Natalee Holloway: Telling "The Big Story's" Little Stories

New content from Sunday evening below this post.

Having some modest experience on both sides of journalism over the years - including being interviewed, as well as doing interviews on multiple occasions - I've never come away from being interviewed with 100% satisfaction that what I thought or meant to say going in was always clearly, if even truthfully conveyed.

A recent personal experience was disappointing as it became clear I was there to simply add flavor to a pre-written story line, as opposed to tell any part of the story I actually knew and was prepared to tell going in. But that's an insignificant piece of the Natalee Holloway story.

Unfortunately, what is significant is that now, from talking to a fair number of individuals from Alabama to Aruba with genuine knowledge of this story, it is doubtful if the real and true background story of what happened in and around the disappearance of Natalee Holloway can accurately be told for a long time to come, if ever.

Most everyone I have been talking to who might answer questions as regards certain facts - from a skirmish outside of a bar, to "what Joran was really like," have pulled back inside a shell as defense against a more quick, ever more intrusive and sensationalist-minded media.

My frustration as a media subject started some twenty years ago when I was at the center of a controversy involving a publication I then edited, a story which larger media outlets picked up on and subsequently reported. Today my frustration as a would-be journalist mounts each day from people who say this or that on my site is inaccurate, while informing me that individuals with the "real" story will not come forward because of a previous experience with this or that television outlet, or print or radio report for which they co-operated.

It's a fact that we are living in a time when technology and comunications are advancing rapidly, thereby establishing the means and ways for more and more truths to be told to a public that obviously wants and seeks them, and ever more quickly, at that.

However, it's also becoming increasingly clear that the very vehicle for much of our contemporaneous public truth-seeking, today's so-called "journalism," is perhaps more than any other single factor ultimately responsible for less truth and clarity being brought out.

Maybe this is why as a reader I've always had a fondness for history - though without becoming overly political, even that seems to suffer more and more from a particular bent of revisionism, the application of a template of some pre-formed, non-objective truth in its telling.

Thank God there is always fishing and comic books - neither has ever let me down when I've sought to either contemplate, or simply forget about what might actually be true.

This post is also available at Blogger News Network.

Comments

[steffers]

I guess we should begin preparing ourselves for unanwered questions. Closure doesn't appear to be near, although I hope it comes soon. It's never easy leaving a tragedy like this unresolved. My heart goes out the the family and friends of Natalee and I pray they can come to a point of resolution in their lives, even if the investigation doesn't.

[BamaGrl25]

I agree....I just want the family to have closure one way or the other....They are all in everyone's prayers!!

[Ari]

I agree with Dan. It is indicative that Amy who was very active in the past has not posted anything since June 18. Who would be willing to testify in court with all the media sharpening their knives? Especially in a legal environment in which you can be held without probable cause.

[Lou]

I just about cried when I read this. From what the MSM (AP, ABC News, etc.) is now saying, it appears that Natalee was, in fact, murdered. And we may never find out what really happened.

For those of us that follow this blog regularly, we all had the hope that she was still alive. We speculated, theorized, justified, argued our theories, and maybe subconsciously tried to prepare ourselves for the news that we didnt want to hear or believe.

I never even knew her, but it is still very hard to accept that she was murdered. I can't even imagine the pain that her parents, family and friends are going through right now. It appears she has perished... I say "appears" because I dont really want to believe it myself. The fact of the matter is, though, that it's been almost 4 weeks, and she is nowhere to be found.

I do believe Natalee was far more than a pretty 18-year old girl. She had her whole life ahead of her, and sadly it appears to have been cut short. She will never be able to experience so many of the wondrous things of life... college, marriage, kids, etc. This is so very hard to accept, but it seems like the MSM is trying to prepare us for the worst.

To Beth, Jug, Dave, Robin and the rest of Natalee's family: I am truly sorry for your loss. Please keep in mind the 23rd Psalm. I will be praying for all of you.

