Detailed Timeline.... June 19 - 20, 2005.... the start of the long road of the assassination of Aruba - Dutch "justice"

The Natalee Holloway Timeline

of her vanishment while in Aruba

detailing persons, places, organizations,
deliberate & accidental actions & in-actions,
events & supposed events, witnesses,
known suspects, outright lies,
corruptions, and crimes

6-19-05
Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT , Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE , Current Murder Suspect SATISH KALPOE , and Current Murder Suspect "Steve" CROES were all retained in custody after the 6-19 hearing by DUTCH judge WIT from CURACAO.
On 6-19 FOX News reported:

Judge Extends Aruba Murder Suspects' Detention
ORANJESTAD, Aruba — 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 (search) 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.
Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared in the early hours of May 30, the last day of a five-day vacation with 124 other students to celebrate their high school graduation.
She has not been found, but investigators refused to say if they thought Holloway was dead. Her mother, Beth Holloway Twitty (search), has said she will continue to believe Holloway is alive until she has proof otherwise.
The judge on Saturday extended the detention of Joran van der Sloot (search), 17, and brothers, Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, for eight days, Croes said.
A fourth man who was detained Friday was identified by his boss as Steve Gregory Croes, a 26-year-old disc jockey on a privately owned party boat. He was arrested early Friday, a day after being contacted by Police and giving them a statement, the boat's owner Marcus Wiggins told The Associated Press. The detainee is not related to the attorney general's spokeswoman.
Van der Sloot is the son of Paul van der Sloot (search), of the Netherlands, who is training to be a judge in Aruba. Holloway Twitty, 44, has insisted that he and the Kalpoe brothers hold the key to the investigation and she wants authorities to pressure the young men harder to tell the truth.
In Alabama, a friend of Holloway's family said the young woman's relatives, not Aruban Police, first identified and located Joran and the Kalpoe brothers — less than a day after she disappeared.
"She had been missing less than 24 hours and we had all three names and addresses, so it's just disappointing that they (authorities) weren't able to move faster," Jody Bearman, who organized the graduation trip and went to Aruba to help in the search, told The Associated Press on Friday.
Holloway Twitty said if significant progress is not made soon in the case, she may start to believe that authorities are protecting the detainees. Aruban authorities have said they are pursuing all leads and protecting no one.
On Friday, a judge ruled on a petition from the elder van der Sloot to visit his son, whom he has not been allowed to see since Joran was detained on June 9, and from the Kalpoes' attorneys requesting to see any evidence prosecutors may have gathered. Both Croes and a court secretary refused to reveal the rulings. Defense attorneys did not return calls seeking comment.
It was not clear how the disc jockey might be connected to the other detainees. He told Wiggins that he knew one of the Kalpoe brothers because he went to the same Internet cafe, Wiggins said.



On 6-19 Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT was questioned “as a possible witness” for 2 hours by the Police.
On 6-19 CNN reported:

LAW CENTER
Aruban judge questioned in missing teen case
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- Nearly three weeks after Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba, Police there questioned a local judge whose son is a suspect in the case, a law enforcement source close to the investigation said.
Authorities talked to Judge Paul van der Sloot on Saturday night, the source said. The jurist is the father of 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, one of four people held in the case -- none of whom have been charged.
The source said the judge was interviewed as a witness.
On Friday, Judge Bob Wit ruled that Paul van der Sloot cannot visit his son in jail, but that the boy's mother may. Wit's reasoning wasn't made public. Anita van der Sloot visited her son late Friday.
Defense attorneys for Joran van der Sloot and two others in custody have said their clients maintain they are innocent.
Also jailed are Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and his brother Satish, 18, and a man identified by a family member as Steve Croes, 26, a disc jockey for a popular party boat, who was arrested Friday.
Police Commissioner Jan van der Straten said the arrest came after one of the three jailed youths named a fourth person in the case.
Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were last seen with Holloway leaving a nightclub about 1:30 a.m. on May 30, Police said.
The party boat that employs Croes docks near the Holiday Inn where Holloway was staying.
Croes' uncle Rufo Solognier, a retired Police officer, described his nephew as a quiet divorced man with a 2-year-old son. Solognier said he did not know of any connection between Croes and the three others.
Prosecutors asked a judge Friday to hold van der Sloot and the Kalpoes another eight days.
Under Aruban law, prosecutors can ask judges to approve three eight-day extensions, followed by a 60-day extension and then a 30-day one.
Murder Suspects may be held up to 116 days -- and in rare cases even longer -- before formal charges are filed, said Mariaine Croes, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor.
Authorities have found no sign of the Alabama teenager despite a massive hunt of the Caribbean island off Venezuela.
Holloway, an 18-year-old honors student from the affluent Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook, was in Aruba with about 100 classmates to celebrate high school graduation.
Her mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, who traveled to Aruba to search for her daughter, expressed frustration Friday at the pace of the investigation.
"I will find Natalee," Twitty vowed.
Last week, authorities released two security guards who were arrested in connection with Holloway's disappearance.
The guards, Abraham Jones, 28, and Mickey John, 30, were arrested June 5 but weren't charged.
After his release, John said one of the remaining suspects confided to him while they were in jail together that he had lied to Police. (CNN Access)
CNN's Karl Penhaul contributed to this report.



On 6-19 CBS News reported:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/06/19/national/main702866.shtml

Father Of Aruba Murder Suspect Questioned
Police Hope Island Judge May Have Seen Something
(CBS/AP) Police questioned the father of a Dutch teenager detained in connection with the case of a missing American teenager, hoping he may have seen something to help resolve the mystery, officials said Sunday. Paul van der Sloot, a judge-in-training on the island, was questioned Saturday night, said Police Superintendent Jan van der Straten. "He was questioned as a witness, no more or no less," van der Straaten told The Associated Press, declining to give details. The attorney general's spokeswoman, Mariaine Croes, said witnesses are questioned when prosecutors believe they may be able to add something to the case. "You may know something more or you may have seen something more, but you are not a suspect or thought to be part of any crime," said Croes. Van der Sloot is the father of 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, one of the last people seen with 18-year-old Natalee Holloway the night she disappeared. Three other men have been arrested. No one has been charged. On Saturday a judge ordered the Dutch teenager and his two friends, brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, to stay in jail for at least another week while investigators continue their search for clues. A fourth detained man was to appear before a judge Monday, said Croes. He was identified by his boss as Steve Gregory Croes, a 26-year-old disc jockey on the party boat "Tattoo." He was arrested early Friday, a day after giving police a statement, "Tattoo" owner Marcus Wiggins said Friday. Croes is not related to Mariaine Croes. Under Dutch law, which Aruba follows as a Dutch protectorate, authorities can detain people for up to 116 days without charging them.
Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Alabama, disappeared in the early hours of May 30, the last day of a five-day vacation with 124 students celebrating their high school graduation. Searches by authorities, volunteer islanders and tourists have led nowhere. Investigators were refusing to say if they thought Holloway was dead. Her mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, has said she will continue to believe Natalee is alive until she has proof otherwise. In Alabama, a friend of Holloway's family said Natalee's relatives, not Aruban police, first identified and located Joran and the Kalpoe brothers, less than a day after the young woman disappeared and only three hours after family members started looking. "She had been missing less than 24 hours and we had all three names and addresses, so it's just disappointing that they (authorities) weren't able to move faster," Jody Bearman, who organized the graduation trip and went to Aruba to help in the search, said in an interview with the AP on Friday. The three young men weren't taken into custody until 10 days after Holloway's family first knew of them. Aruban authorities have defended their investigation, saying police work takes time. Holloway Twitty, 44, has insisted that Joran and the Kalpoes hold the key to the investigation and that authorities pressure the young men harder to tell the truth. She said if there is not significant progress soon, she may start to believe that authorities are protecting them. Aruban authorities have said they are pursuing all leads and protecting no one. Meanwhile, Holloway's mother told CBS News that she expected more arrests very soon. She also expressed frustration with the lack of information authorities were sharing with her. Still, was holding onto hope that her daughter was still alive.



On 6-19 a Birmingham, Alabama local paper “The Black and White” reported:

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.



