Only Blog Info

Sorry, not much news on Natalee. If something develops and I can update - I will. Got a good night's sleep last night, which was needed.

In off-topic info I really shouldn't mention - had a very nice 2-3 hour talk last night with MSNBC and VERY tentatively looking at being on tonight, maybe 10PM. Reason for posting is some daytime readers might want to know if they're interested in tuning in.

I probably won't know until much later - and as always with TV, that could change, too. My plan is to continue as I have been and try to do my best, keeping the focus where it should be for now.

Thanks for some very encouraging feedback from many - it means a great deal to me. Hope to be able to post news update if anything comes up. Be well.

Comments

[MiMi]

Thanks Dan for all you are doing to keep "us" all up to date on these scandalous events! I have felt a personal connection with this story (I have two daughters and a son, my daughters ages are 20 and 19...my son is 17 years old)
You have given great comfort to me by just giving the facts of this horrid situation! Thanks just isn’t enough! keep up the wonderful work!

*** whadda ya mean you have a full time job as well? This is your first priority, don't they "KNOW" that? :-P

[Shelley]

If you think of any way that readers can help the case,
please post it.
Should we write letters/start petitions?

[Fausta]

Way to go, Dan!

[Tanya]

Where are the Kalpoe parents in all this. Why is nothing said of them. Why all the hush hush?

[CT]

Tanya wrote: "why all the hush hush?"

Is it so difficult to understand that media can play a negative role while the case is still under investigation? There is not yet a body found.

[cancon]

be looking for you on Scarborough Country then? Joe's been covering this pretty extensively....

congrats Dan on all your good work

[JEK]

In response to ct there can't be a body found uless these 3 kids tell all the know. Obviously one of them is lying. I guess you think the police will just happen to find Natalee on their own. Let me guess, the real killer is in mexico and O.J. Simpson is going to find him.

[observer]

Everyone keeps saying that can't believe it has been two weeks and this poor girl is still missing. I live in Washington, DC- a city about the size of Aruba and this happens all the time. For example- Chandra Levy. The media was all over this city for months, the FBI, police and even the CIA. It took over a year for her body to finally be found. I really hope the situation is different here, but I wouldn't be suprised if it is the same story here.

[southernbelle]

This may have already been covered (and I apologize if so), but if the Kalpoes were not involved, why wouldn't they have told the truth from the beginning? Joran must have something to hold over them (possible drug related - I read somewhere that the three boys were known as "the dealers").

[navo]

This case is extremely interesting and I hope it can be clarified. When these incidents are clarified, preventive measures can be set afterwards.

A lot of posts talk about that Aruba is not safe, about the drinking in young adults, about the life of the girl and the boys and in many cases we are missing the point as there is not a safe place in the whole planet earth for example a school was always considered a “safe place” to be in; look at the news about students shot dead inside schools.

We need to see the incident on two different parts; was this girl purposely attacked? Or did she look for this incident?

If she was attacked ( as could be any person young or old boy or girl) , then there is a real security concern in Aruba and the government will have to look for the way to increase and train the police force in order to guarantee the people security.

If the girl looked for it, there is not much the government or the police can do to cope with this in the future. Bad people lives everywhere and if you go to them, do not expect to be risk free.

The point is one thing is a guy that is hidden around the corner with a knife or a gun and rob, rape or kill you does not matter what. A much different thing is a guy that is patiently fishing to catch the right fish. They know what they are doing, they know the way they operate they will be difficult to trace or discover for instance the drug dealers, they are not offering the product on the metro or at the traffic lights at your car window; they know who to sell.

Finally to complete the options, we can not disregard an ACCIDENT, they were two kids (not the best ones despite their school grades) that played with fire and one of them has got burnt.

Conclusion: the moral of the story will depend on which case can we bound this incident; one case is exclusive a government and police problem and the other two are this girl personality and education.

The facts so far are showing the girl in a position nothing good as her companions seem to be so used to see her on her own and with strangers that did not noticed her to be really missing until the very LAST minute.

Let’s remember when we were that age; there always were such girl or boy looking for trouble. We also knew what was safe and unsafe.

