2 Detained in Aruba in Missing Teen Case
  a..


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 5, 2005
Filed at 4:05 p.m. ET

SAN NICOLAS, Aruba (AP) -- Authorities in Aruba detained two men Sunday in 
connection with the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, who went missing 
nearly a week ago while on a high school graduation trip, the attorney 
general said.

Caren Janssen called the men ''suspects'' in the disappearance of Natalee 
Holloway, 18, but declined to provide further details. The men, who were not 
among the three described Saturday by police as ''persons of interest,'' 
were being interrogated Sunday morning.

Investigators also seized three cars and were conducting forensic tests on 
them, Janssen said.

''We are at this moment right in the middle of the investigation,'' Janssen 
later told CNN. ''There may be others involved. I can't tell you the details 
why they are suspects. That would be damaging'' to the investigation.

Police also planned to conduct forensic tests on a bloody mattress found on 
a beach in eastern Aruba. The mattress was found in thick brush at 
Grapefield beach, deputy police chief Gerold Dompig said.

More than two dozen Dutch marines combed the beach, a desolate coastal area 
of volcanic rock and sea grape plants. They poked the sand with thin sticks 
as a police helicopter sat upshore.

''The search is related to the discovery of a bloody mattress,'' Dompig told 
The Associated Press.

She would not say whether the suspects had provided information about 
Holloway's whereabouts. A reward of about $50,000 is being offered for her 
safe return.

''We are continuing the search for the missing girl,'' Janssen said.

The men could be charged later Sunday, she said. Suspects in the Dutch 
Caribbean island can be detained without charge for 48 hours, and then a 
judge must determine whether their detention is legal.

Twenty police officers and FBI agents, who are playing a supportive role in 
the investigation, took the two men -- ages 30 and 28 -- into custody at two 
different houses in the southeastern town of San Nicolas, according to an AP 
photographer at the scene. More than a dozen FBI agents were on the island 
assisting in the investigation.

Police knocked on the door of one house, put the suspect on the floor and 
handcuffed him. Officers later detained a second man. They both were led to 
an unmarked police car and taken away. Police also left the premises with 
bags holding unidentified items.

Neighbors described the men as security guards who worked at a hotel closed 
down for renovation near where the teen was staying at the Holiday Inn. 
Police and FBI agents searched the hotel Saturday.

Dompig confirmed that the suspects were security guards.

Holloway's uncle, Paul Reynolds, who came from Houston to help with the 
search, said he hoped the detentions would help investigators.

''Of course I'm excited about any developments,'' he said.

Holloway was on a five-day excursion with 124 seniors and several chaperones 
from Mountain Brook High School, near Birmingham, Ala. She spent the last 
night of her vacation eating and dancing at Carlos 'N Charlie's bar and 
restaurant on this Dutch Caribbean island. Holloway was last seen early May 
30.

She did not show up for her return flight, and police found her passport in 
her hotel room with her packed bags.

Authorities have checked out several reported sightings of the 5-foot-4-inch 
blonde, all to no avail.

Hundreds of Arubans and American residents have joined the hunt, upset that 
Holloway's disappearance could mar the image of this tranquil island. About 
500,000 Americans visited Aruba last year, lured by turquoise waters and 
people brimming with smiles and helpful tips for foreigners.

Posters with Holloway's photo, reading ''kidnapped,'' have gone up across 
the tiny island.

The Aruban government and local tourism organizations have offered a $20,000 
reward for information leading to Holloway's rescue. Her family and 
benefactors in Alabama have offered another $30,000.

The coast guard in Aruba and nearby Dutch territories were searching 
surrounding waters, but the search did not extend to Venezuela, whose 
coastline is less than 20 miles from Aruba, or the neighboring Dutch island 
of Curacao.

Holloway's disappearance has shaken a sense of safety many Arubans took for 
granted in an island of 72,000 people that saw one murder and six rapes last 
year. This year, there have been two murders and three rapes, police said.

Holloway, a straight-A student, had earned a full scholarship at the 
University of Alabama and planned to study premed, Reynolds said. He 
described his niece as a levelheaded girl who would not have done anything 
rash, although he also said she had an almost childlike side, too.

On Saturday, police said three men -- two Surinamese and a native of the 
Netherlands -- who claimed they dropped off Holloway at her hotel had 
emerged as ''the most important lead'' in her disappearance.

An official close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity that 
the three men -- legal Aruban residents between the ages of 18 and 25 --  
told police they took Holloway to a beach at the northwestern tip of Aruba 
before dropping her off at the hotel.

But Reynolds said he was told security cameras did not s

2 Detained in Aruba in Missing Teen Case
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By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 5, 2005
Filed at 4:05 p.m. ET

SAN NICOLAS, Aruba (AP) -- Authorities in Aruba detained two men Sunday in 
connection with the disappearance of an Alabama teenager, who went missing 
nearly a week ago while on a high school graduation trip, the attorney 
general said.

