Detailed Timeline.... June 25 - 26, 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

6-25-05

On 6-25 Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT gave the following statements to his ARUBAN Police Interrogators:
(Thank You and Hat Tip to the “Scared Monkeys blog" and “Debbie”)
http://blogsfornatalee.com/forums/index.php?PHPSESSID=f8d02f85ccb5f4664e7b3ddfb8ad0bef&topic=4649.0

PROCES VERBAALWE, Clyde Anthony BURKE and Haydee Azucena NADAL, respectively Police sergeants first class at the Korps Police Aruba, former in service at the many appearance criminality District II and last named at the Recherde Coorperationteam Aruba, declares the following:On June 25 2005 around 11.35 the suspect P.A.P.J van der Sloot was interrogated: At the beginning of the interrogation the suspect P.A.P.J. van der Sloot was told that he had the right to remain silent.His statement in Dutch was put on certificate by us and declared the following:We spoke last time about that Monday night when Joran was at the "Raquet Club", that I only took the bag with me. I am remembering that it was around 08:00pm when I took the bag to Joran at the “Raquet Club”, this was when Joran was walking in the direction of the Marriott and made the announcement that he was going to participate in the “Free Tournament” at the Wyndham that this came up. In my view I even grumbled (expressed concern) on Joran and then went on to pick up Sebastian at the ZEOLA family. Again I am not sure. This image comes in my head, but I had no reason at that moment to remember any of these things. I had done a lot on automatic pilot. Sure when it came to pickup and bring the kids back. I also don't know the relevance of this fact.On your question if I can tell you what Joran wore that day, I can explain to you the following:I can remember very vague, in my view he had something blue, but I am not absolutely sure.On your question if I can remember what kind of shoes Joran had on, I can explain to you the following:I think that he had a gym shoes on, but I am not sure.On your question on what time did the above occur, I can explain to you the following:The association of 08.00pm comes to me, because I thought that the tournament didn't start at 08.00pm?On your question if I saw other friends of Joran at the "Raquet Club" on that Monday night of May 30 2005, I can explain to you the following:I can't remember if I had seen Joran's friends.On your question on which day did Joran tell me the story about dropping the missing girl at the "Holiday Inn Hotel", I can explain to you the following:I heard the story for the first time in the night of May 30 2005 around 03.00am when the people came to my house and he told the story to the people.On your question when did I ask when we were at the "Holiday inn hotel" on the night of May 30 2005, if the camera worked, I can explain to you the following:I didn't ask this myself. I overheard the woman that worked behind the check-in counter talking about the cameras at the check-in counter.On your question if I heard the conversation between Joran and the stepfather of the girl when they were talking, I can explain to you the following:No, the conversation was between Joran and WILLIAMS and I didn't hear what they spoke to each other.P.A.P.J van der SlootAfter the suspect P.A.P.J van der Sloot had read his statement, he declared he agrees with what is on the paper and signed it. Of which by us, on oath of office made this warrant, closed and signed in Noord on June 23 (25*), 2005.Signed,C.A. BURKE H.A. NADAL



On 6-25 a DUTCH judge flown in from CURACAO to ARUBA for the 6-26 hearings. The judge was flown in “to avoid the appearance of impropriety.”
On 6-25 the “Texas EquuSearch” team arrives in ARUBA. The first week of their search, the “Texas EquuSearch” team members searched many sites, including….A field close to the Murder Suspects SLOOT’s home….A garbage dump….A water-filled rock quarry….A grave yard (tipped-off to by a local ARUBAN)….various shoreline locations.
On 6-25 CNN reported:

LAW CENTER
Texas team begins search for teen in Aruba
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- A team of Texas search specialists began a full-fledged hunt Saturday for Alabama teen Natalee Holloway.
Tim Miller, director and founder of Texas EquuSearch, said most of the 24-member search team, including eight divers and a dog, had arrived by Friday night. Three more dogs and their handlers were to arrive Saturday.
"I feel very, very optimistic that we are going to take Natalee back to Alabama where she belongs," Miller said.
The team searched a wetlands area and also the northern tip of the island near its landmark lighthouse, combing the beaches with the dog. After borrowing a boat, the team installed side-scanning sonar equipment and conducted a water search.
The dogs, considered highly trained, wear booties to protect their paws from cactus needles. At least $25,000 has been contributed for the search so far through the nonprofit group's Web site, Miller said.
The Texas team joined Aruba investigators and the FBI in the widespread, round-the-clock search.
The 18-year-old has been missing since early May 30.
Meanwhile, five suspects in her disappearance -- including a father and son -- are scheduled to appear before a judge on Sunday, after a one-day postponement.
Paul van der Sloot, 53, a local judge; his son Joran, 17; Satish Kalpoe, 18; his brother Deepak Kalpoe, 21; and disc jockey Steve Croes, 26, are in custody.
A judge from Curacao will determine whether to hold them longer, said Police Commissioner Jan Van Der Straten. The judge is being flown in from another island to avoid the appearance of impropriety, and his flight was delayed several times Saturday, forcing the hearing to be rescheduled.
No one has been formally charged in the case.
Prosecution spokeswoman Mariaine Croes told CNN charges will not be filed until the investigation is complete and evidence is reviewed by prosecutors.
Defense attorneys for the four younger defendants have said they are innocent; Paul van der Sloot's attorneys have not yet commented.
Van Der Straten would not say if van der Sloot, relatively new to the bench, was being cooperative. He was arrested Thursday after being interviewed as a witness. (Full story) Holloway, from the affluent Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook, was last seen leaving a nightclub with Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers. She was on a trip to Aruba with about 100 classmates and a few parent chaperones to celebrate the students' high school graduations.
The Kalpoe brothers and Joran van der Sloot initially told prosecutors they dropped Holloway off at her hotel. But police have said that story fell apart under questioning, and there has been no evidence to show Holloway ever returned to the hotel.
The Kalpoes' mother said Thursday one of her sons had admitted lying to protect Joran van der Sloot, and said he and his brother took the youth and Holloway to a beach and dropped them off.
Anita van der Sloot, the mother of Joran van der Sloot and wife of Paul van der Sloot, said her son had also changed his story and admitted being alone with Holloway on the beach, saying he left her there because she wanted to stay there.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann and Alex Quade contributed to this report.



On 6-25 CBS News reported:

Texas Rescue Team In Aruba
Major Ground And Ocean Search Underway For Missing Teen
(CBS/AP) A volunteer rescue group from Texas launched a major ground and ocean search Saturday for an Alabama teen who disappeared nearly four weeks ago while on a school trip.Also Saturday, a judge was to decide whether to allow prosecutors to continue holding justice official Paul van der Sloot, father of 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot, the honors student from the island who is believed to be one of the last people to see 18-year-old Natalee Holloway the night she went missing.Texas EquuSearch's 24 volunteers, including eight rescue divers, planned to use sonar, sniffer dogs and divers to attempt to achieve what hundreds of officials and volunteers before them have failed to do."We are holding out hope that Natalee is alive, but we know the odds are against us," Tim Miller, director of the Dickinson, Texas-based group, said Friday on the eve of the search.The volunteers arrived late Friday, at the request of Natalee's uncle, who lives in Houston. They brought four dogs trained to sniff out human remains, as well as sonar equipment that will be used in searching the coastal waters. Miller said the group would remain in Aruba "until we find Natalee."He said the search could cost up to $100,000, and that his group had already raised about $25,000.Miller said pro-athletes in the United States had approached him about helping with the search, but he declined to say who they were or how they might participate.He said he arrived in Aruba on Thursday to meet with authorities, cross-check where they had searched, and plot out new sites.
Miller said his initial meeting with police Superintendent Jan van der Straaten had "been tense," but that the two had come to an agreement about the search. Miller declined to say what the agreement was, but said the search parties would be careful not to let the news media interfere."If we find something that is evidence, we certainly don't want your cameras on it," Miller said, declining to say where searchers would begin Saturday.Miller said that within a few days, they would ask local Arubaans to help in the searches.Previous searches by Aruban police, Dutch Marines and thousands of volunteer islanders and tourists have yielded no trace of the honors student, who went missing May 30, the last day of a five-day trip with 124 fellow students to celebrate their high school graduation. Her passport and packed suitcase were found in her hotel room.Five men have been arrested in her disappearance, but no one has been charged.Miller said some of Holloway's family members had asked his group to undertake the search after nearly four weeks of efforts by authorities and volunteers had produced few results.He said previous searches had been thorough, but that "we have the resources and equipment that hasn't been used in the ground or water that may help us" find the missing teenager.The mother of 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot says her son has changed his story, admitting to her that he was alone with 18-year-old Natalee Holloway on a beach the night she vanished — and that he left her there, not at a Holiday Inn as he earlier stated. But Joran van der Sloot, 17, insisted that he did not hurt her, Anita van der Sloot said."He says 'Mom, I dropped the girl at the beach. I walked with her, I left her because she wanted to stay there. I left and I don't know what happened,'" the mother, quoting her son, told CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella. "'I should have brought her to a responsible adult. That I blame myself, and I will blame my whole life, but the truth will come out and I will be out of here soon.'"
Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said she was pleased with the arrest of the elder van der Sloot."We are very pleased that the investigation is progressing," she said. "We feel like this will lead to more information to give us the answers we need for finding Natalee."But Anita van der Sloot insists Aruban authorities are holding her son and now her husband because they were under pressure — something Mariaine Croes of the Aruban Attorney General's office denied on CBS News' The Early Show Friday morning."I believe my son is innocent," Anita van der Sloot declared."And your husband?" asked Cobiella."Yes of course he's innocent. This is the most ridiculous thing. He's a judge. He's full of integrity," van der Sloot replied.



