Following months of little or no known activity in the investigation, the Aruban authorities announced they were interviewing people who might shed new light on the case. This announcement followed Beth Holloway-Twitty's visit to Aruba where she pronounced herself disheartened with the case and asked for the replacement of Police Chief Gerald Dompig, Chief Prosecutor Karin Jansen and Detective Dennis Jacobs for placeing barriers into the investigation of the disappearance of her daughter. Natalee's mother said the reason for the new interviews was to patch the holes left when the investigation was botched in the early stages.
Next, Paul van der Sloot, the father of suspect Joran van der Sloot, who was arrested and held for three days to investigate his involvement in the case, asked for the charges to be dropped against him so that he could be re-instated in his position. When the judge or judges agreed with him and declared him free of suspicion in the case and free from prosecution unless new evidence is brought forward against him, the elder van der Sloot was preparing a list of damages to present to the court for financial reimbursement. Remember, he is the father who told his son, "no body, no case," and was accused of obstruction of justice. Beth Holloway-Twitty said in a TV interview that she was not suprised at this action.
The city of Philadelphia, Alabama, in support of the Holloway-Twitty family, has recommended a boycott of American tourism to Aruba until the authorities there have investigaged all avenues. Elected officials, including Senator Richard Shelby, endorse this boycott, stressing the safety of American citizens in Aruba, and that Aruban law enforcement practices are "not safe." Some ex-FBI agents who have looked into the case note that the Aruban system of government is corrupt, and that the island is known for money laundering and drug trafficking.
And the theory that Natalee was abducted for the sex trade is getting new publicity. According to the ex-agents, the sex slave industry is worldwide, a "nasty little secret," with perhaps four million women and children involved. In discussing the possibility that Natalee was taken from Aruba to Curaçao, and then perhaps to Venezuela, Beth Holloway-Twitty responded that in the first three weeks of the investigation, there were many sightings of Natalee and each was investigated, with each lead followed up.
If Natalee was taken off the island of Aruba, it had to be by boat or by plane. The investigation certainly looked at these possibilities, but how easy would it be to take a small boat ashore at the beach where she was last seen, take her aboard, conscious or not, and then transport her to a larger boat to move her somewhere else? It would account for the lack of forensic evidence on the island and support the "no body, no case" statements.
It is a mystery, and for the sake of the family, friends and the volunteers who have supported the family, one that will be resolved.
Natalee's disappearance is unfortunately not the only one. When the poll first asked the question: ]Will the investigation into the disappearance of Natalee Holloway continue, the response for some time indicated that viewers thought the case would not be solved, and would fade away. The persistence of the Holloway-Twitty family and their supporters have kept media interest alive as well as prodding the Aruban authorities, but now readeers are indicating that Natalee is only one of many disappearances. The follow up to that is not a lack of interest in finding Natalee but perhaps a desire to find all of the women and children who have vanished, no matter who they are.
Let us hope so.
