I'm praying they find something in the pond, but I have my doubts too. I was thinking they had put her in the ocean, but wouldn't they have worried that her body would have floated to shore? There would have been no guarantees that it wouldn't have.
I still think that the father of Vandersloot knows something and THAT makes me very angry too.
Evening Natalee Holloway Update
http://www.hyscience.com/archives/2005/07/afternoon_natal.php
[Latest info is at bottom of post.]
Here's a quick update via email from the intrepid and 'right to the point' reader, HarryTho:
First, outside of Arlene Ellis-Schipper, Ruben Trappenburg may be the most professional representative of the Aruban government. I would believe anything that he says. It is good that your blog quotes Ruben.
Second, concerning the Racket Club visits by Joran and his friends. Joran is a member of the Racket Club. His visits there are understandable. As for the lost shoe angle, since the car has been sighted near the Racket Club, beginning with the 28th of May, it is quite possible that the shoe was lost earlier and has nothing to do with Natalee's disappearance. Additionally, TJ Ward admitted on Fox News to be working (as an agent) for the Dairio newspaper. Despite his professed allegiance to the Twitty's, Ward is essentially a spokesperson for Josie Mansur. Accordingly, representations by Ward, promoting Josie Mansur's exposes, should be taken as such. He is being paid to represent Josie Mansur. Naturally, his comments have to be taken in that context.
Third, as an addition, little is being revealed about the follow up investigation into the comments made by Police Chief van der Stratten to Laura Allison, concerning the lead of an eyewitness to an accosting of Natalee along the shoreline between the Marriott and the Holiday Inn. This is the lead, I believe, that links Natalee to Venezuela.
Fourth, little is being reported about the male DNA found on Natalee's toothbrush. If the toothbrush was in her room, it would seem to redirect the investigation to the Mountain Brook teens. As I am to understand, this is the only DNA evidence obtained form the forensic laboratories in the Holland and the USA.
Dan at Riehl World View, posts that Diario is reporting that Natalee's body has been found, although Dan seems to doubt it and writes that he has been unable to confirm the Diario report.
From Scared Monkeys: Natalee's body has NOT been found, AND Natalee will not be found in the pond that police and fire brigade are draining. They say that for the following reasons:
– The Police have already searched the area
– Texas Equusearch has already searched the area
– The Dutch F-16 Jets have already searched the area
– Four to six weeks ago there wasn’t any pond there, as the majority of the water that is there came from the hurricane that passed over the island.
Sounds reasonable to me
8:15 PM Update: Another HarryTho summary:
Ruben Trappenburg confirms the AP report on the FBI's negative results on the duct tape and hair. In the interview by Fox News, Ruben states that new witness that claims to have seen Joran and the Kalpoes is a South American and seems credible. My question, after so many days, how sure is the witness that the day he saw Joran and Kalpoes was the very day that Natalee disappeared? With other reports of seeing the car on many days prior to the day in question, he could be wrong on the day.
Dr. Cyril Wecht, coroner, proposed some interesting theories about how Natalee could have demised by falling into the water and asphyxiating. Currents around the island of Aruba disprove his theory: anything buoyant, falling into the ocean, would be returned to the shore. However, he details how Natalee's body would have been devoured by sea predators and crustaceans by now. Interestingly, he seems to hint at a self-inflicted demise. More interestingly, no one has discussed, publicly, the reason for Natalee increase in weight from her 3 May 2005 prom picture and her pictures taken in Aruba. One estimate was a 10% increase in body weight. I believe that it is safe to assume that Natalee was under some form of pressure in order to gain weight so dramatically.
Dr. Casey Jordan, criminologist, believes Natalee's body is on land, since it has not washed ashore. Wecht disproves her contention. Jordan's entire position centers around the conflicting testimony of the three kids.
Scared Monkeys has evening posts - They are planning searching the pond and the landfill in the morning. Also, some background information on the landfill in Aruba.
More coming soon ...
Posted by Hyscience at July 28, 2005 03:23 PM
Piece of clothing found on side of pond per Tito Lacle.
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Strands of hair found in Aruba did not come from missing U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said Thursday.
The hair, which was found attached to duct tape on July 17, was subjected to genetic testing at the FBI crime lab in Quantico, Virginia, and the results showed they did not come from the 18-year-old who has been missing for two months, said spokeswoman Judy Orihuela.
"The results were negative," said Orihuela. "It wasn't Natalee's hair."
A park ranger found the duct tape on July 17 while collecting trash on Aruba's northeast coast — the opposite side of the island from where the Alabama woman was last seen in public.
Testing was also conducted on a sample of the hair at a crime lab in the Netherlands, but the results were not immediately available.
The news came as authorities in Aruba neared the end of an effort to drain a pond near a hotel and tennis club that has become a focus in the investigation. Holloway disappeared on May 30 on the final night of a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island.
Crews expected to finish draining the pond on Friday, said Gabriel Kelly, a spokesman for the island's fire department, which was coordinating the effort.
"So far we haven't found anything out of the ordinary," Kelly said.
A lawyer for Holloway's mother and stepfather said the search was prompted by a witness who came forward last week and reported seeing three young men, including the Dutch youth who has been detained in the case, near the pond on the night of the teenager's disappearance.
The witness told investigators that he saw Joran van der Sloot, 17, and two Surinamese brothers driving near the pond on May 30 between 2:30 and 3 a.m. — a time they previously told investigators they were already home — said the attorney, Vinda de Sousa.
Holloway, from Mountain Brook, Alabama, vanished after an evening at a nightclub that she left with the three young men, hours before she was to fly home at the end of a trip with 124 classmates.
No one has been charged in the case and van der Sloot is the only person detained as a suspect. The Surinamese brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, were previously held and released.