On 6-25 a fundraiser was held In MOUNTAIN BROOK, ALABAMA which raised about $20,000 in donations to helping NATALEE’s Loved Ones search and find her.
On 6-25 CNN reported that “Texas EquuSearch” is not getting paid to help in the search for NATALEE.
On 6-25 FRANCES BYRD stated to “AL.com“ that NATALEE was with Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT “as early as 9:30 p.m.” the night of the disappearance.
On 6-25 Satish Kalpoe’s lawyer said his client admitted that his first story of NATALEE being dropped-off at the “Holiday Inn” around 2:00 AM was a lie. Satish Kalpoe now claims that he and his brother dropped Holloway and Joran van der Sloot off together at a beach near the Marriott hotel, then went home, said the lawyer, David Kock. On 6-26, Kock said the brothers were becoming increasingly angry with Joran van der Sloot and accusing him of changing his story to put the blame for Holloway's disappearance on them. Kock would not elaborate.

6-26-05
Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT , Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE , Current Murder Suspect SATISH KALPOE , and Current Murder Suspect "Steve" CROES retained in custody after 6-26 hearing but Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT and CROES were released. After Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT and Current Murder Suspect "Steve" CROES released by the DUTCH judge on 6-26, BETH HOLLOWAY-TWITTY stated on 6-27, "It was devastating. It's a blow. I feel like all the assurance and trust I had worked to build was just ripped from me, just as NATALEE was." She still has hope of finding NATALEE alive. "Look at all those people in Mountain Brook I would disappoint if I gave up now. This just gives me more determination. I think I would be letting everybody down if I stopped now."
After the Current Murder Suspects KALPOE's were retained in custody on 6-26 their attorney, DAVID KOCK, said the brothers were becoming increasingly angry with van der SLOOT and accusing him of changing his story to put the blame on them for HOLLOWAY's disappearance. DAVID KOCK would not elaborate.
After Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT was retained in custody on 6-26, his attorney, Antonio “Anthony” CARLO, said, "My client maintains his innocence."
On 6-26 FOX News reported:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — An Aruban judge on Sunday freed the father of a Dutch teen arrested in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, the man's wife said — hours after the judge ordered a party boat disc jockey held in the case released.Anita van der Sloot said the most important thing for her now "is that my son comes free.”Paul van der Sloot, a high-ranking justice official studying to be a judge on the Dutch Caribbean island, had been arrested Thursday as a suspect for collaborating in a crime with his 17-year-old son, according to his lawyer."A little bit of the nightmare clouds are now disappearing," Anita van der Sloot told The Associated Press. "The truth will always come forward. From the beginning, I trusted everything would be fine."The lawyer representing Paul van der Sloot said Sunday that his client has waived his right not to testify against his son. Under Aruban law, parents have the option to refuse to testify against their children. In waiving that right, Paul van der Sloot is essentially agreeing to take the stand.Earlier Sunday, the judge also ordered Police to release Steven Gregory Croes, the party boat disc jockey held in Holloway's disappearance, saying authorities did not have enough evidence against him, the man's lawyer said.Croes, 26, was one of five people held in the case of the 18-year-old young woman last seen in the early hours of May 30. No one has been charged in the case, including the last person reportedly seen with her, 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot (search)."A little bit of the nightmare clouds are now disappearing," Anita van der Sloot told The Associated Press. "The truth will always come forward. From the beginning, I trusted everything would be fine."Searches for Holloway have been fruitless.Croes, who was detained June 17, will be released Monday, said his lawyer, Eleni Lotter-Homan. He is a disc jockey on the party boat "Tattoo", which offers nightly dining, dancing and swimming and docks near the "Holiday Inn" hotel where Holloway had been staying on Aruba, a Dutch protectorate."The judge agreed there is not enough proof he was