On July 17, 2005 JUG TWITTY stated that he was not asked by ARUBAN Police Investigators to make a statement about hearing the Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT and Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE claiming the “Holiday Inn” alibi-lies in the early morning hours meetings of 5-31 “until 30 days after” the events of 5-31 (his statement was not requested by the ARUBAN Police Investigators until 6-30). JUG TWITTY also stated 7-17 that the other witnesses to the early morning hours meetings of 5-31 were not asked by ARUBAN Police Investigators to make a statement about hearing the Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT and Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE claiming the “Holiday Inn” alibi-lies “until 19 days after” the events of 5-31 (these several other witnesses statements were not requested by the ARUBAN Police Investigators until 6-19). JUG TWITTY also stated that the UNITED STATES D.E.A. agent who also heard Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT and Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE claiming the “Holiday Inn” alibi-lies in the early morning hours meetings of 5-31 has never even been asked by ARUBAN Police to make a statement.
On 6-19 the family of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway searched the caves on the southwest corner of this island in “Arikok National Park,” while in downtown Oranjestad life was slower than usual. The country's tourism office had cancelled the annual "The Party Goes On Parade" of people dressed in costumes streaming through the streets in a kind of small scale Mardi Gras to attract vacationers in June, the low season for this tropical island in the Caribbean visited by about half a million Americans a year.
On 6-19 BETH HOLLOWAY-TWITTY stated if significant progress is not made soon in the case, she may start to believe that ARUBAN authorities are protecting the detainees. ARUBAN authorities have said they are pursuing all leads and protecting no one.
On 6-19 ALANA JORDAN said “Natalee is the sweetest person! She has worked VERY hard in school, is a respectable girl, and really is just a total doll! She does volunteer work frequently and is a not only charitable, but a truly compassionate girl. She’s also been very involved in the school, not only participating in honor societies (she was an officer for Mu Alpha Theta, the Math Honor Society) but also was a member of our school’s dance team, the Dorians. She is kind to all people and is truly loved by the entire community. Any attacks on her character are totally unfounded… it is VERY out of character for her to get in a car with these individuals, which is why this whole situation is such a shock. I’m unsure as to whether or not we know the full circumstances surrounding her “decision.” She’s a genuinely good person, and I think that’s why so many people can identify with her and are so interested in her case… as Beth said, ‘She’s everyone’s daughter.’ ” “I would probably say the better name for the “chaperones” would probably be “travel aids” or “adult volunteers” as their job only included helping keep up with passports and being around in case of a medical emergency. (This was explained at length at pre-trip meetings and given to students and parents of the students in writing in advance.) However, I’d like to mention that they actually, due to their own good-heartedness, went above and beyond for us, making daily checks to ensure that we were all accounted for and enjoying the trip, keeping drug-dealers from bothering us, and also accompanying us on snorkel trips and other vacation activities. Any blame placed on these volunteers is completely unmerited. They did their job, and then some!” “Yes, the F.B.I. has been very responsive. They never told me personally not to speak about the case, nor have the family. Obviously, if my discussing any of the trip was against the wishes of anyone close to the case, I would refrain from doing so.”
On 6-19 ARUBA government spokesman TRAPENBERG claimed there are no signs the worldwide publicity, much of it bad, has hurt tourism on Aruba where automobile tags bear the slogan "One Happy Island." But he conceded the furor over Holloway's disappearance has dented Aruba's image as the safest island in the Caribbean. "I can run you through the list of things we've been misportrayed of, fantastical things, from a high level government cover-up, to drug cartel, to prostitution and slavery," said Trapenberg. "We are not Pirates of the Caribbean."
Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT visited with his mommy on 6-19 (at that point a judge had ruled that Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT could not visit)
On 6-19 CNN reported, “After his release, John said one of the remaining suspects confided to him while they were in jail together that he had lied to Police.”

6-20-05
__:__ AM or PM (?) = Former Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT may or may not have left his office. In his June 18, 2005 statements to ARUBAN Police Detectives he intimated that he normally leaves his office sometime in the middle of the day, supposedly, to go to his home and eat. In his June 18, 2005 statements he gave to ARUBAN Police Detectives he stated “I cannot remember any more if I came home to eat in the middle of the day because that too was different on different days.”
????Did Former Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT leave his office during mid-day? Do co-workers remember if he left his office or not?
????If Former Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT did leave his office, what time did he leave his office?
????If Former Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT did leave his office, has it been confirmed or not confirmed via security video cameras that he took a driving route to his home, or did he drive a route away from his office to some where other than his home?
????If Former Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT did leave his office, has it been confirmed or not confirmed via security video cameras that he took a driving route back to his office from his home, or a did he drive a route back to his office from some where other than his home?

On 6-20 ANDRE MONTIVAL AOKI DOS SANTOS stated to the ARUBAN Police:
(Hat Tip and Thank You to the “Scared Monkeys blog" and “Debbie”)

PROCES – VERBAAL We, Dennis Dominico JACOBS and Luigi Angelo Giovanni CROES, head agent and agent first class at the Korps Police force Aruba, former classified at the (Atraco team) and last mentioned district 2, explain the following at the section to multi-crime classified. On June 20 2005, around 17:15, we interrogated, took a statement, as a witness of this man called: Andre Montival AOKI Dos SANTOS, Also known as "Dre", born at Sao Paolo in Brazil, on October 15, 1986, a student at (Mon Plaisier college) and living in Palm Beach number XXX on Aruba. I, JACOBS, put on record and sounds as follows, statement given in papiamento. On your question if I know the men " Joran van der SLOOT "," Deepak KALPOE and Satish KALPOE”: I answer you yes. I’ve known Joran longer than Deepak and Satish. I know Joran already approximately six (6) years. I know Satish already approximately two (2) years and I know Deepak already approximately (1) a year. On your question if I on Sunday, May 29 2005, met Joran, Deepak and Satish, I answer you the following: On Sunday, May 29, 2005, around 16:30, I met Joran in the Excelsior casino of the Holiday Inn hotel. The moment I met Joran I was in the company of my father called "Montival SANTOS". Joran was in the company of father named “Paul” that is when my father and I met them in the “Excelsior Casino”. On that day we played in a "Texas Hold'm poker Tournament". Joran was first to be eliminated from the tournament. I no longer remember at what time Joran lost. I saw that Joran then played "black-Jack" and I continued play poker. After I was eliminated from the poker game I went over to Joran who was still sitting at the black-jack table. I no longer remember what time I left the poker table. When I stood beside Joran, I saw that there was a group of American students who were on holiday in Aruba talking. I saw that Joran helped one of the girls play black-jack. Joran told me that he was busy helping the girl with black-jack because according to Joran she had lost much money. After Joran helped the girl, Joran and I walked around in the Excelsior casino. I saw the group girls who were playing black-Jack with Joran walk by and I heard the girls say he should go to Carlos & Charlies later in the evening hours because they would like to meet him there. Joran answered for them not to worry, he would go. On Sunday, May 29, 2005 in the evening hours, after the Texas Hold'm poker Tournament at the Excelsior casino I ran into “Elvis KELLY ", and his wife "Gladys” and we all got into my fathers pick up and drove away. My father acted as a driver for our two passengers in his green pick-up of the make Ford Ranger, license plate number "A-23793". We drove first to Wendy's Palm Beach to buy food and after we had eaten, my father dropped off Elvis and Gladys at their home. Elvis and Gladys live in the hamlet Noord. I don’t know their address but I can designate to you their house. After we dropped Elvis and wife at their home my father and I went home. I no longer remember what time we got home. I studied first and afterwards slept because I had a "physics" examination to take on Monday, May 30, 2005, from 07.30 till 10.00. I do recall that Joran asked me if I wanted to accompany him to Carlos & Charlies but I answered him that I could not go because I had an examination the next day. On your question if I on Monday, May 30, 2005, in the night hours, after I went to sleep if anyone woke me or called me: I will answer you no. On Monday, May 30 2005, in the morning hours, my mother wakened me because I had to leave to take my examination. I must say that my sister "Alessandra" and my younger brother "Arthur" went with me in my father’s pick-up to school. On your question if I met Joran, Deepak or Satish on Monday, May 30, 2005, I answer you the following: According to me, on Monday, May 30, 2005, in the afternoon hours, Joran sent me a message from his cell phone. Setar GSM provided with the number "5xxxxxx" me reported on my mobile telephone. Setar GSM provide with the number "5xxxxxx". According to me Joran me sent me a message with the question if I wanted to go to the Casa Blanco casino at the Wyndham that night. I did not answer Joran because when the message came I was sleeping. On Monday, May 30, 2005, around 20.00, my father and I went to the casino at the Wyndham hotel to play Texas Hold’m poker. When I arrived I met Elvis KELLY and his spouse there "Gladys" and I greeted them. When we arrived I called Joran from the mobile telephone of my father “Montival”. My father has the mobile telephone number "5xxxxxx". I asked Joran if he was on his way to the Wyndham hotel casino to play in the Texas Hold’m tournament. Joran told me he was on his way there. Around 20.30, Joran walked in to the Casa Blanca casino of the Wyndham hotel. I can no longer remember how Joran was dressed when he walked into the casino. I do remember that Joran walked in by himself. I walked up to Joran and I greeted him. I saw that Joran then registered to play Texas Hold’m poker. I must say that it lasted very long before the Tournament stared. I saw that Joran played black-jack during this time. Three Card but I now no longer remember which of the two. When I started Tournament I saw that Joran sat at another table to play poker. Joran did not play long because he was eliminated very early from this poker tournament. I no longer remember what time Joran was eliminated. I saw that Joran walking around in the casino. I saw then that "Guido WEAVER" came into the Casa Blanca casino of the Wyndham hotel and walked up to Joran. I no longer remember what time Guido WEAVER arrives at the casino. Because Joran and Guido wanted to play a “live game”, they told me they went to Joran’s house to pick up money to gamble with. I no longer remember how Guido was dressed. I saw that Joran and Guido then went outside. When Joran and Guido left I was still in the Texas Hold'm poker Tournament. I estimate that it was approximately 30 or 40 minutes after Joran and Guido left the Casa Blanca casino that I was eliminated from the poker tournament. After I was eliminated, I called Guido and/or Joran on their mobile telephone. Guido has the mobile telephone with the number "5xxxxxx". I asked to Joran and/or Guido where they were they told me they were at the casino at the Radisson hotel and would wait for me there. I told them that I would be there later. Approximately 30 minutes after I had spoken with Joran and/or Guido I left the casino at the Wyndham hotel and walked to the casino at the Radisson hotel. I estimate that the complete route lasted (10) minutes. I found Joran and Guido in the casino of the Radisson hotel and they were in a Texas Hold'm poker "Live-Game". I remained watching them gamble for a very long time. At some time I saw that "Deepak" walk into the casino and came up to us. At some time, I no longer remember the exact time, Guido, Joran and Deepak left the casino and I stayed behind. Approximately (1) one hour later, Guido returned because he had silver-plate US $100 =, chip. I no longer remember if Guido continued to gamble but I am certain that Joran did. After Joran was done at the poker table he had won approximately US $400 = and cashed in the chips immediately. I walked to the bathroom and afterwards Joran also came into the bathroom but we spoke of nothing in particular. Then Joran and Deepak left because they wanted to play black-jack at a casino in Oranjestad. They did not tell me to which casino they would go. After Deepak and Joran were gone "Guido WEAVER" and I went home (left). On your question if Joran and Deepak spoke of picking up shoes while in the casino of the Radisson hotel, I answer you no. At absolutely no moment did I hear this. I must, however, say that Joran and Deepak did not speak in my presence with each other than when Joran cashed in his chips but I was standing at a distance when they spoke with each other. I no longer remember if Guido was with them at that time. On your question if I had Tuesday, May 31, 2005 and on Wednesday, June 01, 2005, contact with Joran, Deepak and Satish, I answer you the following: According to me I had called Joran on of these two days to ask him what he would be doing. You can in my phone records look at when I called Joran or he called me because I no longer remember when. I had no telephone contact with Deepak and Satish. A day before Joran was apprehended by you, I met Joran around 19.00, at the Aruba Raquet club. I asked Joran how he felt and he told me that he felt calm because the 2 security guards had been apprehended by the Police force. Joran me asked what I would do the next day because he wanted to practice basketball and further that I was invited the next evening to his Graduation Night. This was the last time that I spoke with Joran. On your question if I have an e-mail has address, answer I you yes. My e-mail address is xxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com. Sometimes I use chat name or "A.S." or "Andre" if I am to the chat. On your question if I know Joran’s friends and if I have contact with them, answer I you the following: The friends of Joran are Koen GOTTENBOS, Sander GOTTENBOS, Guido WEAVER, "Jaime" and "Freddy". I don’t know the surnames of Jaime and Freddy. On your question if I know the e-mail chat name of these persons, answer you the following: I have the e-mail addresses of Koen and Sander in my computer at home. I don’t have the e-mail addresses of Joran, Guido, Jaime and Freddy. This is my true statement. If you have more questions, I will prepare to answer them. A.M. AOKI dos SANTOS After the witness A.M. AOKI dos SANTOS read his declaration, explained he thereby persist and signed them. Of what our, statement, on oath of office made up this warrant, has been closed and has been signed at Oranjestad on June 20, 2005. Signed, DD JACOBS L.A.G. CROES



