Developments in Aruba

Two pieces of news on the case of Natalee Holloway came out of Aruba.

1) Aruban prosecutors have appealed a judge's decision to release two brothers jailed in the disappearance of an Alabama teen who vanished from this Caribbean island, the prosecutor's office said Wednesday.

The Kalpoe brothers, although free, still could face indictment until they are formally notified that no charges will be brought. They have not granted interviews since they were released.

The prosecutor's office said Wednesday that no date has been set for a hearing appealing the decision to release the Kalpoe brothers. The office declined to comment further.

2) A Navy dive team that checked the waters off Iraq for explosives before the American invasion could be used in the search for a missing Alabama girl in Aruba, the country's prime minister says.

Prime Minister Nelson Oduber made the request in a letter to Sen. Richard Shelby in response to the Alabama Republican's suggestion that Aruba give the FBI more authority in the search for Natalee Holloway.

In his letter, Oduber says he was made aware of the unit — known as Naval Special Clearing Team One — by a Texas dive team that has been helping to look for Holloway.

"I would like to request you to use your influence to gain this authorization for the deployment of this unit free of charge to Aruba as soon as possible," Oduber wrote in the letter, dated July 1.

Shelby forwarded the request to the Pentagon and State departments, but a Navy spokesman, Lt. Herb Josey, said Thursday there had been no formal diplomatic request for use of the team. He also questioned how useful the unit could be, since it specializes in covert exercises such as detecting and de-mining underwater explosives.

In an interview from London, Shelby said he hoped Oduber's request was a genuine bid to help the investigation and not retaliation for his complaints that Aruba's search was insufficient.

"We're not going to stop," Shelby said. "We want a professional investigation of what's going on down there. We're not going to look around and ignore what looks to be not a thorough, perhaps even a shoddy investigation."

With attention being given to the London terrorist attacks, Natalee's case has slipped off the radar screen.

Less media focus on her disappearance will make it much easier for the corrupt and incompetent Aruban officials to continue to cover up for the van der Sloots and disown the disastrous errors they've made in the investigation.

I'm confident that Sen. Shelby and Natalee's parents will keep the pressure on even if the media abandons the story.