[B.M.Neill]

Dan,
The whistful, somewhat sad tone of your post moved me. Moved me so deeply because you articulated what I too feel and have experienced first hand. Some years ago I found myself in the middle of a media storm over a letter I wrote, as a concerned parent, to a small town board of education. Instead of simply responding to my innocuous query, the Board Chair choose to publish my letter and respond to me in the town newspaper. I was horrified because it named me and my question and yet did not provide an answer.
CP press picked up the story and it went on the Canadian Wire service and I became an "instant celebrity" in my small town. The problem was that my then husband, was a high profile and well respected educator in the town. His life became a misery because the media wanted to interview him about my comments in the letter. The man's life was hell until a better victim came along. We weathered the storm, but the marriage buckled under the weight of the media attention. Thank God his career survived.And I never did get the answer to my question but the school board had a field day at my husband's expense. So, I understand all too well why people in Aruba have turtled. I fear we will never know what happened to lovely Natalee Holloway, because as long as no one talks and a body is never found...the suspects will be released. No story. No body.No case.No resolution for the family.
Keep up the good work. Your writings reveal you to be a good man. A real keeper.
Warmly,
bonita

[Mary]

I do not think this case is as simple as one may think. But..we do not have all the details that are documented at present with the ARUBAN government. It could be that one of of us on this board got it right with one of our theories right here on this board. We may never no.
:O)
I hope for the family of Natalle that someone will break their silence and tell what they know at least. Even if they do not know "all" the details. Some would be better than none.

[Iamcanadian]

Apparenty, "top aruban thinks natalee could still be still be alive, just heared it frm fox.

[Iamcanadian]

Then again, there talking about how the collie could be thrown off by the winds.

[AkekoaHoAlethia]

Dan,

you said, "A recent personal experience was disappointing as it became clear I was there to simply add flavor to a pre-written story line, as opposed to tell any part of the story I actually knew and was prepared to tell going in."

I got distinctly the same impression as I reviewed my DVR of last weeks, "BIG STORY."

I know you went there with real information but I then saw you forced to "just fit in!" Yet it was great to meet you there anyway -- and here too.

I just can't figure out when you sleep. But who am I to ask such a question at this time?

I too have sensed what you expressed as, "pulled back inside the shell." I could see it in the faces on the first interviewes as they gave trite answers to serious, probing questions - expecting the whole world to fooled as if one were speaking to a child!

I feel your pain.

Akekoa

[Iamcanadian]

Good night. husband home.

[Iamcanadian]

kay, husband snoring on couch, so i:m good for another hour.

[Mary]

Read my theory I addressed to Island Hopper on the Forum 12. One theory is as good as another and that is all we can do now since we do not have all the details. The case gets stranger as time goes on.

I saw Natalle's mom on TV today. Have not seen her in a couple of days. I was worried about her, as i do not know how much more one lady can take!
She seemed to be in good spirits considering. Was happy to see that.

God bless her. :O)

[Island Hopper]

lol

[Iamcanadian]

Have fox news in the background, nothing new. Husband still snoring.

[Island Hopper]

This is what really bothers me.
Somehow Beth knew from the inside of the VanDerSloot home that Natalee was in that house at 3:15AM on Monday

[Iamcanadian]

Did natalee have a cellphone that can send pictures or save?Is that how she got the info.?

[Websleuthing]

I don't think she's alive, but it would be great if she was, a la Elizabeth Smart.

On the other hand, I posted a link to a Fox news article which said that (and I repeat) NO ONE HAS LOOKED FOR NH IN THE WATER YET.

In other words, the FBI and the Aruban PD have not sent divers down to look for her, and EquuSearch was saying they were disappointed that had not been done yet.

ES has made grids around in the water and on land and has a 70% success rate of finding people. That means that they only fail in 30% of the time, which isn't a lot. I hope the best for ES to find NH, and thus we can get closure, to an extent on this issue.

[AkekoaHoAlethia]

Good morning-

I'not snoring yet 'cause I'm is CA!

Do you know when the Judge will come from Cur tomorrow?

I checked schedule and got this:
Ecoair
Flight 2950 8:00am
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles (CUR) 8:30am
Aruba, Aruba (AUA) 30min - Nonstop

Ecoair
Flight 2992 1:00pm
Curacao, Netherlands Antilles (CUR) 1:30pm
Aruba, Aruba (AUA) 30min - Nonstop

[AkekoaHoAlethia]

I'm sorry - I didn't preview. It looks like I am snoring?

