# The girl missing in Aruba -- Natalee -- do you think they'll fiind her?



## Piscesgirl

With a lot of news, I stay somewhat detached, but for some reason I just keep checking for updates on this poor girl that 'went missing' during her trip to Aruba. It's probably been too long for them to find her alive -- but one never knows -- they found Elizabeth Smart! 

So, do you think they'll find her? I sure hope they do.... I find this so tragic...


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## trenac

Wow, that is hard to say... I lean more toward no (alive anywhy), since she left the club with 3 men I'm sure there is fowl play involved... But miracles do happen!


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## Piscesgirl

Yea, I think it's foul play too -- but maybe she's kept somewhere. The thing is, the two people arrested aren't the three guys she supposedly went off with...so I don't know what's up with that. Wish there was some info to be had...


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## trenac

PG... Tonight on Inside Edition they had and interview with a women who says that she was approached by one of the guys arrested when she was in Aruba three weeks ago. The guy was asking if she had weed and wanted her to go with him to his room, of course she said no and walked away. 

I also heard tonight that they have enough evidence to hold the guys for a longer period of time while they investigate the case more.


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## Piscesgirl

How sad  I wish they'd let us know a bit why they suspect those two other than the account you just posted....but, I guess that would reveal their case against them...I did read something about another U.S. girl that 'went missing' in Aruba a few years ago on a cruise.


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## fishfry

I think it is really sad that she went missing and they can't find her. My heart goes out to the family and everything they are going through. I hope for the best, but expect the worst. 

There is one thing that does bother me however, and that is the amount of news coverage when a young blonde girl goes missing as opposed to someone of a different ethnicity or gender. Maybe it is just because it happened abroad, but does anyone else notice this trend?


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## omega

fishfry said:


> There is one thing that does bother me however, and that is the amount of news coverage when a young blonde girl goes missing as opposed to someone of a different ethnicity or gender. Maybe it is just because it happened abroad, but does anyone else notice this trend?


That's it! I'm soooo going on a diet now because I want somebody to be looking for me just in case I go missing! :mrgreen:

But seriously folks, while I feel awful bad for her disappearance, but what (attractive) person would get in a car with 3 strangers in a strange country in the middle of the night with no one familiar with her after a night of drinking? And what kind of friends do she have that would allow her to do so?

She's awfully foolish but I hope that she's alive somewhere dazed and confused from wandering off after those boys dropped her off at her hotel. I would die if that were my child missing. 

*sips some Diet Cola*


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## Piscesgirl

I read one story that said she was a bit naive -- I agree I don't understand the rationale with going with any strangers. But, then again, those 3 boys aren't the ones being held for her disappearance...

Fishfry, I've noticed that too. If one is a blonde female and something happens such as this, the news is all over it.


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## Praxx42

Normally, on any other board, I'd be the Realist and point out a few things that no one really likes to hear; but I will resist and just say that no, the odds of finding this girl alive are not good.

But, I will say that on another board I am on, one of the members is a classmate of the missing girl and was on the trip where she disappeared. His description of her isn't pretty and it also gives away clues as to why she was singled out for capture. Suffice it to say that I don't think she's coming back.


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## Praxx42

fishfry said:


> There is one thing that does bother me however, and that is the amount of news coverage when a young blonde girl goes missing as opposed to someone of a different ethnicity or gender. Maybe it is just because it happened abroad, but does anyone else notice this trend?


I have. It's sickening. White girl gets kidnapped, the media goes bananas for months (the Smart girl). Disadvantaged black girl goes missing, the media reports it for a week and then you hear nothing about it again. Very upsetting, and it happens all the time in this country.


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## Piscesgirl

Wow, very interesting about knowing the classmate. I'm not very hopeful at this point that they'll find her alive. I just wish there would be some sort of clues instead of nothing but here say. I did read that now those three original guys were arrested, and one report actually said she was connected romantically with one of the three guys. Being that they were only there a week, this is confusing to me, haha unless "romantic" is not defined the way I'm thinking.