We must wait until the situation is clarified if ever. Meanwhile DO NOT criticize Aruba or the Girl ; even when the facts known so far ( if truthful) are mostly against

[Lynn]

Dan,
A million thanks for the job you're doing on this case. I hope you know that thousands of people come here everyday to read your updates and insights into this case.

Glad you got some rest last night. Be sure to let us know if you will be on MSNBC.

thank you again for a job well done.
Lynn

[loser]

observer--just so you know, Aruba's population is 70,000, and Wash DC's is 571,000. Not really the same size, but I see what you're saying. It does happen a lot.

[observer]

Loser- my point was more on the size of the island and not the population. the DC police knew chandra levy was in Rock Creek Park and still couldn't find her. Even if the police in Aruba know the area NH is in they may still have a difficult time just because of the sand, shrubs and other elements uncovering the body.

[justanidea]

JEK says that obviously one of the kids is lying.
It seems that at this point we're putting the words of the kalpoes against joran's word. There's been a lot of hate directed specifically towards joran, but is it not also possible that the kalpoes are the ones primarily responsible for the disappearance? I dont think this scenario can be ruled out yet. Brothers stick together, so they say.

[SL]

When are the three suspects scheduled for a hearing to determine whether they should be released from jail? They were arrested last Thursday and I recall authorization (last Saturday?) to hold them for 8 days.

Is there a chance they'd get released this week because the incompetent authorities still can't confirm a crime has been committed?

If there's a lot of anger towards them, jail might be a safer place for them! :-)

[bama mama]

Dan, I had never accessed a blog before I became compelled to try to find out what has happened to Natalee. I have two beautiful daughters and have taught English to thousands of high school girls in Alabama. Thank you so much for the great job you are doing. How you can do this -- have the lastest and most complete and most accurate information available -- and hold down another job is beyond me! Why have you not been snapped up by some news agency is beyond my understanding.

Since I have known so many young women Natalee's age, allow me to ask everyone to please try to verify the any slanderous comments or assumptions before you post. Those who suggest that Natalee was "looking for it," etc., should do more research before passing those ideas around. Thank you, Dan, for the careful documentation and verification you do. I really appreciate your approach. (And your prose style is quite nice also.)

[Who'sInCharge?]

Should we write letters/start petitions?
------
I think the petition idea is a good one, since we can't do much else, unless we go over there (to search for her ourselves)

[MiMi]

The Aruban newspaper, AweMeinta, opened their Wednesday edition with the following headline: “Tata di Joran cu caso kontra Ministerio Publico”, the translation of this headline is: “Joran’s father takes justice ministry to court”. The article relates that Joran’s father, Paulus van der Sloot, has lost his patience. Paulus van der Sloot is taking the justice ministry to court because Unlike Joran’s mother, he hasn’t been allowed to visit his son since his arrest. Van der Sloot is also mad because Joran’s attorney, Antonio Carlo, has been dismissed by the justice ministry. The case is supposed to begin today in Aruban court.

[Getagrip]

Ack! We don't get MSNBC in Canada. Can someone tape it for me? :)
We only recently got Fox News...oh, the humanity!

I agree with SL, I think the suspects may be better off in jail. Last I heard on Fox News this morning was the Trappenberg dude saying that Joran's father is requesting access to his son in jail. Apparently he has been denied access because of his position within the judicial system - but in the case of minors, parents are allowed visitation.

That's at least ONE thing the Aruban authorities are doing right.

[beenwatching]

Dan, please know that there are doubtless *many* of us who have been reading your updates without posting. (I've accessed your site several times a day for several days but have never posted.) I really appreciate the work you've put into this, as well as your cautious approach to the "facts" and your efforts to contextualize those facts.

--beenwatching at the University of Alabama, where NH might (have been / be) one of my students

[JEK]

Obviously these 3 kids came up with an alibi that they dropped her off back at her Hotel. Until we hear each kids version of how and when they came up with this alibi it is speculation as to who is lying. I feel the 2 brothers do not know exactly where the body is or they would have told already. I believe Joran knows, but he is not saying. The one brother said they dropped Joran and Natalee off at the Marriott, and that is why the authorities are over looking there. So, I am purely speculating, but that is what we do on these blogs. I feel Joran knows where the body was placed. If this case is eventually solved and I prove wrong, i will come back and admit I was wrong.

