Don't think I have seen this posted before. This is incredible and shows what the family has been going through with the keystone cops down there.
http://www.bwcitypaper.com/
Read the article "Naked Birmingham" about halfway down the page.
Bama
Fascinating article, thanks for posting that.
A few other interesting quotes:
There were varying descriptions of Joran, ranging from model student athlete to casino playboy (he met Natalee in a casino). He is tall, handsome, and looks older than his age. His friends, Satish and Deepak, also sons of wealth and privilege, were described to me by a local islander "as bad men who mistreat women." One scenario has the trio involved in a seedy scam that involves meeting attractive female tourists, learning the date of their departure, and taking advantage of them on their final night in town.
And:
The family was informed, however, that paying $1,000 to a certain official might make him work harder to find Natalee. Friends of the family concluded about that official that "no sum of money could make him smart enough to help us."
Excellent article. This is what we have suspected all along--the foot-dragging and equiovocations of island authorities were a ploy to pacify Natalee's relatives. Uppermost in Arubans' concerns is not the fate of Natalee Holloway, but the dent her disappearance is putting in their two foremost trades: tourism and drug trafficking.
I will never never set foot on that island, or anyplace else in the western Caribbean.
If you want a nice safe island experience, Bermuda is the place to go.