Natalee Holloway - Case Discussion Extended Thread 7

Various News Sources | 7/14/05

[monkeywrench]

"was a terrible poker player."

"He kept buying back in, and finally he got knocked out when they stopped buy-ins," Pooch said. "He was a terrible bluffer . . . He was a young, excitable kid. He wore the sunglasses and the baseball cap like they do on TV, but even that didn't help."

Van Der Sloot must have had a habit of losing money in the poker room of the Holiday Inn-Aruba. "It seemed like everyone knew him there," Pooch said. "It was his hangout. He knew all the dealers by name. He was a local yokel."

Money laundering.

[SunnyUsa]

I watched the mom on Greta's show last night....she's very courageous but so determined I really admire her.

She deserves our prayers and support....if it wasn't for her and her family's steadfast work and pressure - that jUron would be partying away at the casinos.

let's hope justice is served.

[smore]

One thing for sure if this is not kept in the spot light she will never be found, which really is sad...so I say keep talking about it and even more. My son-in-law is serving our country now, my brother-in-law served in Vietnam, my dad in Korea, and my grandfather in WWII. They all pray and feel for this family and all families but certainly do not feel it is slighting those serving or missing. This is a tradgedy which could happen to ANYONE ANYWHERE and Beth has done more than she will ever know through this horrible ordeal by getting the message out and having it be heard. We all know once the media leaves she is the only voice for her daughter. I know it has certainly made all of my family reemphasize the rules! So thank God for friends like you who defend her and her actions and by all means add me to the list. I am sorry but I would everything in my power to bring my child home.

[upstatenyrepublican]

Thank you for discussing this. I check FR every day to see if there is any news in the case. It is the one place where people who care bring information. I keep thinking that the dogs need to go to the Van der Sloot's place. That father wasn't sweating profusely for no reason while Gretta interviewed him!

[milemark]

The moral of THIS story: Parents, don't let your pretty young girls leave the country on a senior trip - it just might be their last trip anywhere

Pretty young girls take their last trip anywhere right here in the U.S. OF A. Sometimes in their own neighborhood. The world is a dangerous place, including the piece of it we're standing on at any given moment.

[GarySpFc]

Van Der Sloot must have had a habit of losing money in the poker room of the Holiday Inn-Aruba. "It seemed like everyone knew him there," Pooch said. "It was his hangout. He knew all the dealers by name. He was a local yokel."

Money laundering.

I seriously doubt Joran could lose enough money to make it worth the Mafia's time. No, their money laundrying is handled through bookkeeping.

[GarySpFc]

I found the following post by a Mountain Brook friend, Justin T, of Natalee on SM:

For Natalee to have gotten in that car alone something very very out of the ordinary happened. She would just never do that under normal circumstances.

[ken5050]

If the Aruba justice system fails totally, look for Beth to start a boycott of Aruba..and it will be devastatingly effective..That's her best shot....to ratchet up the pressure on the island..to make somehting happen..

[stopem]

That may be true, but if it were my kid, I would be grateful for people to be discussing it, so that maybe things would get improved in the future (out of sight, out of mind, doesn't get things done).

But than I have to ask, what has keeping it in the spotlight accomplished for the family or accomplished for finding Natalee?

[spectre]

Good morning..FR Sleuthers :)

Today is the big day!

TexKat, I read that the medication Natalee had was an Inhaler? Has anyone mentioned that she could have had an asthma attack when she was with the three young men? There are many reasons for an asthma attack..emotional stress..etc.

I just don't buy the report that Natalee punched Joran. There was no reason a friend of hers would have held that back.

sw

[stopem]

Well we did the most POWERFUL THING YOU CAN EVER DO..... PRAY!!!

I think this story is representative of all the evil in the world. So in a sense Natalee is representative of all the missing people, and it represents what pain ALL Parents face when something like this happens. And that means the mother AND the father it is not just the mother that feels the agony, and I say that from experience as a mother and a grandmother.

All of us face fears of what may happen to any of our Daughters and our Sons and we hope by helping another parent who is facing the worse PAIN any parent or grandparent can face somehow we can help.

Are we diminishing all those other things that you mention that are equally important by praying for a lost child? Absolutely NOT!

[gopheraj]

I agree and who says people can't be concerned about more than one thing?! We all should be concerned when a person disappears in a seemingly safe place like Aruba where loads of people go to vacation. If Natalee hadn't had a bear of a mama and gotten the media involved, Natalee would have been just another one to quietly disappear.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

But than I have to ask, what has keeping it in the spotlight accomplished for the family or accomplished for finding Natalee?

Well I believe that it may have kept two innocent men from being framed and that it at least put some pressure on the likely suspect, who probably would've walked after a perfunctory ineterview otherwise.

[spectre]

Yes. Excellent point.

sw

[Quilla]

Good morning! Thanks for the new thread. Again, as the mom of a 19 year old, beautiful Alabama girl, I'm still praying for a miracle.

[stopem]

And what if they do walk today? I pray they dont.
And when I asked that ques out of frustration, I was saying that if the perp (suspect) walks today than has keeping it in the spotlight helped or hindered the case or neither?

Making us aware of the problems Americans face when we leave our country was good so I am glad the media made us aware, but what have we as Americans done to help find Natalee in that foreign country? Other than as I said we did the most powerful thing we could and that is to PRAY! Prayer has power!

[cajungirl]

Why are you here?

[gopheraj]

Exactly, Sunny. If no one keeps the media attention up, then whoever is responsible for her disappearance is going to get away scott free. (my money is on the smarmy smirky little joran)

[WestCoastGal]

Thank you TexKat, your pings to new information are so much appreciated. I usually can't keep up with the thread since it goes so fast. I know how much time it takes to keep a thread going like this for us, thank you.

I found the transcripts of Joe and Nancy's shows very interesting since I usually don't watch those. I do love Nancy Grace, I wish she was on Fox!

I pray today that everyone of the three scumbags are sent back to the hoosegow!!

Thank God for Tim Miller of EquuSearch, he is one very special person.

[SunnyUsa]

Hi gopher! How are you?

That mom is amazing - we could all learn from her determination - that creep will not get away with this!

What got me last night was finding out that the lies started the minute he met her and her friends - he said he was a "tourist" from Holland.....this guy was out of control for a long time and his parents raised a sociopath who has no conscience.