PALM BEACH, Aruba (CNN) -- Police are draining a flood pond near a beach where two brothers say they dropped off Natalee Holloway and a judge's son on the day the missing Alabama teen disappeared.
Searchlights guided Aruban firefighters overnight as they pumped at least 3,600 gallons of water a minute, or two inches an hour. The pumping began about 9 p.m. Tuesday, a spokesman at the scene told CNN.
Authorities said Wednesday it may take days to fully drain the catch basin.
The catch basin did not contain water when Holloway disappeared but filled with rain as Hurricane Emily brushed the island last week. After the basin is drained, authorities expect to dredge the bottom.
Earlier Tuesday, two law enforcement sources close to the investigation told CNN a local gardener gave them information about the pond that made them want to search it for Holloway's body.
I suspect that the reason they are draining the pond is because they are looking for a murder weapon, most likely a knife. In my travels in the Caribbean and Central America I have noticed that it is very common for young men in particular to carry knives. And it wouldn't have to be very big either. Remember, O.J. killed two people with a Swiss Army knife.