Texas EquuSearch volunteers prepare to search a rock quarry for missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway in Noord, Aruba, Monday, June 27, 2005, near the home of one of the three detained suspects in the case. (AP Photo/People Magazine,Mark Jansen, Pool)
Aruba wants Dutch Marines to aid in search
6/28/2005, 4:49 p.m. CT By PETER PRENGAMAN The Associated Press
ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) — Aruba's leader sought renewed help from Dutch Marines in the search for a young Alabama woman as the mothers of both the missing teen and a student jailed in the case criticized investigators for failing to find the truth.
Beth Holloway Twitty, mother of missing 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, said Tuesday she was crushed by the release of a justice official who had been arrested last week on suspicion of collaborating with his 17-year-old son in Holloway's disappearance.
On Sunday, police freed Paul van der Sloot after a judge ruled there was not sufficient cause to continue holding him. His son, Joran, is still in custody.
"That was a huge blow to us," Holloway Twitty told ABC's "Good Morning America." "We were devastated."
Holloway Twitty repeatedly has told reporters that she is convinced the Dutch father and son know more than they are telling. Holloway Twitty and others tracked down the van der Sloots the day Natalee disappeared, acting on tips and amateur detective work that revealed the younger van der Sloot was among the last people to be with her.
Holloway Twitty also has said that if investigators don't make progress soon, she may start to believe that they are trying to cover up something.
"The government, they are going to have to step forward and pull me through it and assure me where we are going and assure me we are making progress and assure me we will have Natalee," she told ABC.
But Joran's mother, Anita van der Sloot, insisted on her family's innocence in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press.
She also expressed frustration with police, claiming that they were focusing on the van der Sloots only because they were stymied in their efforts.
"Why is the finger being pointed at Joran? Because he's the son of a judge?" she asked. "But there is no proof he did anything. Investigators have lost control (of the case) and don't know what to do anymore."
Van der Sloot said her family has been devastated since Holloway disappeared in the early hours of May 30.
"Our lives, and the life of a young teenager, have been destroyed," she said. "For us, the most important thing is Natalee and my son."
Both the Holloway Twittys and the van der Sloots "are feeling like they are losing a son or a daughter," said Ricardo Yarzagaray, an Aruban defense lawyer not connected to the case.
"This is one of the aspects that makes the case so dramatic. For anybody with kids, there are two natural fears: that they'll get arrested for a crime or somehow be a victim."
Aruban officials have said they are doing everything in their power to solve the case and are not protecting, or unduly harassing, anyone.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Nelson Oduber filed a formal request with the Netherlands to send in a new contingent of Dutch Marines based on a recommendation from a Texas volunteer rescue group, Texas EquuSearch, which said it could use the extra help.
Spokesman Ad van der Linde of the Dutch Defense Ministry said around 70 Dutch Marines among several hundred based on the island had assisted in three search mission. "They are definitely prepared to provide additional assistance."
Countless searches by a contingent of Dutch marines stationed in Aruba, as well as Aruban investigators and hundreds of resident and tourist volunteers, have failed to turn up any sign of Holloway.
The young honors student disappeared hours before she was to fly home following a five-day trip with 124 other Alabama students to celebrate their high school graduation. Her passport and packed bags were found in her room.