On the “Tickle” website, someone purporting to be Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT ’s close neighbor, longtime friend, fellow “pimp,” FREDDY ZEDAN (a.k.a. “loco man“), posted photos of himself and SLOOT and wrote the following profile:

Home Address: ArubaRelationship Status: SingleSexual Preference: HeterosexualInterested In: New friends, Just checking it outInterests: play guitar, tennis, baseball /fuck @, party's.
Locoman's Personal Information
Home Address: Aruba
Relationship Status: Single
Sexual Preference: Heterosexual
Interested In: New friends, Just checking it out
Interests: play guitar, tennis, baseball /fuck @, party's.



On 6-20 CNN reported:

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: A judge in Aruba was questioned by investigators for the second straight day about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The Alabama teenager has been missing three weeks now. The judge's son is one of the four men being detained in that investigation.
…
Natalee Holloway disappeared three weeks ago. There have not been any change -- any charges filed in the case even though four men are being detained, and they may remain in jail for at least another week, and maybe longer.We get the latest on this vexing investigation from CNN's Karl Penhaul, who is in Palm Beach, Aruba.(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police and investigators spent a second straight day questioning Paul van der Sloot to see what he knows about the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Paul van der Sloot is a judge on the island of Aruba. He's also the father of 17-year- old Joran van der Sloot, one of four suspects currently in custody in connection with Natalee's disappearance.At this stage, police say that Paul van der Sloot is considered a witness in this case, not a suspect. But they've declined to give any information on what they think the judge may have seen or heard about the case.Last night, also, Natalee's family visited a church on the island to pray for their daughter. The mother, Beth Twitty, has said that not only is she anxious about Natalee's whereabouts, but that anxiety is now giving away also to anger. She has said that she believes that the three young boys last seen in Natalee's company three weeks ago are lying to police, and if only they would come forward and tell the truth they could get clues much faster about where Natalee is now.Karl Penhaul, CNN, Palm Beach, Aruba.(END VIDEOTAPE)


On 6-20 CNN reported:

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a fourth suspect in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager expected to appear before a judge in Aruba today. Today, in fact, marks three weeks since Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba. Over the weekend, police questioned the father of a Dutch teenager who is being held in the case. There he is, the father, that is, running from reporters on Saturday. Holloway's aunt and stepmother believe that he has some information that might be able to find the girl. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LINDA ALLISON, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S AUNT: Obviously over the last week, the communication has gotten better. The FBI is coming in at least once, if not twice a day, to provide updates to the family. So we're moving along. We feel very good about this attorney that's training to be a judge, which is the father of the suspect. With him coming in for questioning, obviously, as a parent, with a son being out until two or three o'clock in the morning, you would expect him to have some information as to where he had -- where he was that evening that's in question and maybe approximately what time he came in.
(END VIDEO CLIP) O'BRIEN: Sources close to the investigation say the father was being interviewed as a witness, not a suspect. On Friday, a judge ruled that the father may not visit his son in jail, but that the boy's mother can



On 6-20 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA KNBC TV channel 4 reported:

Missing Girl's Mother Discovers New Photos
Girl Disappeared In Aruba
PALM BEACH, Aruba -- The mother of a girl who vanished while on her senior vacation in Aruba has discovered new pictures of her.
As she went through the things Natalee Holloway left in her hotel room, Beth Twitty said she discovered her daughter's digital camera.
The camera contained pictures documenting some of Holloway's most memorable moments right before she disappeared.
Twitty said some of the pictures were of 18-year-old Holloway's senior prom.
Other pictures were taken on the day she graduated.
Twitty said it took her nearly three weeks to find the strength to finally look at the photos.
"I couldn't have looked at them even a week ago," she said. "I couldn't have looked at them ... maybe four days ago."
She said the pictures are helping to give her hope that she may yet find Holloway.
"I know it just gives me more perseverance to just keep going," she said. "I know that I have to find an answer for Natalee."



On 6-20 FOX News reported:

Murder Suspect's Dad Questioned in ArubaMonday, June 20, 2005ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Aruban police on Sunday questioned the father of a Dutch teenager held in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, hoping the island justice official may know something to help solve the mystery of what happened to her, an official said.Paul van der Sloot (search), a judge-in-training on the island, was questioned for two hours Sunday afternoon after five hours Saturday night, said Police Superintendent Jan van der Straten.Joran van der Sloot (search), 17, was one of the people last seen with Natalee Holloway (search) the night she disappeared. Three other men have been detained, but no one has been charged.Van der Straten said the father was asked to come back Sunday because officials were not able to finish the interrogation on Saturday, but declined to give more details."He was questioned as a witness, no more or no less," van der Straten told The Associated Press.The attorney general's spokeswoman, Mariaine Croes, said witnesses are questioned when prosecutors believe they may be able to add something to the case."You may know something more or you may have seen something more, but you are not a suspect or thought to be part of any crime," Croes said.During Sunday's interrogation, van der Sloot's wife, Anita van der Sloot, met with Joran in jail, said van der Straten.Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared in the early hours of May 30, the last day of a five-day vacation with 124 students celebrating their high school graduation. Her U.S. passport and packed bags were found in her room.Joran van der Sloot and two friends said they took Holloway to a northern beach but dropped her off at her Holiday Inn, where they claim she was approached by a security guard.On Saturday, a judge ordered Joran van der Sloot and his two friends, brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, to stay in jail for at least another week while the investigation continues.A fourth detained man — a party boat disc jockey — was to appear before a judge Monday, Croes said. He was identified by his boss as Steve Gregory Croes, 26.Steve Croes was arrested Friday after giving police a statement, said Marcus Wiggins, his boss on the boat Tattoo. Steve Croes is not related to Mariaine Croes.It was not known how the disc jockey might be connected to the case.Under Dutch law, which Aruba follows as a Dutch protectorate, authorities can detain people for up to 116 days without charging them.Investigators refuse to say whether they believe Holloway is dead. Her mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, has said she will continue to believe the teen is alive until she has proof to the contrary.Holloway Twitty, 44, sat in the front pew during a Saturday night Mass dedicated to her family at a Pentecostal church."We admire the strength and courage you've shown as a mother," pastor Gilbert Martes told the Holloway Twitty, who listened to the sermon with her eyes closed.Holloway Twitty has insisted that Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoes hold the key to the investigation and that authorities pressure the young men harder to tell the truth.In Alabama, a Holloway family friend said Holloway's relatives identified and located Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers less than a day after the teen vanished. But the three young men were not detained until 10 days later."It's just disappointing that they [authorities] weren't able to move faster," Jody Bearman, who organized the graduation trip, told AP.