Deepak said he dropped them off at Marriott, then J calls after 1 hour for a ride then TEXT MESSAGE--
45 minutes later and says, "never mind I have a ride. Heraldo said the last - 45 min later was a TEXT MESSAGE

I think that's because J didn't want to "discuss" anything then. He had just done - whatever - with NH and contacted Steve C. with the boat to help him take NH out to sea - beyond the reef where the current flows to panama. Then SC takes him home.

Dad questions J and J gives the fake story about leaving her. This doesn't make sense to a "judge" and J has to come up with some sort of "she drowned" story. So dad knows this is suspicious and tells J to go with the "Hol Inn" story. Then J relays that to Kalpoes and SC.

[Diane]

Dan wrote "However, it's also becoming increasingly clear that the very vehicle for much of our contemporaneous public truth-seeking, today's so-called "journalism," is perhaps more than any other single factor ultimately responsible for less truth and clarity being brought out."

This is part of the interest on my part regarding this news story other than the obvious, hoping for some near impossible happy ending. Watching FOX, the network primarily covering this case, struggle with a culture different than our own. The Aruban government representitives, the suspect's families, the Aruban people themselves behaving so differently than anything I'm use to seeing in the US. Also watching the above mentioned refuse in many cases to play by our media's rules. The truth has become frustratingly elusive, yet the minipulation lacks the sophisticated ploys we're so use to.

[AkekoaHoAlethia]

D

I had to read it twice but then I got it (I think).

I too am a FOXER.

In your last sentence did you mean something like I said above?
"expecting the whole world to fooled as if one were speaking to a child! "

Did you get that impression?

[Cindi in PA]

DAN,

What makes your blog so wonderful, is your desire to report what the issues are, and the facts as well as you know them. MSM too often chooses to not furnish the obvious, because it means more money in their pockets.

Several years ago, we had a local woman arrested for the murder of her non american lover. At the time I was working as a criminal clerk in the courts. A local news paper called requesting information on the case. In my conversation I first asked that my comment not be used in the news, I then stated that in Bucks County, it was easy for a woman to get away with murder and not be sent to jail. Big mistake, the quoated me as a court spokesperson. The next morning the Judge arrived, looked at me and said, nice going spokesperson, lol. For a while I backed off of my tell it like it is attitude, after all, i had a job that I needed. Thank god at the time I had an understanding Judge as my boss. My attitude has changed over the years, I have gone back to telling it like it is, regardless of the aftershock.
Keep up the good work Dan, those of us that only want the truth, regardless are counting on you, after all, you are not making the major bucks in your reporting,you only have one desire, and that is finding out the truth. I commend you for that.

[Mary]

ANYONE.......

W H O IS T H E " A M Y " mentioned in the post above ????

[Mt. Brook Mom]

Dan,

There was a certain woman from another country
that came to the US and over a period of 33 years
frauded many people of millions and millions of
dollars. Everytime the police/authorites in
NY, CA, and even another country tried to close in on her, she fled. But she never counted on the likes of me. :) I too became a victim and went to the police(not in Alabama) and presented two binders of evidence that I had investigatively
collected from many sources. Thus the police dept.
in that City where I was at launched their own investigation which led to a raid and seize of the business. Since then the woman has been conviced of 54 felonies...YES SHE WAS FINALLY CAUGHT AND CONVICTED after evading the police
for 33 years. YEAH!

Thing is I was interviewed by numerous TV reporters, magazines and 48 Hours. But one
magazine sometime later printed in an article
information that was absolutely untrue about me.
And that info hit the AP and is now on the internet forever.

I called the magazine and demanded that the information be retracted but was absolutely ignored. They made a dishonest effort to shade my reputation, demoralize my character. So I can relate to your testimony. I am sorry that happened to you..I hope it will make you more determined to make an honest difference in this world. :)

[Dman]

There was a report a few days ago that another girl in Aruba who was posting on the blogs as "Aruba Girl" was contacted by the Arubian authories and told to stop posting.

Last evening there were some interesting blog posts by "Simian" and "shockthemonkey" @ Scared Monkeys" who appear to be in Aruba and provided comments in a parable like format indicating NH had been murdered...no way to verify if these comments are true.

[Cerulean]

I've had good experiences being in the media. The one thing was that the last time I was featured on the evening news on two stations, they used so little of the interview that people did not understand even the basic jist of what I was saying. The other thing is that I've have my name misspelled too often. Those problems are usually caused by editors, producers or typesetters rather than the reporters, who've been quite good to me. My appearances have mostly been for political and social causes, and I've also set up interviews for others. Always anonymity or the need for pseudonyms was respected. I also was very scrupulous about that when I was a freelance reporter and had a good record of getting people to open up to me. This was all mostly some years ago.