involved to keep holding him," Police superintendent Jan van der Straten said the court also ordered Paul van der Sloot released."At this moment I don't know why," he told The Associated Press.Paul van der Sloot was taken into custody in order to make his son talk, Aruba's justice minister said Saturday."I think they're trying to put some acts of pressure on the son," Justice Minister Rudy Croes, who apparently is unrelated to the detained boat worker, told FOX News' Geraldo Rivera in an exclusive interview.Croes had said the detention of Paul van der Sloot — whose son Joran changed the story he told Police about the night of Natalee's disappearance — could be key to solving the case."Any moment, we can have the solution," Croes said. "I don't think [Joran], if he really participated in the disappearance of this lady, I don't think he can hold out for so long knowing his father is detained."Croes said Joran and the two other jailed suspects were surveiled electronically after being released following an initial round of questioning. He implied that information picked up by such surveillance led to their second detention."That's why, after a certain moment, they were seized," said Croes.Still jailed are the young van der Sloot and his friends, Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18. Van der Straten said the judge on Sunday ordered their detention extended another week.Under Dutch law, a suspect can be held for up to 116 days without charge if a judge decides Police have good reason.The three young men initially told Police that after a night of eating, drinking and dancing, they took Holloway to a northern beach before dropping her off at her hotel around 2 a.m.On Saturday, Satish Kalpoe's lawyer said his client admitted that his story was a lie.Satish now claims that he and brother dropped Holloway and Joran van der Sloot off together at a beach near the Marriott hotel, then went home, said the lawyer, David Kock.On Sunday, Kock said the brothers were becoming increasingly angry with Joran van der Sloot and accusing him of changing his story to put the blame for Holloway's disappearance on them. Kock would not elaborate.Anita van der Sloot said her son told her that he was alone on a beach with Holloway and left her there unharmed in the early hours of the day she vanished.Joran van der Sloot's lawyer, Antonio Carlo, said Sunday, "My client maintains his innocence."In an anecdote that illustrated the insular world of Aruba, Justice Minister Croes said Paul van der Sloot had recently visited him in his office after failing to become a judge, apparently seeking a position in Croes' department. van der Sloot had also taught the justice minister's daughter.Aruban authorities have received criticism for their handling of the case. But Jug Twitty, Natalee's stepfather, told FOX News Saturday evening he believed Investigators were now making progress."I think they are on the right track," he said. "They're putting the heat on."



When ARUBA government spokesman TRAPENBERG was asked on 6-26 why the Aruban government was not allowing the F.B.I. Agents to participate more in the investigation and interrogations he said an increased F.B.I. presence did not make sense. TRAPENBERG arrogantly and anxiously asked, "It's fine to have the F.B.I. here, but if you send in more agents are you saying the ones here are not any good?" He also talked about the UNITED STATES would not allow DUTCH agents to “run an investigation” if a Dutch person was killed in the UNITED STATES.
On 6-26 TIM MILLER of “Texas EquuSearch” said that their search could cost up to $100,000 and that about $25,000 had been raised. Rumors persist that some persons on Aruba are misdirecting/blocking search efforts by the team. On 6-26 he remarked on FOX News that they felt certain they would find NATALEE “very soon.” On 6-26 FOX News interviewed two of the volunteer rescuers from “Texas EquuSearch.” They were asked about target search areas. The divers responded that five target areas were the priority spots and that an old stone quarry, now filled in with water, would be searched 6-27.
On 6-26 BAIRD told the “AP” that an ocean probe with sonar sensors would be pulled at various depths to create a picture of the sea floor. Baird said that would help divers eliminate areas without objects that look like bodies.
On 6-26 “De Telegraf” reported that Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT has been seeing a psychiatrist for some time now because he is short-tempered.