[claire]

anyone seen this?

http://www.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=14905439&Mytoken=20050612111255

[Just Wondering]

I also want to thank you for your very good work.
Did you know O'Reilly said last night he is going to have some of Mountain Brook students who went on the trip on his show tonight?

[Just Wondering]

Observer:
I think that you are correct about Chandra Levy..
there a lot of similarities....
I guess it has all of the elements of mystery

She:
1. Disappeared the night before she was to return home to Modesto California after an internship. She was all packed and ready to go.
2. They thought she had gone to jog in a local park (Rock Creek) so a massive search was conducted by hundreds….close to a thousand people with no results.
3. It turned out she was sleeping with an well-know California Congressman…….Gary Condit ( or as the press referred to him CON-DID-IT). All assumed he was involved in some way. The family was very upset, the mother and father where on the news daily demanding answers.
4. The Congressman was very powerful in a swing position. It turned out he pretty much had a new young woman every year or two as they went through internships in the government while his wife remained in California….3000 miles away.
5. Everyone, including the parents, criticized the DC police as incompetent and corrupt
6. They did wait weeks before they started to really lean on the Congressman, even then they just questioned him once or twice. He seemed to be the only one with motive and opportunity…Chandra had told her aunt about the affair with him. He may have been getting nervous. The whole thing appeared to have been handled very badly by the governing officials.
6. No one was every tried for this murder
7. Her body showed up about a year after she disappeared in the park everyone had searched …. but the ravages of the 4 seasons and the park animals left no evidence.
8. It was huge story, probably bigger than Natalee. It has all of the elements that the Natalee story has, unfortunately….fear of power, sex, alleged corruption, etc.

The only thing is the people of DC did not criticize Chandra very much nor did they blame the people of Modesto, CA. This has always seemed odd to me that Arubans jump on the US….we are the ones who lost one of our children, not the other way around.

[MominTN]

Parents should have much concern about letting their children go somewhere they are served mixed drinks because of all of the "date rape" drugs. You can read about several on allabout.com
I took my children on a last minute trip to Cancun for my daughter's upcoming high school graduation. We went to Carlos n Charlies for lunch which was across the street from where we were staying and was recommended by several travel brochures. Few people were in there for lunch. The waiters made a big to do over the ones that were, posing for pics, pouring drinks down women's throats holding them down, and pretending to throw them over the deck into the ocean. It seemed to be all in good fun. We ordered bottled drinks. However they kept bring mixed drinks to me and my children. We were polite and drank them, and of course I got the tab at the end which had an extra $20 tacked onto our lunch. The waiter said isn't this fair for the good time that you had? So you see this tactic leaves many people drinking drinks they didn't order and it also gives the bartender control of what you drink. He can put anything in it. Date rape drugs are tasteless.
I am also copying a previous post of mine here so that you will read it:
I do not know why the MSM seems to be going along with the idea that Aruba is such a safe place. If you search the internet, you will find much information about Aruba being a major port for drug trafficking. You will also learn that there were two brothers there named Mansur who were deported to the USA for drug trafficking and money laundering by trading in Phillip Morris cigarettes. They got a plea bargain and returned to their business in Aruba which has the name Glossco Trading Freezone. Also, there has been extradition from many countries around Aruba including a Curacao businessman, which is also part of the Netherlands and close to Aruba, who are being tried in the USA for money laundering. Also, there is a slew of people who have been extradited from the Caribbean for drug trafficking using "mules" on cruise ships. This is all in the news on the internet. But the MSM ignores it on the tv. If the news reported the international news instead of being talk show pundits, the public would be better informed and possibly Natalee's parents would have kept her at home instead of sending her to her dream vacation to a major illegal drug trafficking port.

[abby]

Our prayers should be with both families involved on either side of this. A beautiful, sweet little girl, and a handsome boy, he has alot going for him, both about the same age meet on a beautiful island. This story should have had a happy ending. I only pray that we know what happened in time.

[claire]

am i the only one who thinks he's very ugly? he has an awful pug nose -repulsive-no idea how he gets all the girls

[MiMi]

If you can't come up with a good explanation of anything in your own mind, than my answer to that is " $ $ $ has something to do with it!!!"