Sorry that happened, Dan. The truth is important. I'm dismayed by that some of the TV coverage is way too sloppy. Fox only started pronouncing Van Der Sloot [Sloat] correctly a few days ago. And then there's Geraldo. He discredits the station. There's way too much speculation instead of investigation. Pick up the phone instead of asking questions of the air.

[Kelli]

I'm not ready to believe these guys are going to walk.If they do,they(Aruba) will suffer the consequences with a direct economy hit.Who will send their children to Aruba if it's clear that all you have to do is make sure the body is never recovered?No one I know,especially on an island that is surrounded by a vast water grave.The chances of this happening again will only increase and more will be murdered.
Not so sure I believe that the Aruban government can make people from there stop posting here either.Seem's alittle far fetched for me.Last I knew,they were free there too?I'm still hoping Joran will crack and say something soon...:(

[Rachel]

Anybody get the riddle yesterday? Following the money couuld refer to the trust ste up at AMSouth

[KDM]

Kelli

From your various posts, I get that you do not believe in the American ideal of "innocent until PROVEN guilty". You don't seem to realize that if these "suspects" were on American soil they NEVER would have been held based on what information that there is out there. I say "information" because we don't have ANY facts with which to make any finding. YOU don't have any facts with which you could say these people are guilty of anything but having had some contact with Natalee. Period.

Again, if these "suspects" were here in America they would not be in jail, they would have counsel and their parents (judge, lawyer or blog potato) would be able tell them to "not say anything" without reprisal and certainly without being arrested.

You, and many others here, seem to want to just get anyone YOU don't like, proof is unnecessary for you. You are no different from a vigilante.
You need to be more reflective and less like a
"hang 'em high harry" we will get the facts after "closure" blogger.

I remain a conservative Californian, (which is not an oxymoron, but a large mass of peoples that go unrepresented because of the size of our state.)

KDM

[Texjsl]

I want to know who else the Aruban officials or FBI has interviewed or questioned and what have they found. I know someone in Natalee's class had to have seen her leaving C&C's. They probably won't talk because the public would criticise her for letting her go with a stranger. Girls are generally jealous of one another so if Natalee was talking to JVDS at the club, you know they were watching and talking about her. If JVDS frequents C&C's, then he probably knows the bartenders and bouncers pretty well. Have they been questioned? What did they have to say? Why haven't any of the news stations interviewed these people and put them on the air?

GHB is cheap, and from what I hear, readily available in Aruba. When I first heard of the drug it was called "liquid ecstacy." When I was in college I had tried the pill form of ecstacy twice. I even tried a little bit of the GHB...once...I felt good for about an hour, then I puked uncontrollably without any indication it was coming. I never tried any of that shit again. I can see how Nat could have been slipped some GHB and it not affect her until she was out of the bar and on her way to what she thought was the hotel.

I think we will find out that JVDS slipped her some GHB, the Kalpoe's knew about it, JVDS was going to get her first, he would call the brothers afterward...she passed out and wouldn't wake up...JVDS panicked and told Deepak about it, Deepak didn't want to come get him to get further involved, JVDS got a ride home from an unidentified source, he text-messaged Deepak because he didn't want his parents to hear the phone. The father found about what happened after the kids were released the first time and coached the boys in what to say. Ultimately, JVDS is guilty of murder.

[Mel]

Dan has done a nice job of tring to keep us all informed and of giving us the opportunity to voice our thoughts, opinions, suppositions and wishes. I know I speak for many when I say we appreciate having somewhere to come for all of the things mentioned above.

I can only imagine the pain and heartache the Holloway/Twitty families must be going through at the moment.

Beth had so much hope and tried to hold onto the hope for every day that Natalee has been missing. Now however, Equusearch is there cleary searching for a body with "cadaver" dogs, sonar equipment, etc. What must it be like for Beth to see that, know that and not be able to do anything substantial to help at this point? I can only imagine and hope to never have to personally find out.

Prayers and hopes still remain that Natalee is alive, but I too fear that they are just that, hopes and prayers.