On 6-20 AL.com” reported:

Judge rules 4th suspect in Holloway case can be held for another 8 daysThe latest suspect in the case of a missing Mountain Brook teen can remain in detention for another eight days, a judge ruled today. Aruban prosecutors had already decided to hold Steve Gregory Croes, 26. He is being questioned in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, who has been missing three weeks today. Under Dutch law, which the Caribbean island follows, a judge had to make sure the detention was legal. Croes was arrested Friday and authorities have not stated his connection to the case. He is a disc jockey on the party boat, Tattoo. Three other suspects — Joran van der Sloot, 17; Satish Kalpoe, 18; and Deepak Kalpoe, 21 — are also being held in the case. Fellow Mountain Brook High School graduates said they saw Holloway get into a car with the three suspects after 1 a.m. on May 30. Holloway, 18, missed her flight back to Birmingham later that day.Hannah Wolfson

**NOTE** WOLFSON is a reporter in BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA for the “Birmingham News”


On 6-20 FOX News reported:

Arubaans Worry About Island's ImageMonday, June 20, 2005ORANJESTAD, Aruba — As the mystery of a missing Alabama teenager drags into a fourth week, Arubaans complain their peaceful little island is getting a bad rap.And they worry that if the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway (search) isn't solved soon, Americans might get scared away, depriving the island of a prime source of revenue."We were just one happy island with one happy people and it seems everything has changed," said Marcus Wiggins, the boss of Steve Gregory Croes (search), a tourist boat disc jockey who was arrested Friday in the case. "We just want the old Aruba back."Tourism accounts for 70 percent of the gross domestic product of Aruba, a Dutch protectorate of 97,000. The island welcomes 728,000 visitors each year and an additional 550,000 cruise ship passengers. More than 70 percent are from the United States.Aruba's sweet ocean breeze and its luxurious hotels aren't the only reason Americans come to the island. Many also have found this is one of the safest spots in the Caribbean.With street lights even along most ocean roads, the island feels like paradise in a protective bubble. Young Americans enjoying the 18-year-old drinking age go from bars to nightclubs late into the night, with taxi drivers parked outside waiting to shuttle them to hotels.But now the island has become a victim of its reputation as virtually free of violent crime."The reason you are seeing so much negative publicity is that these things don't happen in Aruba," said Myrna Jansen-Feliciano of the Aruba Tourist Authority (search). "Our blessing has been a curse."The last time a tourist was killed was in 1996, when two robbers shot and killed an American woman. They were arrested and convicted, police said. In 2005, only one person has been murdered, an Aruban man.Arubaans take comfort in the knowledge that about half their annual visitors have been to the island before so they know what it is like and won't be swayed.Besides, the islanders say, how many countries have the solidarity to mobilize a nationwide search for one person? After Holloway vanished, thousands of Arubaans took off work to comb the island.Authorities previously detained 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot (search), the son of a Dutch justice official on Aruba, and his two friends, Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18.The three men have said they took Holloway to a northern beach before dropping her off at her hotel in the early hours of May 30, the day she disappeared.Natalee's disappearance "shows people need to be more careful on vacation, but we feel safe here," said Kim Falk, who was visiting from Janesville, Wis., with her husband and daughter Hannah, 14.Does Hannah, a blonde who resembles Holloway, feel safe?"Of course," she said. "And it's not like I'll be going to the bar or anything."Since Natalee's disappearance, none of the 20 international airlines with up to 85 daily flights have reported cancellations, said Sharissa Arends, spokeswoman for Aruba Airport Authority (search).Tour package operators have had no cancellations and hotel occupancy is slightly higher than this time last year, said Jansen-Feliciano.Still, Arubaans are worried. Local newspapers have interviewed business owners to see if they fear a slowdown, and Prime Minister Nelson Oduber (search) has expressed concern."We've been working 50 years, day and night, to build up tourism," Oduber said last week.Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, has said if she doesn't get answers soon, she may believe authorities are trying to protect the detained young men.Aruban authorities say police work takes time and no one is above the law.But in Birmingham, Ala., talk show hosts Russ and Dee Fine of Radio 101.1 FM have called for a boycott of Aruba. And some Americans have sent letters to the Web site caribbeannetnews.com."How dare the Aruban and Dutch Governments pretend not to know what has happened," one said last week. "Add another American never returning to Aruba."Lorenzo Irasmus, 60, the captain of a deep-sea-fishing boat for tourists, says eventually the hoopla will die down."We know high season, low season, and the post-Sept. 11 travel season, but no matter what, the tourists keep coming," he said.



On 6-20 CNN reported:

LAW CENTER
Aruba police quiz judge again
Jurist's wife visits son held in Alabama teen's disappearance
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- Police questioned an Aruba judge Sunday for the second day in a row in connection with the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway.
Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten said police questioned Judge Paul van der Sloot while his wife, Anita, visited their son, 17-year-old Joran, who is being held in connection with the case.
Van Der Straten dismissed as "completely false" media reports that police also had interrogated the judge's wife.
Joran van der Sloot is one of three people last reported seen with Holloway before she disappeared in the early hours of May 30.
The judge also was questioned Saturday and remained in the police station for about five hours. Asked Saturday whether the father was being interviewed as a suspect or a witness, a source close to the investigation said "the latter."
Also jailed in the case are brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, and a man identified by a family member as Steve Croes, a 26-year-old disc jockey for a popular party boat. He was arrested Friday. (Full story)
The commissioner said the suspects were being held in separate facilities in the capital to ensure they cannot communicate with one another.
The police commissioner said Saturday the arrest of Croes came after one of the three youths named him. The party boat he works aboard docks about 300 meters, or about 1,000 feet, from the Holiday Inn where Holloway was staying.
The 18-year-old honors student from the affluent Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook disappeared early May 30 after she left a nightclub with van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers, authorities said. The three men were taken into custody June 9.
Holloway was in Aruba with about 100 classmates to celebrate their recent graduation.
Authorities have found no sign of her despite a massive search of the Caribbean island off Venezuela.
Judge Bob Wit ruled Friday that Paul van der Sloot cannot visit his son in jail, but that the boy's mother may do so. Wit's reasoning wasn't made public. Anita van der Sloot also visited Friday with her son.
No one has been charged in the case, and defense attorneys for van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers have said their clients maintain they are not guilty.
Prosecutors asked a judge Friday to hold the three men another eight days.
Under Aruban law, prosecutors can ask judges to approve three eight-day extensions, followed by a 60-day extension and then a 30-day one.
Murder Suspects may be held up to 116 days -- and in rare cases even longer -- before formal charges are filed, said Mariaine Croes, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor.
On Wednesday, authorities searched van der Sloot's home, seizing two cars and removing bagfuls of evidence. (Full story)
Two days earlier, they released two security guards who were arrested in connection with Holloway's disappearance.
The guards, Abraham Jones, 28, and Mickey John, 30, were arrested June 5 but weren't charged.
After his release, John said Deepak Kalpoe confided to him while they were in jail together that he had lied to police. (CNN Access)
CNN's Rich Phillips contributed to this report.



On 6-20 CBS News reported:

Aruba Murder Suspect's Dad Queried Twice
(CBS/AP) Aruban police on Sunday questioned the father of a Dutch teenager held in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, hoping the island justice official may know something to help solve the mystery of what happened to her, an official said. Paul van der Sloot, a judge-in-training on the island, was questioned for two hours Sunday afternoon after five hours Saturday night, said Police Superintendent Jan van der Straten. Joran van der Sloot, 17, one of the people last seen with Natalee Holloway the night she disappeared. Three other men have been detained, but no one has been charged. Van der Straten said the father was asked to come back Sunday because officials were not able to finish the interrogation on Saturday, but declined to give more details. "He was questioned as a witness, no more or no less," van der Straten told The Associated Press. The attorney general's spokeswoman, Mariaine Croes, said witnesses are questioned when prosecutors believe they may be able to add something to the case. "You may know something more or you may have seen something more, but you are not a suspect or thought to be part of any crime," Croes said. "I think that he probably knows more than he's letting on," said Robin Holloway, the missing teen's stepmother, on CBS News' The Early Show. "I was questioning the integrity of the father because he is a person that is currently in training to be a judge, but apparently his son feels that he is above the law," said Linda Allison, Holloway's aunt, also on The Early Show. "You have a son that is out driving under the age of 18 and here, according to Dutch law, you have to be 18 to be able to drive, to gamble, to drink. And with him being 17 years of age, he's done all of those things," Allison told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm. "I don't know if he would be arrested, but I would feel like he would at least know some key information as to when his son arrived home," she added. During Sunday's interrogation, van der Sloot's wife, Anita van der Sloot, met with Joran in jail, said van der Straten. Holloway, 18, of Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared in the early hours of May 30, the last day of a five-day vacation with 124 students celebrating their high school graduation. Her U.S. passport and packed bags were found in her room. Joran van der Sloot and two friends said they took Holloway to a northern beach but dropped her off at her Holiday Inn, where they claim she was approached by a security guard. On Saturday, a judge ordered Joran van der Sloot and his two friends, brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, to stay in jail for at least another week while the investigation continues. CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella reports that they have been moved to a prison on the southern end of the island where they'll stay for at least another week.
A fourth detained man — a party boat disc jockey — was to appear before a judge Monday, Croes said. He was identified by his boss as Steve Gregory Croes, 26. Steve Croes was arrested Friday after giving police a statement, said Marcus Wiggins, his boss on the boat Tattoo. Steve Croes is not related to Mariaine Croes. It was not known how the disc jockey might be connected to the case. Cobiella reports that the co-owner of the boat, Marcus Wiggen, says Croes knows one of the suspects from an internet café, but it is not clear if he knows the Dutch suspect. "I would never expect that he would be anywhere close to this investigation," Wiggen said. Under Dutch law, which Aruba follows as a Dutch protectorate, authorities can detain people for up to 116 days without charging them. Investigators refuse to say whether they believe Holloway is dead. Her mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, has said she will continue to believe the teen is alive until she has proof to the contrary. Holloway Twitty, 44, sat in the front pew during a Saturday night Mass dedicated to her family at a Pentecostal church. "We admire the strength and courage you've shown as a mother," pastor Gilbert Martes told the Holloway Twitty, who listened to the sermon with her eyes closed. Holloway Twitty has insisted that Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoes hold the key to the investigation and that authorities pressure the young men harder to tell the truth. CBS News Correspondent Peter King reports that Holloway's family searched the southeast area of the island known for its caves during the weekend, but her father admits that right now, in his words, they're just grasping at straws. "It is 22 days now and it is a slow process," said Robin Holloway. "I know they're working around the clock on it, but it is frustrating" "Every day without Natalee is very frustrating to not know where she is or to know what has happened or if she's elsewhere on the island," Allison added. In Alabama, a Holloway family friend said Holloway's relatives identified and located Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers less than a day after the teen vanished. But the three young men were not detained until 10 days later. "It's just disappointing that they (authorities) weren't able to move faster," Jody Bearman, who organized the graduation trip, told AP.