[Marigot Bay]

Nothing makes sense in all of this. Firstly let me say I cannot stand the Dutch, I find them to be low-class, surly miserable group of people. One need to go to St Martin and see the level of scum on the Dutch side vs. the sophistication and beauty on the French. Ugly breed of nation the Dutch.

1. If in fact they dropped the Dutchman and the girl at the Marriot beach and he killed her

a) its pitch black dark at 2 + am in the morning on any beach anywhere in the world.

b) if he killed her there, how is he going to find a suitable burial ground in the dark plus dig a hole with his bare hands

c) even if he is 6.5, lugging around 110 + lbs of dead weight is not a trivial feet, he looks like he's never lifted a weight in his life

d) assuming he did all the above at the Mariott beach, how exactly did he get home, hail a cab at hour in the morning, walk to the Mariott and grab one from there. No one has stated seeing him lurking around the area at that time in the morning

e) again if everything took place at the light hourse and all three were involved, did they have flashlights and shovels at the ready. Did all three haul the dead weight and throw it from the rocks. Did one drag the corpose onto a yacht all by himself without the dock master seeing this.

f) text message and email can all be verified via the telcom providers server records. Sounds a little too convenient the story the prisoner told the locked up guard. Sounds rehearesed, however no one has checked with the other brother if this was the case. Do they both live together with the family or does the older brother live alone.

g) they whole thing stinks, blame lies squarely on the incompetence of the Dutch. Typical blundering, they should beat the crap out of all three kids and the Dutchman's father to get to the truth.

Finally Aruba is very very well known historically as the drug hub of the Caribbean. Some early was wise enough to note this. Its the biggest smuggling point into South America, tobacco companies have used it for years to smuggle tobacco into South America, drug manufacturer's have used it for years to tranship to North America. Don't let the cute Dutchman with the freckles fool you. The Dutch invented trading and shipping (basically) they have been doing this for 1oo's of years.

[dan]

Does anyone know the name of the student that she had an altercation with?

[m]

Hi Dan!
Thank you for all of your excellent work! I, too, feel very personally attached to this case. I have been to Aruba about 10 times - honestly thought it was the safest place in the world. There are many unanswered questions - some of those being:
-was something slipping in Natalee's drink?
-did they toss her body over the cliffs into the 'shark area?'
-Why didn't ANYONE stop her?

I am not looking for answers to those questions - but what I am saying is that my thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved. As crazy as it may sound, I pray for the 3 boys - that they may find the courage and stand up for what is right and tell the truth.

For all of you out there - please do not think for one moment that this "Paradise" - known as Aruba is no longer 'safe.' Crazy people are everywhere - just remember to keep your guard up and be cautious anywhere you go.

For Natalee-
For such a beautiful and seemingly amazing girl to have to go through any of this - is horrible - We're all praying for you!

[LornaD]

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/15/missing.teen/

"Three young men jailed in connection with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway appeared in court Wednesday, a day after an extensive search near an Aruban beachfront hotel turned up no sign of the Alabama teenager.

Few details were available about the court appearance."

[Hman]

Has anyone heard if Nat's mother said they were her panties or not? You would think that she probably did wash her clothes and would know. Also, The boy's and the judge had a week to dispose of the body - it could have been taken out into the sea or disposed of in a way the would make sure it would naver be found. I would think that him being a judge, he would know that without a body they really would not have a case. I doubt this will ever be solved but I still have hope.

[Island Hopper]

The Aruban Polis need to stop protecting their friend's son and act like professionals or hire professionals to do the job.

Surely if Aruba had a police force that truly investigated crime you might find that Aruba actually does have crime. It is easier and economically more secure to sweep it under the rug and pretend it does not exist.

[lawbster]

according to hasibokos:

The police raided the house of Joran van der Sloot on Wednesday afternoon and confiscated various items, including two cars..