Caren Janssen called the men ''suspects'' in the disappearance of Natalee 
Holloway, 18, but declined to provide further details. The men, who were not 
among the three described Saturday by police as ''persons of interest,'' 
were being interrogated Sunday morning.

Investigators also seized three cars and were conducting forensic tests on 
them, Janssen said.

''We are at this moment right in the middle of the investigation,'' Janssen 
later told CNN. ''There may be others involved. I can't tell you the details 
why they are suspects. That would be damaging'' to the investigation.

Police also planned to conduct forensic tests on a bloody mattress found on 
a beach in eastern Aruba. The mattress was found in thick brush at 
Grapefield beach, deputy police chief Gerold Dompig said.

More than two dozen Dutch marines combed the beach, a desolate coastal area 
of volcanic rock and sea grape plants. They poked the sand with thin sticks 
as a police helicopter sat upshore.

''The search is related to the discovery of a bloody mattress,'' Dompig told 
The Associated Press.

She would not say whether the suspects had provided information about 
Holloway's whereabouts. A reward of about $50,000 is being offered for her 
safe return.

''We are continuing the search for the missing girl,'' Janssen said.

The men could be charged later Sunday, she said. Suspects in the Dutch 
Caribbean island can be detained without charge for 48 hours, and then a 
judge must determine whether their detention is legal.

Twenty police officers and FBI agents, who are playing a supportive role in 
the investigation, took the two men -- ages 30 and 28 -- into custody at two 
different houses in the southeastern town of San Nicolas, according to an AP 
photographer at the scene. More than a dozen FBI agents were on the island 
assisting in the investigation.

Police knocked on the door of one house, put the suspect on the floor and 
handcuffed him. Officers later detained a second man. They both were led to 
an unmarked police car and taken away. Police also left the premises with 
bags holding unidentified items.

Neighbors described the men as security guards who worked at a hotel closed 
down for renovation near where the teen was staying at the Holiday Inn. 
Police and FBI agents searched the hotel Saturday.

Dompig confirmed that the suspects were security guards.

Holloway's uncle, Paul Reynolds, who came from Houston to help with the 
search, said he hoped the detentions would help investigators.

''Of course I'm excited about any developments,'' he said.

Holloway was on a five-day excursion with 124 seniors and several chaperones 
from Mountain Brook High School, near Birmingham, Ala. She spent the last 
night of her vacation eating and dancing at Carlos 'N Charlie's bar and 
restaurant on this Dutch Caribbean island. Holloway was last seen early May 
30.

She did not show up for her return flight, and police found her passport in 
her hotel room with her packed bags.

Authorities have checked out several reported sightings of the 5-foot-4-inch 
blonde, all to no avail.

Hundreds of Arubans and American residents have joined the hunt, upset that 
Holloway's disappearance could mar the image of this tranquil island. About 
500,000 Americans visited Aruba last year, lured by turquoise waters and 
people brimming with smiles and helpful tips for foreigners.

Posters with Holloway's photo, reading ''kidnapped,'' have gone up across 
the tiny island.

The Aruban government and local tourism organizations have offered a $20,000 
reward for information leading to Holloway's rescue. Her family and 
benefactors in Alabama have offered another $30,000.

The coast guard in Aruba and nearby Dutch territories were searching 
surrounding waters, but the search did not extend to Venezuela, whose 
coastline is less than 20 miles from Aruba, or the neighboring Dutch island 
of Curacao.

Holloway's disappearance has shaken a sense of safety many Arubans took for 
granted in an island of 72,000 people that saw one murder and six rapes last 
year. This year, there have been two murders and three rapes, police said.

Holloway, a straight-A student, had earned a full scholarship at the 
University of Alabama and planned to study premed, Reynolds said. He 
described his niece as a levelheaded girl who would not have done anything 
rash, although he also said she had an almost childlike side, too.

On Saturday, police said three men -- two Surinamese and a native of the 
Netherlands -- who claimed they dropped off Holloway at her hotel had 
emerged as ''the most important lead'' in her disappearance.

An official close to the investigation said on condition of anonymity that 
the three men -- legal Aruban residents between the ages of 18 and 25 --  
told police they took Holloway to a beach at the northwestern tip of Aruba 
before dropping her off at the hotel.

But Reynolds said he was told security cameras did not show Holloway 
returning to the hotel that night.

Dompig said those three men were ''the most important lead,'' but he did not 
elaborate.

------

Associated Press reporter Michael Norton in Oranjestad, Aruba, contributed 
to this report.

how Holloway returning to the hotel that night.
Dompig said those three men were ''the most important lead,'' but he did not 
elaborate.

------

Associated Press reporter Michael Norton in Oranjestad, Aruba, contributed 
to this report.