On 6-20 the "Scared Monkeys” blog reported, “This is unconfirmed, but we received word that Joran is on a Suicide Watch after an unsuccessful attempted suicide last night. This should not be taken as an admission of guilt, but he has been moved to the main prison, a much tougher environment than the Police jail.”
On 6-20 STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA NBC channel 4 reported: “The mother of a girl who vanished while on her senior vacation in Aruba has discovered new pictures of her. As she went through the things Natalee Holloway left in her hotel room, Beth Twitty said she discovered her daughter's digital camera. The camera contained pictures documenting some of Holloway's most memorable moments right before she disappeared. Twitty said some of the pictures were of 18-year-old Holloway's senior prom. Other pictures were taken on the day she graduated. Twitty said it took her nearly three weeks to find the strength to finally look at the photos. ‘I couldn't have looked at them even a week ago,’ she said. ‘I couldn't have looked at them ... maybe four days ago.’ She said the pictures are helping to give her hope that she may yet find Holloway. ‘I know it just gives me more perseverance to just keep going,’ she said. ‘I know that I have to find an answer for Natalee.’"
On 6-20 FOX News reported, “On a related matter, Aruba authorities objected when ‘The Factor’ previously identified the island as a trans-shipment point for drug runners. Robert Strang, a former D.E.A. Investigator, corroborated that notion. ‘Hundreds of pounds of heroin and cocaine were seized on the island just last year. This is an island where drugs pass through on their way to the US and Europe. I don't think anyone denies that.’ Strang said.”
On 6-20 “Newsday” wrote “Ben Miller, a classmate of Holloway's, said he later saw her leave Carlos 'N Charlie's, where tourists dance on tables and gulp neon-colored cocktails, with Kalpoe, 21, and his brother Satish, 18.”
On 6-20 BETH HOLLOWAY-TWITTY stated to FOX News:

Natalee's Mother Won't Leave Without Her
GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: Natalee's parents have been here in Aruba for weeks, and they have been frantically searching for their daughter, and they say they will not leave the island of Aruba until they find her. Natalee's mother, Beth Holloway-Twitty joins us here in Aruba.
Nice to see you, Beth.
BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, MOTHER OF MISSING GIRL: Hi. Thanks for having me back.
VAN SUSTEREN: Welcome back, although I wish you were back home in Alabama.
TWITTY: Oh, Greta, we do, too.
VAN SUSTEREN: You and I spoke last week. Any news since we spoke, when you came to the show?
TWITTY: I think the only new developments since we've spoken last was this fourth suspect that was arrested, Steve Croes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you hear about these arrests before they happen, just as they're happening or when we do?
TWITTY: Well, Greta, from this point on, yes, I am hearing about them before the media.
VAN SUSTEREN: So the Police are giving you as much information as they can without jeopardizing the investigation. At least, you feel that way?
TWITTY: As far as what I can tell, to my knowledge, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: Are you searching every day?
TWITTY: Greta, yes, we are, through family searches, through just getting my face in the local establishments, just putting it on a more personal level -- I mean, that's real important to me, to maintain that with the community because I know that they can be instrumental in helping me find information regarding Natalee.
VAN SUSTEREN: Where do you begin searching? I mean, it's a small island of 97,000 people, yet it seems very large. When you land in an airplane here, you see how vast it is. You see, you know, huge beaches and you see lots of growth. How do you do this?
TWITTY: As best as a father can, with a map, and just gridding-off sections and just covering them just section by section. And it's tedious and it's somewhat impossible, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: And idea how many days you've been here?
TWITTY: I do.
VAN SUSTEREN: How many?
TWITTY: Twenty-one.
VAN SUSTEREN: How do you do it?
TWITTY: I have to, Greta. I have to. We've come way too far now. Now we are deep in it, and there is no turning back. We will not leave.
VAN SUSTEREN: How can we help you?
TWITTY: Any information that you gather, I think, would be just huge for the family, and speaking with any connections that you can make would be huge.
VAN SUSTEREN: What do you think about the fact that the Dutch boy, young man, teen, whatever we're going to call him this evening -- that his father was brought in for questioning this weekend? What do you think about that?
TWITTY: I thought that was a fabulous idea, and I hope to see more of that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think it's long overdue?
TWITTY: Oh, yes, I do. Absolutely. I've been here since May 30 at 11 p.m.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you have any idea why the Police wanted to talk to him?
TWITTY: No, I do not.
VAN SUSTEREN: Curious, I imagine.
TWITTY: Absolutely. I cannot wait to find out.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you think they'll tell you?
TWITTY: I hope so.
VAN SUSTEREN: I mean, do you have any plans to get briefed in the near future? Is this done on a daily basis?
TWITTY: Yes, it is. It is.
VAN SUSTEREN: What happens? I mean, every day, they call you at a set time and bring you up to date?
TWITTY: Well, I had briefings from the family liaison and we've hired an attorney, so we're also being updated on a daily basis. And we have another family friend who was a liaison. So we are being updated daily.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did you feel like you had to go out and get a lawyer to get information? I mean, do you feel like you weren't getting it?
TWITTY: Well, I think the reason why her father and I decided to do this was because we had heard about filing a joinder for a victimized party. And we felt that was just another avenue that we could pursue. And as you can see, Greta, we are going for everything we possibly c!n do with what knowledge we have.
VAN SUSTEREN: You're not giving up.
TWITTY: Oh, no. Oh, no.
VAN SUSTEREN: The fourth suspect who's in custody, the one who works on the party boat, the "Tattoo" -- do you know anything about him?
TWITTY: No, I don't. I didn't have any indication or any inclination. I have no idea how he's connected, and I'm anxiously waiting to see how he is connected.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you wish that the proceedings were more open, like we do in the United States? I mean, maybe the Aruba procedure will end up, in the end, being a better one than ours, but we would have more information. The court hearings would be open. Probably get press briefings every day. Do you think that would be better?
TWITTY: Well, Greta, I think you could be an excellent source to tell me how it typically goes because I don't have any experience in this, so I'm really looking forward to spending some time with you and seeing how it's just supposed to be done.
VAN SUSTEREN: How do you make it through these days? I mean, obviously, I mean, you've got a very strong faith. You're a very determined woman. You're as determined tonight as you were last week. I know you're not going home. But how do you do it?
TWITTY: Well, I can't do it alone. And of course, you can see we have a lot of, you know, friends and family flying in. They're coming in shifts. I mean, some of them have been back for the third time. And they will continue to come as long as we need them.
VAN SUSTEREN: Do you ever scream at the Police, Tell me more information? I mean, you seem determined, but...
TWITTY: Greta, absolutely. I have my moments. Absolutely.
VAN SUSTEREN: And what happens when you have those moments? Do the Police respond and give you information or they just...
TWITTY: Some things start happening.
VAN SUSTEREN: What do you think of Aruba?
TWITTY: Well, I think the citizens of Aruba are incredible. They really are. And I really feel that they feel the pain as I do. I mean, this is terrible. This is terrible for them. I feel sorry for them because I hate that this is happening. But we have to have some answers. And it's not the citizens' fault. They're helping. I know they're looking at -- every household in Aruba knows who Natalee is, and every family has done their own search. I know that.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have you spoken to any of her friends that saw her on May 30 because she left Carlos and Charlie's?
TWITTY: Not in person. I really have not.
VAN SUSTEREN: It's just sort of a normal teenagers out having fun, nothing unusual?
TWITTY: Absolutely, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: Did she ever see these three young men before that day?
TWITTY: Not to my knowledge, Greta.
VAN SUSTEREN: So the first time she ever saw them, at least as far as you know, was that May 30, that night.
TWITTY: And I have very limited knowledge on that. We really haven't spent too much time on that, since we knew who the individuals were. We were just concentrating on picking up that trail and going forward.
VAN SUSTEREN: I mean, everyone's focused so much on these three. Do you ever have thoughts that maybe this is the wrong direction, that maybe the Police should be going in another direction?
TWITTY: Oh, absolutely not. I just think it's going to even increase from the direction that it's taking now.
VAN SUSTEREN: So you have no doubt in your mind these three are the ones, they know.
TWITTY: I have absolutely no doubt at all.
VAN SUSTEREN: Is it evidence or is it a mother's intuition?
TWITTY: I think that the moment we arrived on the island and when we were in contact with these individuals, from May 31, from 1:00 AM to 4:00 AM, I knew immediately. I knew immediately.
VAN SUSTEREN: Have you personal contact with them?
TWITTY: Oh, yes.
VAN SUSTEREN: What did they say to you?
TWITTY: Well, it was very limited, but when the van der Sloot young man approached the vehicle that I was seated in, he had the most condescending, arrogant, somewhat powerful attitude of any 17-year-old male I have ever seen.
VAN SUSTEREN: What did he say?
TWITTY: When he approached the car, I was holding a picture of Natalee. And I said, I want my daughter. I want her now. And he just threw his head back and hit his chest, and he said, What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do?
VAN SUSTEREN: Beth, thank you.
TWITTY: Thank you, Greta.



