Another Arrest in the Natalee Holloway Case

From FOX:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Authorities in Aruba arrested a fourth man in connection with the disappearance of missing Alabama honors student Natalee Holloway, sources told FOX News.

The new person detained is a 26-year-old friend of Joran van der Sloot — who was with Holloway the night she disappeared, sources said. Van der Sloot, 17, has been detained but not charged.

Acccording to AP:

A fourth person has been detained in Aruba in the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway, authorities announced Friday.

The person "suspected of being involved" in Holloway's disappearance was identified by the attorney general's office only as a 26-year-old with the initials S.G.C. The office did not disclose the gender or say when the person was detained.

More...

An Aruban judge postponed ruling on whether a Dutch teenager's defense attorneys can see any evidence gathered so far in the case of missing Alabama honors student Natalee Holloway.

The Aruban judge also postponed until Friday a ruling on whether 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot — who was with Holloway the night she disappeared and has been detained but not charged — can be visited by his father, said Attorney General Caren Janssen.

Janssen declined to say whether the judge was considering other petitions related to the case. The boy's father, Paul van der Sloot, from Holland, is training to be a judge in Aruba, which is a Dutch protectorate in the Caribbean.

More than two weeks after the 18 year old went missing, searches by authorities, volunteer islanders and tourists have led nowhere, and no one has been charged in the case. Authorities were refusing to say if they thought Holloway was dead.

On Thursday, however, Police Superintendent Jan van der Straaten told The Associated Press that authorities used a helicopter "to search for possible remains — but found nothing." He declined to say where the helicopter searched.

On Wednesday, the Van Der Sloot home was searched and bags filled with items were removed.
Following the approximately four-hour search, Attorney General Caren Janssen clarified that the father, Paul van der Sloot, was not under investigation.

Asked why it took investigators more than two weeks after Holloway's disappearance to search the van der Sloot home, Janssen said Thursday, "You have to build up an investigation. You can't just go in there like a cowboy, you have to give certain direction to investigators."

Joran remains in police custody along with Deepak Kalpoe, 21, and Satish Kalpoe, 18, of Suriname. The three were questioned and released shortly after Holloway's May 30 disappearance. They were formally arrested last Thursday.

Rulings on whether Joran Van Sloot's defense attorneys can see any evidence gathered so far in the case of missing Alabama honors student Natalee Holloway, as well as whether his father, Paul Van Der Sloot, will be allowed to visit him, have not been made.

There are conflicting reports about the fourth person taken into custody, but accounts agree the individual is connected to Joran Van Der Sloot.

According to Janssen, "You have to build up an investigation. You can't just go in there like a cowboy, you have to give certain direction to investigators."

This all sounds so very strange to me. The authorities aren't acting like cowboys. They're acting like they are trying to protect Van Der Sloot and give him preferential treatment.

What is frustrating about this is it's clear that Joran Van Der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers know more about Natalee Holloway's disappearance than they have let on. They are withholding information.

I also don't understand why authorities refuse to make an official statement regarding whether or not they believe Natalee is alive. A helicopter searh for "remains" gives the impression they expect her to be found dead. Moreover, if they had any tips as to her whereabouts, that she was being held against her will, I assume there would be a massive search underway.

I think Beth Holloway Twitty is right. The young men being held know what happened and they are not cooperating.