Aruba's Attorney General Karin Janssen speaks to the Associated Press in her office in Oranjestad, Aruba, Friday, July 1, 2005, regarding the case of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch)
Posted on 07/02/2005 7:18:33 PM PDT by Libloather
Dutch Sending Jets to Find Missing Teen
By PETER PRENGAMAN, Associated Press Writer
11 minutes ago
Aruba's Attorney General Karin Janssen speaks to the Associated Press in her office in Oranjestad, Aruba, Friday, July 1, 2005, regarding the case of missing Alabama teen Natalee Holloway. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch)
ORANJESTAD, Aruba - Holland will send three F-16 warplanes rigged with search equipment to find Natalee Holloway, Aruban authorities said Saturday, as U.S. lawmakers increased pressure on the Aruban government to do more to find the Alabama teenager nearly five weeks since she disappeared.
The three planes, equipped with infrared and sonar-scanning capacity, were expected to arrive Sunday afternoon, said Aruban government spokesman Ruben Trapenberg.
Trapenberg said the planes were being sent after Aruban Justice Minister Rudy Croes requested more help from Holland, the Caribbean island's former colonizer.
"Both the justice minister and the prime minister feel that Holland can help us reach a resolution with this," said Trapenberg.
This week both Sen. Richard Shelby, a Republican from Alabama, and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley, wrote letters to Aruban Prime Minister Nelson Oduber urging the government to do more and let the FBI play a larger role in the investigation.
"With every passing day, I become increasingly concerned that the current investigation has reached a dead end," Shelby wrote in a letter dated July 1. "It's unfathomable that the Aruban government would not take advantage of the full spectrum of resources, personnel and expertise of the FBI."
Seven FBI agents have had an observatory role on the island since a few days after Holloway disappeared on May 30, but have repeatedly said they don't have jurisdiction to direct the searches or investigation.
Trapenberg said calls for an increased FBI presence don't make sense. "It's fine to have the FBI here, but if you send in more agents are you saying the ones here are not any good?" he said.
The teen's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, said the U.S. pressure showed that family members aren't alone in their frustration with the pace of the investigation.
"It has become increasingly difficult to simply wait and see what happens," Holloway Twitty, a 44-year-old speech pathologist, said in an interview Saturday with The Associated Press.
The mother said the family was "graciously pleading" with the FBI and Holland to do more to find her daughter.
"It would be comforting for us if they were more active in this investigation," said Holloway Twitty. "We must demand and expect that Natalee be returned to her country."
Holloway, 18, from Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared on the last of a five-day graduation trip with 124 classmates.
Island-wide searches — which have included Aruban police, the FBI, Dutch Marines, a rescue group from Texas and thousands of volunteers — have produced nothing.
Three young men have been detained in the disappearance: Dutch teenager Joran van der Sloot and his friends, Surinamese brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18.
Trapenberg said Friday that the three young men have not been formally charged but could be as soon as Monday. Trapenberg has not said what charges could be filed against the three. They were scheduled to go before a judge Monday to learn if their detentions would be extended another 60 days. Under Dutch law that governs Aruba, a protectorate of the Netherlands, detainees can be held 116 days before being charged by a judge.
Trapenberg said Friday that the three young men have not been formally charged but could be as soon as Monday.
The three were the last ones seen with Holloway the night she disappeared. They were arrested June 9 and on Monday were expected to go before a judge who would decide whether to extend their detention an additional 60 days while prosecutors prepare their case.
Vipers as search planes? They've got to be kidding. What a desperate bunch of numb-nuts running the show.
?????
"The three planes, equipped with infrared and sonar-scanning capacity"
I wonder if the Dutch ever figured out how to get that supersonic sonar working?
I just don't see how three F16's can find a body from flight level. They must think we're all idiots and don't know any better. Modern day keystone cops.
They're probably just carrying the modernized LANTIRN pod, which includes a new FLIR system that is reported to be very sensitive.
Best they send 7,500 trained lobsters to interrogate Aruban crabs. They'd get a better answer, quicker.
I know what FLIR is. What is LANTIRN?
infrared works on heat, how much body heat do they think is left in a dead body laying around for a month??? please...
And to think of how much global warming will be caused from these jets just TAKING OFF! Crap - I'm gonna lose sleep tonight...
You can actually locate shallow graves with IR systems, provided that they are sensitive enough and there isn't too much overhead cover.
This is a joke, right?
Imagine one of these babys knocking on YOUR door.
How about a few F-16's of our own to patrol our southern border?
Yes I'm afraid she's been reduced to fish droppings at this point and time.
Interesting. Still, seems like longshot to find a body that has probably been cold for six weeks. The Dutch are trying (poorly) to save face.
Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night
Do you know who is paying for this entire search mission? I have a feeling that this missing teen is costing us big bucks. Who will pay the bill if she is found? And who will pay the bill if she is not found? I wish to know...
Hell, I'd run 'em off with my varmint guard .22!
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