On 6-20 CNNHN reported:

NANCY GRACE, HOST: … And tonight, the Aruban judge whose son was last seen with missing 18- year-old Natalee Holloway literally runs from questions. Why? Good evening, everybody. I'm Nancy Grace coming to you from L.A. And I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Tonight, the search is desperate for 18-year-old Alabama beauty Natalee Holloway. Natalee vanished into thin air on her high school senior trip to Aruba. One of four suspects, a party boat disc jockey, appears in court today. And Police question a judge, the father of that young Dutchman also behind bars in connection with Natalee's disappearance. Natalee's stepfather fired back at the Dutch judge. In this video, Paul van der Sloot is literally running from cameras. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S STEPFATHER: I met him the night I got here. He's sickening to me. He's a chicken. If he has nothing to hide, why is he running to his car? He makes my stomach turn. You know, they say, "Like father, like son." Well, in this case, I truly believe that's the case. (END VIDEO CLIP) GRACE: Why is he running from questions? Well, his son maintains his innocence and his father refuses to comment.
…
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S STEPFATHER: I feel that the United States is really starting to put some pressure on the people here to try to get an answer, because the answer -- I can't say the total answer is with all of the guys there. There may be more people involved. But they definitely know more than they're saying. (END VIDEO CLIP) GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. The Dutch judge we have been telling you about, his son behind bars in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, literally ran from questions today, was caught on tape. Tonight, in Aruba, government spokesperson Ruben Trapenberg. But first to CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul. Karl, why was the judge running from the camera? Elizabeth, do you have video of that please? KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nancy, he had come out of Police questioning and the downtown Police station in Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba. And he saw the media cameras waiting there. And in fact, our own camera man, Jerry Simonson (ph), chased done Paul van der Sloot to ask him what he had to answer in Police questioning. Mr. van der Sloot was obviously not up for those questions and simply bolted. He did have a little difficulty, as we've seen, getting the key in the lock of his car which is where our Jerry managed to get some more pictures of him, but still at that stage, he wasn't ready to answer any questions -- Nancy? GRACE: Well, on the other hand, Karl, the natural impulse when someone starts chasing you down the street is to run. So I don't know that I can actually blame him for that. But, Karl, when questions were put to him, he refused to answer them? PENHAUL: So far he's refused to answer to the media what he was being questioned for by the Police. We do understand that he has been cooperating with Police, though, simply because he's been questioned on two consecutive days now and has spent several hours at a time there. But both in personal questions by the media to him and also by phone calls that I have made to him, he's declined to answer anything about why he is being questioned by Police, Nancy. GRACE: Karl, any idea why this Dutch judge has been questioned two straight days by Police in connection with Natalee Holloway's disappearance? PENHAUL: What Police have told us is that they view him at this point as a witness, not as a suspect. But they haven't said anything more about what they believe he may have seen or that he may have heard on or after the day that Natalee Holloway disappeared -- Nancy? GRACE: And, of course, everything he says may or may not implicate his own son. Everyone, remember, this guy's son, this judge's son, is still being held in connection with Natalee's disappearance along with several others. Now, one of them was in court today, right, Karl? PENHAUL: Correct. The latest man to be arrested, 26-year-old Steve Croes, he was arrested on Friday. And he made his first court appearance today. In the pictures that we have seen of him, he either was using his cuffed hands to cover his face or his t-shirt to cover his face. But what we know about him is, yes, he was arrested on Friday, that he's a deejay on a local party boat that sails off Aruba's west coast -- Nancy? GRACE: Quick break, everybody. We will be right back in Aruba, live with CNN correspondent Karl Penhaul and others.…
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)PENHAUL (voice-over): We head out on the search-and-rescue boat to notorious Manchebo Point, where two powerful ocean currents collide. Here, with more than a mile-and-a-half off Aruba's west coast, the water's more than 60 feet deep. We're going to test those currents.(on camera): Three, two, one.UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Man overboard!PENHAUL (voice-over): Here you can feel a menacing undertow and a strong swell. Boekhuodt tells me if they leave me in the water long enough, I'll drift northwest a few miles, then due west out into open ocean.(END VIDEO CLIP)GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Nancy Grace. Thank you for being with us. We are live in Aruba and the latest in the disappearance of an 18-year-old Alabama beauty, Natalee Holloway, still missing tonight.Straight down to Karl Penhaul, CNN correspondent. Karl, was that you jumping off the back of the boat?PENHAUL: That's right, Nancy. We went out to Manchebo Point. That's where, as we were saying, the two ocean currents mix. And from there on, the ocean current heads out directly west towards Panama, which is more than 690 miles away. But the boat would have to be a certain distance out there in order for any object that is dumped to float with that current. If it's closer to the shore, the surf will bring it back to the beach.GRACE: Well, Karl, this is what I was asking you about the other night. I have dived myself there in the Netherland Antilles, and we did what you call drift diving, where it carries you along, the water does, because there's a very heavy current. But you're telling me on one side of the island, which I think I'm seeing right now, there is virtually no current. On the other side of the island, if Natalee Holloway had been thrown into that water, she would be long gone with those currents, correct?PENHAUL: That's correct. The situation on the north side of the island -- that where you saw me jumping into the water's on the west side of the island. On the north side of the island, the current is also drifting west. But that would drive anything that is dumped into the sea there back on to shore automatically.GRACE: To Ruben Trapenberg. He is a spokesperson for the Aruba government. Welcome. Thank you for being with us. Why have there been no dive teams in the water?RUBEN TRAPENBERG, SPOKESPERSON FOR ARUBA GOVERNMENT: Well, I have had -- not had the specifics of the diving that has been ongoing. Today, I did see pictures in the newspaper of FBI dive person or persons that were diving. So they do not give us the details, the specifics of where they're diving. If you were to dive, you would need a specific reason to go dive at certain points.GRACE: Now, Karl Penhaul, you told me as late as Friday there had been no diving.PENHAUL: That's what we have heard from our sources, that although an FBI dive team, a small team was, initially here, they left, went back to Miami...GRACE: Right.PENHAUL: ... because the government and because Investigators didn't pinpoint a search area for them, Nancy.GRACE: Thanks, Karl. Back to Ruben. What is the status of the investigation tonight? How many people in custody? And do we know any of the evidence against them?TRAPENBERG: Tonight, we have four people as suspects still in custody. The evidence we don't get to hear, Nancy. The Dutch law system just does not permit it, and they're not going to change it just to please the press. What we can say is that the case is being handled very carefully. They know if they should be making mistakes at this point, it would cost them at the court case level and in the investigation itself.GRACE: I can understand that.To Debra Opri, defense attorney. Debra what do you make of the father of van der Sloot, the young man behind bars, one of the four -- this is the Dutch judge -- what do you make of him undergoing two days of questioning by Police?DEBRA OPRI, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He obviously was implicated in either being an alibi or knowing what his son did. His son may have made comments to him. We are all presupposing, however. You know, let's look at it the way it is, Nancy. The bottom line is we have a missing girl, and she's either a body that we're never going to find or she's a live body that's somewhere off in a prostitution ring.People are saying to me, Why do you keep saying that? Because we ain't got a body. And all these people in custody, they're either telling a lot of tales leading us to think the girl's body was dumped in the ocean and we may never find her. You've done diving out there. But the bottom line, if we don't get a body, we're going to have a lot of confessions that may, at some point in time, be called coerced.GRACE: Well put. Well put. Take a listen to this.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, MISSING GIRL'S MOTHER: We've exhausted a lot of areas just through family searches and just through the searches by the authorities. So you know, we really don't have any areas right now to concentrate on. No. We need some answers from those individuals that they have in custody.(END VIDEO CLIP)GRACE: Elizabeth, if you could put up that full screen you made for us about all the issues regarding the investigation. Police initially arrested two security guards, not the young men actually seen with Natalee. Police waited 10 days to seize van der Sloot's car to take a look at possible evidence in it. Still, as of today, no divers searching the Aruban waters. Police did not search Croes's car or the party boat. Also, Police failed to question Croes's boss. This is the deejay that's been taken into custody. Police haven't confiscated or searched hard drives of computers at the Internet cafe where van der Sloot goes all the time, where Deepak Kalpoe works. That's the connection between those two co- defendants.Very quickly, to Robi Ludwig, also, remember, Robi, that we heard that there was blood found on a mattress. It turned out to be bogus. It was a dog's blood.ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Yes. Yes.GRACE: Then we heard there was blood in the car. Not true. The parents were confronted about that on live TV. They had heard nothing about it. Well, it wasn't true.LUDWIG: Right.GRACE: Then we heard that there were confessions, and those confessions were retracted. My point is, what impact are all of these false reports having on this poor family?LUDWIG: Well, you know, each time a family hears a report, they get very hopeful that somehow, there'll be some type of answer. It is so hard for families to have no answers, no body, nothing to be known. And I'm sure that they have their theories and that they're frustrated that there should be some line of investigation that's not going on because it's very hard to make sense out of how could there be no body when you have four boys in custody? And I think the question I have, too, is if these boys know what happened, why aren't they telling on one another? So it just raises more questions. It seems like there's more questions now than when we first started to hear about the case.GRACE: You're right. Robi, you're right. And what concerns me is, amongst the three young men that left the bar with Natalee, they started telling different stories. Now, if their stories had been consistent, that would have been more on the up and up. But when their stories start diverging, you got a problem.Daniel Horowitz, question to you. What do you make of the father, the judge, van der Sloot , being questioned for two straight days? And two, is there any way American authorities could step in on the investigation?DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, I think the father knows something. Any lawyer -- and he is a lawyer -- is going to tell a client -- and his son is essentially his client -- Shut up, don't say a word. You know, Nancy, I've appeared in the Dutch court system, and even though they're holding this kid and these kids for a very lengthy time period, they're probably being very gentle to them in custody and in their questioning. That's how they proceed with things.I think and I wish the FBI could come in and really break them down, do some hard questioning, publicize their lives or their stories, so that people, witnesses, can come forward and say, That's not true. But it's not going to happen. They have their own system. And it's really thwarting the efforts to find what happened to Natalee Holloway.GRACE: Karl Penhaul, how old are the three younger suspects?PENHAUL: The three younger suspects? Joran van der Sloot is 17 years old. Satish Kalpoe is 18 years old. And his brother, Deepak Kalpoe, is 21 years old. And the fourth suspect, Steven Croes, is 26 years old, Nancy.GRACE: And very quickly, back to Ruben Trapenberg. He's a spokesperson for the Aruban government. Right now, do you expect to formally charge any of these four suspects?TRAPENBERG: Nancy, any time you extend the period that these suspects will remain in custody, you have to provide more evidence. You have to convince a judge of the reason why you're going extend their stay -- their detention. So it becomes every time bigger. What is exactly happening, we don't have all the facts. It's easy for experts to go on and giving their own theories. The facts, we do not know them. We do know that there is good progress being made, and that has been told to us by the prosecution.GRACE: Ruben, very quickly. Is it true that van der Sloot's mother has been allowed to visit him and not the father, not the judge?TRAPENBERG: That is what I have heard, yes. And because he's a minor, the parents normally have the right to see him. But in this case, it may be a strange situation. That's why the prosecutor has asked for him not to visit him. But I'm sure they're questioning the father because there may be relevant information there. Did the son ask questions, legal questions? Those type of things will need to be known, and that's why he's a witness in this case at this point.GRACE: And of course, Karl Penhaul, there is no father/son privilege. What they say to each other is not confidential communications. Karl Penhaul, last question. Have they taken Croes's car and searched it yet, or is it still parked in his driveway?PENHAUL: It's not still parked in his driveway, Nancy. His ex-wife has borrowed it. His ex-wife asked for permission to the grandfather with whom Steve Croes lived...GRACE: Oh, good Lord!PENHAUL: ... and the car is now at her house, Nancy.GRACE: OK. I'm sure it's undergoing a thorough search over at the grandparents' house. OK. Thank you, Karl. Thank you, Ruben.
…
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)GRACE: Three weeks since Natalee Holloway went missing in Aruba. The search for Natalee and the investigation into her disappearance have so far turned up nothing. What is happening in Aruba? Natalee Holloway, where are you? Aruba Police and the FBI working around the clock, continue to scour beaches and scrubland for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. This beautiful Alabama girl vanished from her senior trip. Her mother vows not to leave the island without the girl.(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)TWITTY: All I know is that my daughter is alive.UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are discrepancies and cracks in the boys' stories.GRACE: They're starting to blame each other. Somebody is lying!UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This investigation is so ridiculous down there! How they could let these three guys out of custody immediately after she was missing is beyond me. How much evidence did they lose? How much evidence was tainted during the period of time that they've been incarcerated now?GRACE: We were all screaming that on day one. Why don't you impound the car in which she was taken from the bar, Carlos and Charlies?PENHAUL: The FBI team of divers that were sent here never, in fact, carried out any dive search.GRACE: There have been so many conflicting reports. First of all, we heard reports that maybe Natalee was in a crack house. Not true. Then we heard that there was blood in the car of one of these young men. Not true. Then we heard there was a confession. They were retracted that. It came back. It was retracted again.Why all the conflicting reports? Look, a lot of us are finding fault with the way this investigation is being conducted.A fourth suspect behind bars.PENHAUL: Named Steven Croes, the deejay on the "Tattoo" party boat.GRACE: I'm stunned. History is repeating itself. Aruba Police, listen! Search the guy's car! Search the cruise ship!Hair, fiber, blood, semen, anything! Talk to everybody this guy knows. Hello! Search it!TWITTY: I have waited and I have waited and I have listed, and I've heard lie after lie after lie unfold. And I have to have some answers, and I better get them soon.(END VIDEO CLIP)GRACE: I want to thank all of my guests tonight. But my biggest thank you, as always, is to you for being with us and inviting all of us into your home.



