Alabama Lawmakers Ask Residents To Avoid Aruba

POSTED: 5:01 pm EDT July 24, 2005

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Alabama House of Representatives passed a resolution asking state residents to boycott travel to Aruba, where an Alabama teenager has been missing for more than seven weeks.


The resolution expresses concern that no one has been charged in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway. She vanished May 30 during a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island.

Since Holloway's disappearance authorities in Aruba have detained seven people in connection with the case. But only 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot remains in custody. Holloway was last seen in public leaving a nightclub with van der Sloot.

The resolution's sponsor said he hopes the threat of losing tourist dollars will encourage officials in Aruba to speed up the investigation.

The resolution is not a law and its sponsor said it is just a recommendation asking Alabama tourists to avoid Aruba until the Holloway case is resolved.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/index.html

I'm convinced that the only reason that this ever became news in the first place is because some reporters/producers wanted to set up shop in Aruba -- essentially get a free vacation.

One dumbass girl 'disappearing' who left the safety of her hotel with 3 complete strangers I'm sorry to say is yet another proof that Darwin had something with that evolution thing.

If she weren't white, pretty, blonde, rich, etc., this wouldn't have even made her city's local news.

Agree. There was a bus accident in Nigeria that resulted in 56 death. Not a beep on CNN.

So we can presume that all criminal cases in Alabama are resolved within 6 weeks? Nobody has ever been missing in Alabama for that long without an arrest? We're going to have to boycott a whole lot of places if that's the criteria. How long has Jimmy Hoffa been missing? Dang, I move out of Michigan! Will we all fit in the state that hasn't had someone missing for more than 6 weeks without an arrest?

Is there any proof yet that a crime was committed? Is there any proof that they didn't drop her off at a beach, she decided to go for a swim and drowned on her accord?

Is the DNA test from the hair found on duct tape back yet?

You are correct,sir ! It is not the fault of the people of Aruba that this girl didn't have enough common sense not to go off with complete strangers in a foreign country. People go missing everyday both at home and abroad and we don't ever hear a thing about it. Why is this dimwitted girl so freaking special.

Sort of like those slutty girls that wear revealing clothing and get raped?

-Rudey

The news report that I heard said that this is by far not the first case of a missing young girl. It's the fact that her mother won't go away quietly that's keeping her in the news.

And if she were MY daughter, I wouldn't go away quietly, either!

Why doesn't Alabama focus its time on something else?

For real. I wanted a drink tonight when I filled up my car and was looking, and saw the "Aruba Jam" Sprite. The first thing I thought was, "Dude, didn't the state try to outlaw anything tied to Aruba?"

I know the drink and the country aren't related, but...sometimes I just want to drive down to Montgomery and take a big stick upside the head of those people.

I am going to stick with my original statement about where this girl is at. I believe she is either shark bait (i.e. she could have went swimming on her own accord and drowned or dumped in the ocean) or she's in the sex slave industry and we'll never find her. That's just the way it is. Granted, this girl had a light bulb burned out when she decided to go off with 3 strangers in a foreign country. On the other hand, the reason her story isn't out of the limelight is because her mom isn't leaving and is giving Aruban government officials a run for their money. Basically, her mom is doing her job. Any mother worth her grain of salt would be doing exactly the same thing. My parents would be doing the same thing if I went missing. If they thought my mom was bad, they'd think my dad was even worse because he can actually raise more hell than my mom. Surprising.

I think what also could have happened is that they put her body in one of those big metal cargo hold things used in shipping and put it on a transport boat. It could months to years before anyone finds her.

My parents would be the exact same way, and so would I, if I were a parent. I'd probably be toting an AK-47 by now, though!

Isn't it within the realm of possibility that this girl did NOT go on her own free will with these three guys? I haven't heard anyone say that they were sure she even went with the guys willingly. Her friends were interviewed the other night and they said she was waiting for a taxi like everyone else to go back to the hotel last time they saw her. Sure, they could be covering for her or they could have been too drunk to know where she was, but it's possible that she was either forced to go with them or was drugged. I think it's not exactly fair to be calling her stupid and irresponsible when we don't really know why she was with these guys.

Update
 

http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/07/28/ar...ing/index.html


DNA on duct tape not missing teen's
Investigators drain Aruba pond in search for Holloway

Friday, July 29, 2005; Posted: 4:48 a.m. EDT (08:48 GMT)


PALM BEACH, Aruba (CNN) -- DNA taken from strands of blond hair stuck to duct tape found on a beach in Aruba does not match the DNA of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, an FBI spokeswoman said Thursday.

Two tests proved negative, said Special Agent Judy Orihuela, who added the 18-year-old woman's family has already been informed.

Meanwhile, investigators continue draining a catch basin -- an operation that began 9 p.m. Tuesday -- for clues in the Holloway search.

In late May, the pond had about 2 inches of water, but after Hurricanes Emily and Dennis, the water rose to more than 5 feet. After the basin is drained, authorities expect to dredge the bottom. Firefighters have been pumping at least 3,600 gallons of water a minute, or 2 inches an hour.

The pond is next to a racquet club and across the road from the beach where brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, told police they dropped off Holloway and their friend Joran van der Sloot, 17, early May 30, the day she disappeared.

Law enforcement sources close to the investigation told CNN a local gardener claimed to have seen the Kalpoes and Van der Sloot sitting in a darkened car near the racquet club about 2:30 that morning.

The sources said that while the gardener did not specifically mention the pond, it is being drained because of its proximity to where he said he saw the car with the three males.

An appeals court judge in Aruba is expected to decide Friday whether DNA samples taken from suspects can be used as evidence.

Defense lawyers said the samples should not be allowed because proper procedures were not used to obtain them, and the prosecution agreed. If the evidence is thrown out, new samples can be taken.

The judge is also expected to rule on a motion to prevent local law enforcement officials from sharing evidence with the FBI.

The Kalpoes are still considered suspects in Holloway's disappearance despite being released from jail.

Van der Sloot, the son of an Aruban judge who at one point also was briefly detained, remains in custody.

His mother has said he acknowledged being on the beach with Holloway but left without her because she wanted to stay.

No one has been charged in the teen's disappearance.

Holloway was on a post-graduation class trip to Aruba with classmates from the Birmingham, Alabama, suburb of Mountain Brook when she disappeared.

On Monday, Holloway's mother announced a $1 million reward for her daughter's safe return. (Full story)

CNN's Susan Candiotti, Eric Marrapodi, Darryl Trimm and Bethany Chamberland contributed to this report.