Breaks in the Holloway case?

The latest from Aruba:

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) -- Aruban firefighters were draining a lake Tuesday in the search for an Alabama teenager who vanished nearly two months ago while vacationing in the island.

Edwin Comemencia, a police spokesman, confirmed that the draining of the lake across from the Marriott Hotel was part of the investigation into Natalee Holloway's disappearance but would not comment further. A jailed Dutch youth has said he was with Holloway in the area the night she disappeared.

The draining was expected to take up to 24 hours.

Earlier Tuesday, Holloway's stepfather, George Twitty, said two new witnesses had come forward with information about the night she disappeared.

One witness told investigators that he saw Joran van der Sloot, the 17-year-old who has been detained as the main suspect, driving to a nightclub across the road from the Marriott Hotel around 2:30 a.m. the night Holloway disappeared, Twitty said.

The witness said van der Sloot tried to hide his face with his hands as he drove to the Racquet Club with two Surinamese brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, Twitty said. The Kalpoe brothers were detained as suspects and later released.

The stepfather said the account places the three individuals near the hotel beach where van der Sloot says he left 18-year-old Holloway alone the last night she was seen in public.

"What's interesting is the time — 2:30 a.m. — when the three were supposedly on their way home," said Twitty, referring to their previous accounts to investigators.

The witness, a gardener whose name was not disclosed, gave his account to investigators on Friday, Twitty said.

...A second new witness told a private investigator hired by Holloway's family that she saw van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers drive into the Racquet Club three times that same night. The woman, who lives near the nightclub, has not yet spoken with investigators, he said.

Aruban authorities did not comment on the stepfather's statements.

I wonder what made these new witnesses come forward. Money?

That's the idea of rewards, to give people who would otherwise stay quiet an incentive to talk.

It also could be an incentive to lie.

I can't imagine how gut-wrenching it must be to watch a lake slowly be drained, knowing it's being done because your child may be found dead at the bottom.