On 6-20 “New York Newsday” wrote “Ben Miller, a classmate of Holloway's, said he later saw her leave Carlos 'N Charlie's, where tourists dance on tables and gulp neon-colored cocktails, with Kalpoe, 21, and his brother Satish, 18.” “But it took Police 10 days from Holloway's disappearance to consider van der Sloot and the Kalpoes suspects, despite statements the brothers gave to Police only a day afterward that were rife with inconsistencies and that one later told another suspect he'd concocted. The authorities, many of whom are Dutch and know Paul van der Sloot, Joran's father, did not search their home for more than two weeks. They formally questioned Paul van der Sloot yesterday after first doing so just Saturday night. ‘That will be something they will have to answer to,’ Twitty, 45, said of the Police. In their statements to Police, which were shown to Newsday and translated verbally from Dutch, the Kalpoes said they drove Holloway, extremely drunk, to the California Lighthouse, a romantic spot on Aruba's northern tip, as she and van der Sloot fooled around in the back seat. They said she stumbled out at the "Holiday Inn," a few miles away, where a black security guard wearing black and carrying a walkie-talkie approached her. But the brothers disagreed on details such as who had paid for their drinks, and who got separated from whom at Carlos 'N Charlie's before meeting back at the car. They differed on whether van der Sloot brushed Holloway off or danced with her. They said van der Sloot asked her where she was staying, though witnesses said the two had met at her hotel. Yet despite the inconsistencies, they remained free while Police burst into the homes of two black security guards from the town of San Nicolas and arrested them.”
On 6-22 TITO LACLE reported to FOX News that by 6-22 Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT had completely changed his alibi from the boys dropped NATALEE at the “Holiday Inn” at 2 AM, to a completely different second alibi (made during a joint interrogation of Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT , Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE , Current Murder Suspect SATISH KALPOE ) where Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT claims Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE , Current Murder Suspect SATISH KALPOE , and NATALEE took Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT home, and it was the Current Murder Suspects KALPOE's who drove away from Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT ’s home with NATALEE. Then Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT completely changed to a third alibi claiming that Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE and Current Murder Suspect SATISH KALPOE took NATALEE and Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT to the “Marriott Hotel” beach at 1:50 AM and dropped them off there. After being on the “Marriott Hotel” beach with NATALEE, Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT claims he left her alone there at 2:30 AM because NATALEE wanted to remain on the beach. SLOOT also had originally told the ARUBAN Police that Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE gave him a ride home, but TITO LACLE reported to FOX News that during the joint interrogation of all three Murder Suspects on 6-20 that Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT changed his story to SATISH picked him up from the beach and gave him a ride home.
On 6-20 CLINT VAN ZANDT reported:

