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Police: Judge arrested in connection with disappearance of teen in Aruba

Police: Judge arrested in connection with disappearance of teen in Aruba

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) — An Aruban judge, the father of a 17-year-old suspect in the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, has also been arrested in the case, a prosecution spokesperson said Thursday.

Paul Van Der Sloot is now being viewed as a suspect in the case of Natalee Holloway, a missing 18-year-old from suburban Birmingham, Alabama, Mariaine Croes said. He was arrested about 2 p.m. Thursday.

On Wednesday, Holloway's mother said more individuals "need to be pursued" in connection with the case.

Beth Holloway Twitty said she's sure the four young men in custody -- but not formally charged in the case -- have more information to divulge.

"I have no doubt that they know what and who and where and when and why and how. I have no doubt," Twitty said on NBC's "Today Show."

"The only thing I think there are some other individuals, though, that need to be pursued, and I know the local authorities are doing that and will be doing that," she added.

Twitty told CNN's "American Morning" she met Tuesday with the parents of 17-year-old Joran Van Der Sloot, one of the people in custody. He's one of the last people reported to have seen Holloway.

She said the Van Der Sloots invited her into their home, when she was handing out prayer cards in their neighborhood.

Twitty refused to give details about their 90-minute discussion.

"I think I walked away with the confirmation that we still have some individuals that we need to pursue," she said.

Holloway, an 18-year-old honors student from the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, disappeared May 30 after she left a nightclub with Van Der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, ages 21 and 18 respectively, authorities said.

She was in Aruba with about 100 classmates to celebrate their recent graduation.

The three men and a fourth suspect, 26-year-old disc jockey Steve Croes, face accusations of two counts of murder and one count of kidnapping leading to murder.

None have been formally charged, and Twitty says she has seen "no evidence whatsoever" that her daughter is dead.

Defense attorneys for Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoes have said their clients maintain their innocence.

Meanwhile, four members of a Texas-based search-and-rescue team were scheduled to arrive in Aruba late Wednesday to begin planning their search for Holloway, said Tim Miller, director and founder of Texas EquuSearch.

Members of the group will meet with Aruban government officials and Holloway's family as soon as they arrive, Miller told CNN Wednesday.

The team has been delayed because of problems getting a charter flight and permission for their four search dogs to travel to the Caribbean island, Miller said.

All elements of the team should be in place Friday, he explained, including a side-scan sonar device that can peer 800 feet down into the ocean.

Miller founded Texas EquuSearch several years after the 1984 disappearance of his own daughter. Miller's efforts to find her were frustrated by a lack of help from authorities who thought she was a runaway. She later was found murdered in Texas, according to the group's Web site.

"I know what the Holloways are going through right now ... [we're going to] try to do everything possible to locate this child," Miller said.