Back to the Beach

ORANJESTAD, Aruba -- Police took a jailed Dutch teenager Saturday to retrace his steps at the beach where he says he last saw an Alabama teenager the morning she disappeared in Aruba.

Police took Joran van der Sloot, 17, to a beach near the Marriott Hotel where he has admitted to being alone with 18-year-old Natalee Holloway in the early hours of May 30, said police superintendent Jan van der Straaten.

Van der Straaten declined to provide further details, saying only that it was "part of the investigation." Police have taken van der Sloot to the site before.

...Van der Sloot, the son of a judge in training in Aruba, faces no charges, and authorities can hold him until Sept. 4, when he must be charged or released. Six other men detained at various times during the investigation have been released.

Part of the investigation?

It's more like part of the game.

Taking van der Sloot out for these strolls on the beach accomplishes nothing. How many times does he have to retrace his steps? Do police really think he's suddenly going to slip up, start talking, and provide them with new details?

Clearly, van der Sloot is following his father's advice--Don't talk. Wait out the 116 days, and walk away free.

The kid probably enjoys the time on the beach. Summer in a jail cell is no fun.

I don't buy that these little excursions have any purpose other than to make it appear that Aruban authorities are responsible, competent investigators working diligently on the case.

I suspect it's more of a media stunt to pacify would-be tourists than anything else.

After all, Aruba has taken quite a PR hit from the disappearance, and likely murder, of a young American girl on a high school graduation trip.

Officials have to look as if they're doing something. They can't afford to sit on their hands. They wouldn't want a botched missing person investigation to hamper their tourist industry.