May God be with the families, and may all of the families and victims, intentional or unintentional, find their way to the answers and closure being sought.

[Cindi in PA]

I guess they can walk, how sad. But then again, the powers that were in place at the time and the laws in place,let Ted Kennedy walk. The amazing part in all of that is that the morons keep voting for him and supporting his criminal actions.

I do however doubt that JVDS will be able to come to this country and study in peace, let's hope not anyway. I have every intention of contacting the college an letting them know how I feel.

[Kelli]

KDM,
Very philosophical but full of crap.You sure got alot of info out of eight sentences.Much of what is way off base.Stick with something you know and not what you speculate someone is saying.What you did get right is this,I do 100% believe Joran Van Der Sloot is guilty and his papa helped him cover it up.All bets are off on the rest but not these two.Everyone is titled to their own opinion's rather some like it or not..............

[RstJ]

The Alabama side clammed up a long time ago. Around June 10, actually. Right after Bryan Reynolds talked about the "scuffle" outside Cn'C's.

The exact same day the "confession" was all over the news.

Probably just a coincidence. ;)

RstJ

[Ari]

Kelli:

"Stick with something you know and not what you speculate ..."
"I do 100% believe ..."

I wish you would heed yourself the advice you give to others.

[CommonSense]

From http://www.sunherald.com
----------------

On Saturday, Satish Kalpoe's lawyer said his client admitted that his story was a lie.

Satish now claims that he and brother dropped Holloway and Joran van der Sloot off together at a beach near the Marriott hotel, then went home, said the lawyer, David Kock.

On Sunday, Kock said the brothers were becoming increasingly angry with Joran van der Sloot and accusing him of changing his story to put the blame for Holloway's disappearance on them. Kock would not elaborate.

Anita van der Sloot said her son told her that he was alone on a beach with Holloway and left her there unharmed in the early hours of the day she vanished.

Joran van der Sloot's lawyer, Antonio Carlo, said Sunday, "My client maintains his innocence."
----------------

Maybe Auruba has it right and keeping a lid on things, this will cause deep resentment between the Kalpoe's and JVDS.

I would say if the Kalpoe's really are innocent - THEY BETTER START TALKING!!!

[harry]

Dan:

I believe you made a valiant effort to shed light onto this case.

Bravo!!

[Bernice]

So, if the kalpoe brothers' new story is correct---then why did they feel they needed to cover up simply dropping two people at the beach? And, what's more, then how did they know 'something bad happened to Natalee'---it's still bullshit...they are all lying through their teeth!!!

[swank]

Just wondering if anyone knows why Paulus van der Sloot was given the opportunity to become a judge in Aruba when he has never actually practiced law? Seems like there would be many others more qualified than PVDS who has no experience and has only studied law. Anyone know if he comes from wealthy or political family; and how long has he been in Aruba?

[claire]

Swank-I heard somewhere they don't need to be lawyers to be judges and that it's not unusual-I also read somewher that he had studied and taught law.

I can't belive these kids thought they could get away with lying about something as serious as this-they've only made things far worse for themselves and everyone else

[GC]

They do not need law degree to get elected in Alabama or Louisiana or for that matter Texas. It is a beauty contest. The best qualified are not elected to the judiciary..should be well connected to the political network in each of the states. However, technically most have at least a nominal law degree from some school. At the federal level, law degree is mandatory.

[Jacque]

This post is to clarify PVDS and his being a judge. Geraldo interviewed the Judicial Minister this weekend who confirmed PVDS was a failed judge and did not pass the test in Holland. The week prior to Natalee's disapearance, PVDS was in to see the Judicial Minister looking for a job in the judicial department. This means he was unemployed and all the talk of him being a high ranking official or a judge is just not true and a rumor that just took off. I believe I heard that he at one time worked in the judicial department and had a degree in Law and was a judge in training however he recently failed the test. PVDS remains a suspect even tho he was released from jail. Bet every move he does and phone call he makes is monitored. I wish they would bring Anita VDS in for questioning. If JVDS is the psychopath that he presents, he knows his father is smart enough to not implicate either of them. Bringing the mother in for questioning would frighten both of them to talk.

Just a thought...

[maine]

brilliant! Jacque= you are right - arrest the mom!

[NW]

I hope they DON'T bring Anita in for questioning. This poor woman has been through enough.