On 6-26 JUG TWITTY stated to FOX News that he wants the Aruban Police to turn their information over to the “Texas EquuSearch” team, so that they ("Texas EquuSearch") “would at least have some idea where to start.”
On July 19, 2005 TIM MILLER stated when he arrived on ARUBA circa 6-26 he met with ARUBAN Police commissioner VAN DER STRATEN and signed an agreement that “Texas EquuSearch” will not charge the ARUBAN government, the ARUBAN Police, nor charge NATALEE’s Loved Ones for “Texas EquuSearch” search efforts. TIM MILLER and ARUBAN Police commissioner VAN DER STRATEN agreed there would be no leaks to the public or media if anything was found, and that “Texas EquuSearch” and the ARUBAN Police should work together. TIM MILLER also expressed that NATALEE’s disappearance was becoming too much of a political factor between certain high ARUBAN authorities (he specifically mentioned ARUBAN prime minister ODUBER and ARUBAN Police commissioner VAN DER STRATEN having political differences; TIM MILLER stated "politics play a big role there“). He also said that the ARUBAN Police have not performed competent searches. TIM MILLER’s theory is that NATALEE died, she is not now in the “Marriott Hotel” beach but TIM MILLER stated "it is in the transcripts that they did bury her there,” that she was temporarily buried in the 6’ long by 4’ deep “Arikok National Park” hole, then someone was hired to dig her up and dispose of the body.
When ARUBAN Police commissioner VAN DER STRATEN was asked 6-26 why Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT was released, STRATEN told the "AP," “At this moment I don’t know why.“
On 6-26 BEAU BARRON, a high school friend of NATALEE on the Aruba trip, said he remembers being at the bar with Holloway that night, and wonders how it could have turned out differently. "It's always in the back of everybody's mind," he said. “The chaperones are not to blame,” Barron said. "They weren't there to hold our hands," he said. "By no means should this be put on them at all." "We're trying to keep hope alive, nobody's giving up."
On 6-26 after waiving his right NOT to testify against Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT (meaning Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT can testify against Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT ) he is released.
On 6-26, after Current Murder Suspect PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT being released, ANITA VAN DER SLOOT claimed the "AP," “A little bit of the nightmare clouds are now disappearing. The truth will always come forward. From the beginning, I trusted everything would be fine. The most important thing for me now is that my son comes out.”
On 6-26 ARUBA Prosecutor KARIN JANSSEN told the "AP" she refused to comment on the many criticisms and potential implications of negligent law enforcement inactions (i.e. not immediately arresting Prime Murder Suspect JORAN VAN DER SLOOT , Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE and Current Murder Suspect SATISH KALPOE , giving the boys 10 days to sanitize any potential evidence, etc) saying, “I can’t comment on the investigation until it’s over. Investigators must be allowed to do their jobs.” When asked about why the last 3 people seen with NATALEE were questioned but released the same day to go free for 10 days, ARUBA Prosecutor KARIN JANSSEN said “there were tactical reasons” and there was speculation by authorities who “hoped the freed young men might lead them to a clue.” (it was also claims when they were released, “the 3 boys were under surveillance” ((including telephones and cellular phones monitoring)) and Investigators installed a GPS tracking device on Current Murder Suspect DEEPAK KALPOE's car) “Meticulous Police work takes time. You have to build up an investigation. You can’t just go in there like a cowboy,” ARUBA Prosecutor KARIN JANSSEN said when asked why Investigators had waited more than two weeks to search the Murder Suspects SLOOT's home for only 4 hours.
The UNITED STATES F.B.I. scaled back to 3 agents in ARUBA by 6-26.
On 6-26 MARCIA TWITTY stated, "Somebody down there knows where NATALEE is." "Nobody wants anyone to be falsely accused. We're hoping for answers." "We are somewhat surprised at the release of the dad because we have felt all along he knew more than what he was saying. He has answers that she (BETH) so desperately needs." "BETH is not coming home without NATALEE. For any mom out there, I think they can understand that." "We have to hope the ARUBAN government has a handle on this and knows what they are doing and acting in NATALEE's best interest."
On 6-26 the “MagerWager.com” forum identity “clevfan” wrote “On a side note, a girl I spoke to down there that told me the searchers was focusing on a site that she said the fishermen told her about other day, a strong odor was coming from the sand there, so I guess tomorrow we will see. It is not too far from her home, and so hopefully we will hear something tomorrow.” ….(later) “adding, that my friend just said the mom of Natalee was brought to the area that they were searching late today with strong odor in sand, all the streets were closed off to there now too, not that mean it definite, but it could very well mean that this is what they looking for”
On 6-26 the “AP” reported:

More questions than answers in ArubaSome wonder about handling of disappearanceSUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2005By Peter PrengamanAssociated Press WriterORANJESTAD, Aruba — As the mystery of a missing Alabama honors student drags on, questions abound about Aruban authorities' handling of the Dutch Caribbean island's highest-profile case in decades.Why were the young men last seen with 18-year-old Natalee Holloway left free for days after she disappeared May 30, the last day of a five-day high school graduation trip with 124 other students?Why did police wait 16 days after she went missing before searching the home of the Dutch youth who was flirting with her? Why did Aruban officials ask the FBI to send divers, who came to the island but never searched its waters?AnalysisCriminal experts say these apparent mishaps could make it harder for Aruban investigators to crack the case and may ultimately prevent the Holloway family from ever knowing what happened.Attorney General Caren Janssen refused to comment on the criticism, saying only, "I can't comment on the investigation until it's over. Investigators must be allowed to do their jobs."Joran van der Sloot, 17, and Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, were the last ones seen with Holloway, an honors student from Mountain Brook. Her passport and packed bags were found in her room.After a night of eating, drinking and dancing at Carlos' N' Charlie's restaurant, the three men told police they took Holloway to a northern beach before dropping her off at her hotel around 2 a.m.The three were questioned soon after she disappeared but were not arrested until June 9. At the time, Janssen cited "tactical reasons" and there was speculation authorities hoped the freed young men might lead them to a clue.That was an error, according to Joseph Pollini, a criminal justice professor at John Jay College in New York, where he spent 33 years as a homicide detective."Once released, it's problematic because somebody surely coached them," he said. "A lawyer wouldn't be worth his weight in salt if he didn't tell them simply not to say anything."Pollini doubted any confession was now possible.Instead, authorities arrested two former hotel security guards, apparently because the young men told police they had last seen Holloway in the parking lot of her hotel, being approached by a black security guard.The guards, both black, were released a week later, and one, Antonius "Mickey" John, said that while in jail one of the brothers told him they had never taken Holloway back to her hotel but had dropped her off with van der Sloot at a beach neighboring the Marriott Hotel.June 14 searchInvestigators led a massive and fruitless search of Malmok beach June 14.Only the following day, 16 days after Holloway went missing, did investigators search the van der Sloot house, seizing two vehicles, computers and cameras."They should have immediately done a forensic sweep of van der Sloot's house, his car, his clothing, and done the same with the Surinamese boys," said Ron Watson, a retired Alabama police chief who runs a crime scene reconstruction business. "You've got 48 hours after a disappearance, after that you are in the red zone and may never find the person."Police did not interrogate the Dutch suspect's father, Paul van der Sloot, until June 17. In a surprise move, they arrested him Thursday.A court appearance for the father, a judge-in-training on the island, was postponed from Saturday to today because the judge was unable to make it to Aruba from nearby Curacao.Also Saturday, a defense lawyer confirmed that Satish Kalpoe admitted lying to police when he told them that he, his brother and his Dutch friend dropped Holloway off alone at her hotel on the night she disappeared.Satish now claims that he and his 21-year-old brother, Deepak, dropped Holloway and 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot off together at the Marriott hotel, then went home.He lied initially "to help his friends, but said at a certain moment, 'I can't help you anymore,' " his lawyer, David Kock, told The Associated Press. He did not elaborate.Authorities also have arrested a 26-year-old party boat disc jockey, Steve Gregory Croes.Nobody has been charged in the case.Beth Holloway Twitty, the missing girl's mother, has said the younger van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers know more than they are saying. She also said before the elder van der Sloot's arrest that she might suspect authorities were protecting the son because of his father's standing as a high-ranking judicial official.Aruban authorities have defended their handling of the case, saying meticulous police work takes time."You have to build up an investigation. You can't just go in there like a cowboy," Janssen said last week when asked why investigators waited more than two weeks to search the van der Sloot home.



