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View Full Version : Two men charged in Aruba missing student case



LH Panther Mom
06-06-2005, 05:42 AM
Teenager from Alabama disappeared six days ago
Monday, June 6, 2005 Posted: 1:24 AM EDT (0524 GMT)

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) -- Police in Aruba have charged two security guards with crimes related to the disappearance of an 18-year-old Alabama student.

Aruba chief prosecutor Karen Janssen declined to specify the charges related to the Natalee Holloway missing person case.

Authorities will hold the men for at least two days, Janssen said Sunday.

Police Chief Jan van Strantan said the two men are security guards at the Hotel Allegro, which is near the Holiday Inn where Holloway was staying.

At a Sunday news conference, van Strantan said police and the FBI determined that bloodstains on a mattress found earlier Sunday were from a dog.

Van Strantan called for the assistance of FBI diving teams to assist in the search.

He said authorities have not found any of Holloway's possessions among items police seized after taking the two men into custody at their homes in the southwestern Aruba town of San Nicolas.

The men were seen leaving their respective houses calmly and without resistance.

The men, ages 28 and 30, were not among the three men in whose company Holloway was last seen.

Police spent much of Saturday afternoon at Hotel Allegro, which is undergoing renovations. They refused to say what led them to the site or if they found anything.

Police said they have not ruled out kidnapping or foul play, but they insisted they are conducting their investigation as a missing person case.

Holloway last seen Monday
Holloway -- from the affluent Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook -- was last seen about 1:30 a.m. last Monday leaving Carlos 'n' Charlie's, an Oranjestad nightclub.

Witnesses said she left in a car with three local men between the ages of 18 and 25.

Authorities said they talked to the three men who left with her. The men said they took Holloway to Arashi Beach before leaving her at her hotel about 2 a.m., authorities said.

Holloway's uncle, Paul Reynolds, said he was told security cameras did not show his niece returning to the hotel that night, according to an Associated Press report. Police declined to comment on that report, the AP said.

"We're still looking, we're still hoping she's alive," Rudie Soemers, police night watch commander, told CNN.

In a Saturday news conference in Birmingham, Holloway's aunt, Marcia Twitty, said that based on information police relayed to the family, "We feel that we will have a definitive answer in 24 hours."

Rewards and yellow ribbons
Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, who flew to Aruba to help search efforts, said about 20 to 40 of Holloway's classmates saw her leave.

Holloway was on the trip to Aruba with about 100 Mountain Brook High School students to celebrate their graduation.

Marcia Twitty said the Holloway family "absolutely" believes the seven parent chaperones on the Aruba trip did all they could.

Holloway is a straight-A student and a member of the National Honor Society and the school's dance team. She has an academic scholarship to the University of Alabama.

The family has posted a $50,000 reward for any information leading to her whereabouts.

A family representative said the money was donated in $10,000 increments from the Aruban Tourist Board, the family, the Aruban government, an anonymous donor and the additional $10,000 from various other sources.

The family has asked members of the Mountain Brook community to post yellow ribbons in her honor. In addition, some area youths are making bracelets. Daily prayer services are being held for Holloway.

She is described as being 5 feet 4 inches tall and 110 pounds. The FBI announced Saturday a tip line for Holloway. People with any information are encouraged to call 1-877-628-2533.

CNN's Karl Penhaul contributed to this report.


http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/06/05/missing.teen/index.html