," Carlo said.
In a statement, the prosecutor's office declined to comment on the ruling, saying it hasn't received all of the decisions from the judge.
Joran van der Sloot was arrested June 9 along with two friends, Surinamese nationals Satish Kalpoe, 18, and Deepak Kalpoe, 21, on suspicion of involvement in Holloway's disappearance.
The Kalpoe brothers were released July 4 but were re-arrested last week.
A judge ordered Satish Kalpoe to remain jailed another eight days, said government spokesman Ruben Trapenberg said, without giving further details.
The judge was still to rule on whether to continue holding or release Deepak Satish. Suspects can be detained for 116 days without charge in the Dutch Caribbean island.
Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, was last seen May 30 leaving a bar with the Kalpoes and van der Sloot hours before the honors student was to end a vacation celebrating her high school graduation.
No one has been charged, and extensive searches have produced no sign of her.
The announcement came a day after a hearing in which Carlo argued that prosecutors have produced no evidence his client was involved in Holloway's disappearance or that a crime had been committed.
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