On 6-26 CBS News reported:

Two Aruba Murder Suspects Freed
Justice Official, DJ, Released In Case Of Missing Alabama Teen
(CBS/AP) The father of a Dutch suspect arrested in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager was freed from jail on Sunday, hours after a judge ordered the release of a party boat disc jockey also held in the case. Paul van der Sloot, a high-ranking justice official studying to be a judge on the Dutch Caribbean island, had been arrested Thursday as a suspect for collaborating in a crime with his 17-year-old son, according to his lawyer. "A little bit of the nightmare clouds are now disappearing," van der Sloot's wife, Anita, told The Associated Press. "The truth will always come forward. From the beginning, I trusted everything would be fine." Anita van der Sloot said the most important thing for her now "is that my son comes (out) free." Earlier Sunday, a judge also ordered police to release Steven Gregory Croes, the party boat disc jockey held in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, saying authorities did not have enough evidence against him, the man's lawyer said. Croes, 26, was one of five people held in the case of the 18-year-old young woman last seen in the early hours of May 30. No one has been charged, including the last person reportedly seen with her, 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot. Now that the case has drawn global attention there's tremendous pressure on the Aruban authorities to solve it. But they don't seem any closer now to finding Natalee Holloway than they were on the day she vanished, CBS News Correspondent Aleen Sirgany reports. Croes, who was detained June 17, will be released Monday, said his lawyer, Eleni Lotter-Homan. He is a disc jockey on the party boat Tattoo, which offers nightly dining, dancing and swimming and docks near the Holiday Inn hotel where Holloway had been staying on Aruba, a Dutch protectorate. "The judge agreed there is not enough proof he was involved to keep holding him," Lotter-Homan said. Police superintendent Jan van der Straaten said the court also ordered Paul van der Sloot released. "At this moment I don't know why," he told The Associated Press. Still jailed are the young van der Sloot and his friends, Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18. Van der Straaten said the judge on Sunday ordered their detention extended another week. Under Dutch law, a suspect can be held for up to 116 days without charge if a judge decides police have good reason.
Elsewhere on the Dutch Caribbean island, volunteer rescuers from Texas led a sniffer dog over land and combed the ocean bottom with sonar in a renewed search for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, who went missing nearly a month ago. One volunteer admitted they're looking for a body. "It's sad, but we know we are not going out there to find someone alive," said Ralph Baird, a petroleum engineer from Houston helping in the new search started Saturday by Dickinson-based Texas EquuSearch. The lawyer for one of two Surinamese brothers in court confirmed Saturday that Satish Kalpoe, 18, admitted lying to police when he told them that he and his brother and their Dutch friend dropped Holloway off alone at her hotel, the Holiday Inn, the night she disappeared. Satish now claims that he and his brother, Deepak Kalpoe, 21, dropped Holloway and 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot off together at the Marriott hotel and then went home. He lied initially "to help his friends, but said at a certain moment, 'I can't help you anymore,'" his lawyer, David Kock, told The Associated Press. He did not elaborate. Joran's mother, Anita van der Sloot, 49, told the AP last week that he, too, had changed his story, admitting that he and Holloway were alone together at a beach. But she said he insists he left her there and did not hurt her. The court hearing for the Kalpoes, van der Sloot and his father, 52-year-old Paul van der Sloot, started Sunday before a judge imported specially from neighboring Curacao island. Texas EquuSearch's 24 volunteers, including eight rescue divers, arrived late Friday at the request of Natalee's uncle, Paul Reynolds, who lives in Houston. They brought four specialized dogs as well as the sonar equipment, which technicians could be observed testing on a dock near the Holiday Inn, the same hotel Natalee had stayed in. "Basically today we're going to be doing both water and ground searches," searcher Joe Houston said. "We're also planning on doing drift searches, where we put four or five divers in the water - probably 20 yards apart - and they basically drift in a line doing visual searches in areas where the boat and the sonar can't really get in to." EquuSearch director Tim Miller said their search could cost up to $100,000 and that his group has already raised about $25,000. "No matter what happens, we can't leave without Natalee," he said.