[kay]

DAN,
Thank you for your informative as well as sincere and sensitive approach to the info posted on Natalee Holloway.
So many people seem so sadistic in their conviction that Natalee is to blame for these tragic circumstances.
I thank God that Natalee had a mother with true parental love for her daughter such as I did not experience under the same circumstances. I was abducted and tortured when I was 12 years old and living on the east coast. I was able to escape before being killed. I ran and ran as fast as I could to return home with my flesh torn, my eye, face and body bleeding with multiple tears and holes as a result of my torture... my father awoke and told me he would take me to the hospital as long as I told them that I had been on a date and that the date had gotten fresh with me?! What???!!!Nobobdy dates at 12 years of age - why was I being made to lie by my own parents? I could never understand why I could not tell what had happened and why my mother backed up my father in this lie. At the hospital my clothes were cut from my body to begin the process of stitching me back together again. I would walk with a cane as the skin did not stretch adequately across my hips. I was laughed at in my own family and by my own community due to the lie of my parents. There was no support system to be found anywhere and it was on that day that I realized how sadistic people are in condeming those that have fallen prey to true evil. I was proud of my ability to escape the man whom abducted me and proud in my ability to escape the attack dog that chewed me to bits, and proud to have been able to escape the bullets from his gun - but deeply aware of my worthlessness to my very own family. The reality was that my parents were alcoholics and they were more interested in protecting themselves than they were in protecting their 12 year old daugther.
Again, I thank God that Natalee knew of true parental love from her mother and was only visited from an evil outside of her own family. Natalee has a record of kindness and decency and honor and we must respect her and her supportive family as they deal with this horror. I know Natalee's mother will find out who did this to her daughter and not allow the evil to continue. My parents did not do this and this man went on to kill others in my area and I die in my silence.

[marry]

To all of you that have never set foot in Aruba or on a Island anywhere in the world, you can't say if it is safe or not, you have never been to the place. Especially if you are from the US.... is it safe there????NO WAY! More crimes have been commited in the US then anywhere else. Or better, more drug-related crimes and missing persons. I would never say that a place is unsafe if I have never set foot in that place/land. To the person that bad talks Dutch people, what do you know? I think that this kind of comments should be blocked!
One thing should be said, As a moher of 2 I think a big misstake of the chaperon that they didn't chaperone good enough. I would never let my kids go on a vacation by themselfs. At 18 you are a adult and with a good education you should know better not to get in a car with other people that you just met or better with other people that are not part of the group you left to go out with. that is a big no no. Anybody knows that. Please don't get me wrong I am not blaming Nat. but I do blame the chaperon. And about acohol.... didnt you start drinking at that age and gone out and got drunk. haha anybody in this world did that. even in my times. No parents, ...... figure it out! Even church going people have done it.

[jay]

http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/?p=1147

[Mika]

Dan this is a fantastic site. This goes out to anyone who is in Aruba right now. Has anyone (police, family, etc) dispatched the windsurfing community to see if they can find anything out in the water? Dasher at Vela windsurfing, all those other places along the beach, etc? These people are the best in the world and could cover wide stretches of water to see if there are any signs of anything. Sadly as someone said here, the three guys aren't speaking because they know she won't be found. So, she is probably in the ocean somewhere.

[lee]

Kay......what an horrible experience for you....I hope that your life has evened out by now, and hope only the best for you....

when will this Aruba debacle end?......I am becoming more and more resolved that it will just be another young woman gone missing without so much as even a trial....

then again, trials ain't what they used to be either.......sadly..

[lawbster]

now hasibokos has said that the FBI are at the VDS home with search dogs.

[Jan Brennan]

There is no question that it does not look good for the 17 year old Vander Sloot - HOWEVER as a mother of an almost 17 year old son I have a real problem with his father not being able to see him - this seems like reverse injustice to me. Everyone thinks he is getting preferential treatment - but for his father not to be able to see him I think is horrible.He is after all underage and I think in the U.S. this would not be happening. He and his father apparently were very close, who knows his father might actually be able to talk some sense into his son? I truly hope that they allow this father access to his son, I think at this point it can only help!!!

[navo]

Marry I 100% agree with your comment.

On the other side now I've read some analiytical post 20 or more threads up thtat is bringing some intereting questions based on the need of lifting the body, tools needed to cave etc.