Who's taken our daughter?
Looking at another missing woman case and white slavery
COMMENTARY
By Clint Van Zandt
MSNBC analyst & former FBI profiler
Updated: 5:44 p.m. ET June 20, 2005
Where's Amy?
Twenty-three year old Amy Bradley was last seen by her parents in her room on a cruise ship bound for Curacao. It was the morning of March 24, 1998, and Amy had been up most of the night dancing in the ship's disco. She returned to her room and then went out for a cigarette, never to return. As the ship was close to Curacao and Amy was a strong swimmer, her family thinks it unlikely that she fell overboard and drowned. Two passengers on the ship thought they saw her that morning on one of the ship's elevators, further indicating they last saw her at about 6 a.m. in the company of a musician who played on the ship.
No one saw Amy leave the ship, although a Curacao cab driver would later tell her father that she approached his cab on the morning of her disappearance and said she needed to get to a telephone. Other people have come forward to say that they too had seen Amy, to include a U.S. Navy Petty Officer who said he had seen her in a Curacao brothel and she had asked him for help, even telling him her name. He said he had decided not to report the incident at that time, fearing that he would get into trouble with the Navy for having been in a brothel, and only contacted Amy's family after he had retired and saw her picture, and perhaps information of a reward, in a magazine. The sailor's report has never been substantiated, and the reward of $260,000 remains unclaimed.
There are those, however, who believe that Amy may have been assaulted, murdered, and thrown overboard while still on the cruise ship. This possible explanation for her disappearance is said by some to be the most obvious and, therefore, the most likely explanation for her disappearance. Notwithstanding this alternative explanation to a kidnapping, Amy's parents still keep the emotional porch light turned on at night, hoping beyond hope that their missing daughter will somehow return to them. As a parent I share their hope
Watch what you drink in clubs
Many news reports and statements from visitors to certain Caribbean island nations have suggested that bartenders or patrons of these bars have been known to use so-called "date rape drugs," e.g., GHB and Rohypnol (roofies), to take advantage of unsuspecting female patrons, with others suggesting that such drugs are used to render specifically targeted women unconscious in order to facilitate their transportation as victims of white slavery kidnappings. The truth of such allegations of drug-induced white slavery are unknown, and the statistics to support this belief as directed against American women in these bars are nonexistent. We note, however, that these drugs are available around the world and have previously been used to gain advantage of otherwise innocent women, although to be fair to the islands, such usage with illicit sexual intent has been reported a number of times in the United States.
How traffickers get their victims
The victims of white slave sex trafficking across the world are usually women and girls, although young boys are also victimized. Depending on the country and the age and sex of the potential victims, there are common methods used to lure them into white slavery, to include 1) being sold or traded by your parents, spouse or boyfriend; 2) being provided with a false promise of employment in another country; 3) traveling in furtherance of a fictitious promise of marriage; and, 4) being kidnapped and carried away by human traffickers. No matter the ploy or method used to get a victim to descend into this kind of living hell, once there they face the prospect of continual rape, beatings, emotional abuse, lack of proper food and medical care, the forced consumption of drugs and alcohol, and other vile punishments. Related physical health issues are as bad if not worse. To survive, a victim must learn to separate her mind from her body, convincing herself that she is not really there as she is continuously victimized. That is probably the only way someone could emotionally survive such a horrific ordeal.
There is a psychological phenomenon known as "identification with the aggressor," one that differs from the "Stockholm Syndrome" that I discussed in a previous article. This is a form of survival behavior in which the victim responds to the threat and fear of injury or death. She is "grateful" not to be severely injured or killed by her captor, and may believe that her captor is the only one that can protect her. Therefore, she does whatever she is told to do in a very compliant manner, perhaps even ignoring the opportunity to escape for fear of losing her captor's protection.
Types of sex trafficking
Victims of human trafficking can be forced into various forms of commercial sexual exploitation including prostitution, pornography, sex shows and even being sold as mail order brides. Sex trafficking operations are found in high risk, high profile activities such as street prostitution, as well as more underground systems such as private brothels that operate out of homes and advertised only person to person, or perhaps via the Internet. Sex trafficking also takes place in a variety of public and private locations such as massage parlors, spas, strip clubs and other fronts for prostitution. Victims may start off dancing or stripping in clubs and then be coerced into situations of prostitution and pornography. One sign in front of a Hong Kong club stated, "Young, Fresh Hong Kong Girls; White, Clean Malaysian Girls; Beijing women; Luxurious Ghost Girls from Russia."
Human trafficking across the globe
Most island nations dispute the local trafficking in women, boys and girls for sexual purposes; but one study suggests that 100,000 women and children are trafficked in these locations for sexual exploitation purposes annually, and between one and four million people are trafficked worldwide each year, with 50% of the victims being minors.
Asia has made some advances in dealing with sex-related tourism, however the trade has increased in the Americas, to include 2,000 children that are said to be sexually exploited in 600 different brothels in Guatemala and an almost unbelievable 500,000 girls working as prostitutes in Brazil. Latin America is a transit point for trafficking women to Europe, North America and Australia. 100,000 women from former Soviet states are annually tricked into traveling with the promise of work as a domestic or in some other service related occupation, when in reality their passports are taken from them, they do not know the local language or culture where they arrive, and they are forced into prostitution to pay their traffickers' fee, often beaten and held in seclusion while they "work off" their debt. Interpol says 35,000 women are trafficked out of Colombia every year and that Mexico has as many as 20,000 child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
Human sales are up
The trafficking of human beings is the third most financially lucrative business in the world, ranking close behind weapons sales and drugs, and is believed to generate "sales" of seven billion dollars per year. The international community has only recently begun to fully realize the depth and complexity of this problem and its global impact. Moreover, the changing nature of this use of human beings as chattel has meant that human trafficking is no longer a term used only to describe women and children forced into prostitution; but other forms of involuntary servitude as well. One study suggests that human trafficking involves the use of both enticement and deception, examples of which include Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian boys being sold to become camel jockeys in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates, teenage Vietnamese girls sold into prostitution in Bangkok, Thailand, and, Nigerian women allegedly sold to brothels in the Netherlands and Italy.
In times of conflict
It's been found that there are more trafficking victims during times of conflict than in times of relative peace. By this, conflict may see the loss of social infrastructures and normal law enforcement agencies, as well as the crossing of international borders by victims fleeing conflict, thereby making them easy targets for human traffickers. Women in post-conflict societies like Kosovo and Kuwait and certain African nations who have been the victims of mass rapes and other forms of personal and sociological abuse are, unfortunately, sometimes reduced in value and status in their local communities and, sadly enough, become even more vulnerable. In international conflicts we find borders closed and legal asylum denied to tens of thousands of refuges, with these victims then forced to turn to human trafficking syndicates to facilitate their hoped-for escape, thereby giving the trafficking predators "easy pickings" from the ladder of human misery, noting that 150 million people migrate yearly in search of economic opportunity or to escape conflict or worse.
We next find the monsters that took advantage of last year's Asian tsunami in which over one-quarter of a million lives were lost and thousands of children became homeless orphans. We now know that human traffickers created phony orphanages to gain fraudulent access to relief funds and to avail them and their "customers" with access to the already traumatized and vulnerable child victims. There has to be a special seat reserved in hell for any and all of these two-legged human aberrations.
International protection -- where is it?
International involvement in developing protocols and legal protection for victims of human trafficking has been slow to come around. Nongovernmental organizations were the first to acknowledge the depth of this transnational crime and have raised our awareness of traffickers who take advantage of language barriers, sell victims to another owner to keep them disoriented, and threatening family members as well as cause their victims immeasurable physical and mental trauma. Human trafficking requires both sophisticated and extensive networking, something akin to that used by international organized crime groups, some of which are overtly supported or at least allowed to exist by crooked politicians, intentionally blind banks, dirty cops, and other criminal networks worldwide. Impoverished children are over and over again the most vulnerable population throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. They are often tricked or forced into the commercial sex trade. As a destination for many tourists, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina are reputed to be at the center of a growing sex tourism industry in Latin American and the Caribbean.
So where is Natalee?
We've come full circle and we still don't know what happened to Natalee Holloway. If there was some type of conspiracy between the young men who were last with her and traders in human life, we would expect the Aruban authorities, with the "assistance" of the FBI, to uncover this potential fact and run the traffickers down and rescue Natalee.
Remember we initially discussed motive and opportunity concerning who might have taken or otherwise harmed Natalee. To this now add access. Who had access (or contact with) the victim? Who had the opportunity to interact with her in a negative manner? And, most importantly, who had the needed motive (still to be determined) to take or otherwise harm her? When we discuss what is possible verses what is probable, we start to narrow down our options. While white slavers could have kidnapped her, would they really want to take such a high-risk venture by kidnapping such a high profile member of a large group that would immediately bring attention to her being missing? If such kidnappers had previously been successful in such endeavors, would they risk it all to take Natalee? But should the answer be simpler than this elaborate conspiracy theory, one found more in movies than in real life, well, then 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers will know the truth. How quickly they are willing to part with the answers to Natalee's disappearance will be a product of their emotional tenacity and the interviewing skills of the Aruban police officers, assisted by their far more experienced Dutch associates, and the ever present FBI looking over all their shoulders and saying, "But what about this?"
We pray for the safe return of Natalee as well as that of Amy Bradley, and for all of the families concerned.
Be Safe!
Email Clint at CVZ@msnbc.com
For information on home, personal, travel and child security issues,see www.LiveSecure.org.
Clint Van Zandt is an MSNBC analyst. He is the founder and president of Van Zandt Associates Inc. Van Zandt and his associates also developed LiveSecure.org, a Website dedicated "to develop, evaluate, and disseminate information to help prepare and inform individuals concerning personal and family security issues." During his 25-year career in the FBI, Van Zandt was a supervisor in the FBI's internationally renowned Behavioral Science Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He was also the FBI's Chief Hostage Negotiator and was the leader of the analytical team tasked with identifying the "Unabomber."