[gemebwai]

I wish they bring in BH for questioning... Why? Because that is what you do in a missing person case! And it has not been done because of media pressure.
Let's look again at this timeline. When did the drop at the HI story (likely fake) come up? AFTER BH confronted JVDS that her daughter was missing. If she would not have visited him that night, I bet the three boy did not have a concocted story by the time they talked to the police. The story was concocted because BH scared the hell out of JVDS. Look at the reaction of JVDS when BH confronted him first time: he reacted agressively, said he didn't know where she was and would kick her ass if she would appear! Typical defense reaction for a boy his age. I think the "he left her on the beach and she was ok at the time" story could be true. The fact that NH didn't show up the next day made it unlikely, but besides that, there is no reason to believe it wasn't true. Since no body has been found and we obiously are not dealing with prepared killers, it's more and more likely that there is no body. Most missing person cases are runnaway situations and here it has been dismissed from day 1. One detail that trigger me more to think along the line of runnaway: JVDS's mother claims he said NH wanted to stay on the beach. That would be something typical for someone who is about to run away. I know I'll get many off you talking bad right now, I'm sorry, but this is the way I see it. so many have been badnaming the suspects (even the guards), which I think is out of line, you may suspect someone but name calling is not in order, there is no proof so far of any crime commited, there is a suspicion. And I personally feel it's losing strenth.

[GC]

Slavery? Yeah sure..she has been made a galley slave somewhere and is pulling the heavy oars!!

Get real folks! She is not of this world anymore! Perhaps sloppy work by Aruba. Her bad luck...Aruba is not Singapore. This would have been solved in the second week at the latest!

[texjsl]

gemebwai, she likely stayed on the beach because she was drugged with something like GHB. It has been said that Joran drugged women in the past in order to have sex with them. He knew these girls were going out because it was their last night on the island. He went home and snuck back out because he saw an opportunity to have sex with a tourist (how many 18 year old girls were on that trip? It must have been paradise for him to find that out.) at a very oportune time...their last night on the island. He procurred the drugs from Satish or Deepak and at least he, but possibly all three of them, took advantage of her drugged, listless body. She overdosed and either they left her there and someone kidnapped her or they disposed of her body. Their inability to tell the truth and the rumors about their past actions are enough to keep these thugs in custody as long as possible. There have to be others that know something and I hope they come forward so justice can be served.

[Elissafan25Belgium]

I really feel for Beth and her family and for Natalee but allso for the mothers of the boys. They are sort of victims of this all too and I think it isn't fair to point a finger at eather Joran's mother Anita or Deepak's mother they have a real hard time coping too. I hope this is all going to be over soon and answers will follow because it is ruining not alsso the reputation of the island but also the families involved.
There is been talk about the runaway theorie, but if this is true, Natalee must be real scared to come back again because of all this media coverage and commotion made. If she indeed has run away and it will come out, then I think she will be in a lot of trouble and her family also, I wouldn't want to be the one who has to pay for all these costs because it is an enormous amount of money that they are investing in this.
Off course, if this is true, the chances of her being alive are much more probable.
I hope Anita and Nadira are getting support from family and/or friends because no one should go through something like this alone.

[ElissafanBelgium]

I really feel for Beth and her family and for Natalee but allso for the mothers of the boys. They are sort of victims of this all too and I think it isn't fair to point a finger at eather Joran's mother Anita or Deepak's mother they have a real hard time coping too. I hope this is all going to be over soon and answers will follow because it is ruining not alsso the reputation of the island but also the families involved.
There is been talk about the runaway theorie, but if this is true, Natalee must be real scared to come back again because of all this media coverage and commotion made. If she indeed has run away and it will come out, then I think she will be in a lot of trouble and her family also, I wouldn't want to be the one who has to pay for all these costs because it is an enormous amount of money that they are investing in this.
Off course, if this is true, the chances of her being alive are much more probable.
I hope Anita and Nadira are getting support from family and/or friends because no one should go through something like this alone.

[GC]

I hope they find the body. In some missing cases bodies were never found. There is a case from MO where three women including a middle aged woman went missing in 1992 right after one of their high school graduation, and their stupid pet dog instead of guarding their home was sitting frightened underneath the bed...they really spoil the dogs in the US instead of training them to be guard dogs.