Summing all this up, then it must be THE THREE did whatever they togheter , now they can lift, they can move , they can split and look for the right disposal place, being there since they were kids, for sure they know the place. This is also consistant on why in the hell the brothers should get involved in a crime to cover the dutch.This is stupid even the police following their story. If the police believes the story of the brother then they should put the dutch under heavy interrogation and make him confess.

But is a fact the dutch could not do this alone, even if the brothers are crazy guys and were not even there, THEN there are others involved and here is where the theory of the selling women to Colombia or other countries is heavy.

Other question is why they keep sustaining that everything finished by 2:00 am in the morning ? . If so, then the theory of the girl kidnapped and put inside the boat is the only explanation of this!!!

This is terrible intriguing being the inexperience police the added spice. They had one murder in one year, imagine thta the main function of this police is to guide lost tourist and make traffic tickets if any.

Finally (and there are more posting on this) stop the stupidity of blaming the dutch or Aruba Threre IS NOT a SAFE place in the earth anymore. The drug dealers are everywhere and mostly in the heart of the US.

This girl lacked the BASIC common sense of NEVER mess around with stranger s and multiply this by 100 if you are a woman.

[jonscot]

Worse than being dead is to be trafficked into South America. The US can fight terrorists worldwide but cant wipe out those stinking drug lords who 'buy' innocent girls as sexual slaves.

[JPGR]

I think Marigot Bay, at a previous post (11:52 am), presents the right question at the moment: how have these kids, drunk and high, dispoded of the body in the middle of the night after, we might say, an unplanned murder (or whataver they did to Natalee). If someone else did not help them, the whole thing must have been done in a reckless way and, most probably, the body would have surfaced by now.

[A]

Kay-

I am so sorry that happened to you. How horrible. You should be proud. You are very lucky. I hope you have sought out therapy to deal with the pain that was imposed on you by your parent's lie. It was their problem, not yours. You are very strong and brave.

[tideroller]

Marry and Navo, I wonder if people like you realize just how much damage you are doing to your country with your attitude. It is the attitude of the Aruban people that has disgusted me. First of all, you try to claim that your island is safe. Then you condemn the poor girl because she trusted three young men, well-known in your community. She did NOT go off with strangers. She had met them. She knew they were locals and well-known in the community. How could she know that they had dark intentions? And the details are not in yet about how she came to be in that car. It is still not known if she entered willingly. Did she think she was getting a ride back to the hotel? Did she want one last visit to the beach? Did she want a last fling? We can only conjecture at this point and it is a moot question. Accepting a ride (if she did, indeed, accept a ride) is not a license for rape, murder and hiding the body and then trying to frame innocent people for your heinous crime. You people need to get your head out of the sand and realize that your island does have obvious safety problems, probably due to the cronyism in your legal system. Because, not only foreign women might be preyed upon by these three narcissistic spoiled brats but it could have been your sisters as well. Wake up. Smell the coffee. Accept that your country is not a total paradise. Get to working on the improvements and you may just turn it into a true paradise. But that will take some attitude changing

[NM]

Lawbster,
Keep the info coming!! Thanks

[Jay]

tideroller, how can you say that the attitude of the Aruban people disgusts you?!? where in our beloved country would the government let people off of work to search. And there are still Arubans who are out serching daily on their own. BH has said that she is over-whelmed by the support of the Aruban people. I am not from Aruba but I've been there many times....and I do think the island is general is "safe" but when I make that statement I make in reference to say...america the major cities here. Yes there are drugs and there are bad seeds, but that is everywhere...more so in our country...and I don't think, imo, that anyone is condeming her, just maybe they feel that she may have used poor judgement. And I'm sure that all of us can remember as time or two when we used poor judgement, just had a less severe result. I think the Aruban people are probably pretty mortified on how quickly the media and some americans (minus this one) have turned on them because this terrible tragedy happened on their island.

[navo]

Tideroller,

First, I live in Houston and I've been in Aruba at the same Hotel just once and it was in 1992. I've considered the island safe and nice much more others in the caribbean.

You look too naive stating that the strangers are NOT strangers , come on well known by who Al Capone ?

One more time; BASIC RULE: Never mess around with strangers and much much less if you are a woman.

Any place in the world is safe unless you get in the underworld or have the bad luck of being at the wrong place at the wrong time and be attacked by a sycho or a robber. But these last had not been the case.