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## trenac

What gets me is that no one in her group noticed that she was missing until they where ready to board the plane the next day. Did she not tell anyone where she was going?... Did anyone care?... Did no one in her group see her leave? Its all a little wierd, things just don't fit together :???:


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## Piscesgirl

Yeah Trenac I find that really strange too. I mean, most girls have at least a good friend that they hang out with when they go out -- did she not have a friend to watch out for her? Too strange...


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## TWood

This crap gets all sorts of coverage, but when asked about the Downing Street memo, the media plays dumb. Pathetic.

TW


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## trenac

Herd on the 10 o'clock news that they have taken into custody three young men (ages 17, 18, 21) that she was seen with a few days earlier. They also impounded the car of one of the young men that she was supposedly seen getting into.


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## Piscesgirl

It appears now that one or more of the three boys has made a confession that "something bad happened to her." I guess it won't be long now until we hear what happened....


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## trenac

I just heard that too. They said they took her to another beach instead, not back to the hotel as they had originally said. They also said that her and the 17 year old where kissing in the car at this beach. I'm thinking maybe he wanted more and she did not and things got out of hand, ending in her death. Maybe it was a accident or it could have been intentional. I guess we will be finding out soon.


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## Piscesgirl

Well, I've become convinced that whatever was done, Van Der Sloot did it.


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## trenac

It's looking that way... I just don't understand way she left alone with these three guys, at that age you just don't think anything bad will happen. I'm just wondering what they did with the body. I hate to say they probably dump it in the ocean and she became shark bait.


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## Piscesgirl

Well, I'm not sure what they did with the body either, but there are several theories out there about why she went with them: One being she had been socializing with them for several days perhaps making her feel like she "knew" them, but there is also the theory that they drugged her with the date rape drug. I'm sure the other two boys at least know what happened, but I'm not convinced that they actually 'did' it. But, I'm not sure he was able to dispose of the body himself.... So many possibilities, I guess. This is really under my skin though, and I've been quite glued to any reports that I can find about it....


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## trenac

Enquiring minds want to know... I just hope they find the body so that the parents will have one to bury... What ever happen its a sad situation.


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## Piscesgirl

Yea I agree


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## Edward

Hi

Aruba is the best place to go for a vacation. I’ve been there many times. Actually, Aruba is the only place I feel totally protected, there is zero crime and the Arubian people are unbelievable friendly. 
I hope, they will find soon what happened. 

Edward


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## Piscesgirl

Well Papa Van Der Sloot has been arrested, although I'm not sure they're any closer to what happened than when they started. I've been reading blogs and message boards and all I can find, all kinds of conjecture and speculation. I just hope this all ends up soon and we find out (it would be nice to have a good outcome, but I'm pretty sure that won't be so).


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## trenac

I guess that is one step forward... I just wish these guys would go ahead tell what happen and put a end to this.


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## gnatster

Would the news media care if she was not blonde and attractive. Ya'll have been sucked into what for 99.999999999999999999999% of the worlds population should only be a pimple on a fly if the sensationalist media didn't live and breath for this crap. Want to lament something terrible lets talk about Darfur. Howabout the Downing St memo? The Supreme Court ripping yet more rights away from US Citizens with the revent emminant domain ruling or any one of a hundred issues going on in the world that effects millions.


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## Piscesgirl

I actually don't find her features to be all that attractive. In a picture with several of her friends, taken from her camera, the friends were all more attractive than she. Yes, there are other pertinent issues in the world, but I don't think that somehow makes her situation negligible. It's important to me, anyway. And, I think it is a combination of factors keeping her in the news, her family being a motivating factor.


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## baj

Some things are unjustifiable, but not entirely incomprehensible.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4123246.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4124482.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4114714.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4122142.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4124592.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4110630.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4357619.stm

Not saying that the girls disappearance is less significant in the face of larger problems in the world today. Similarly, the larger issues do not assume less significance just because they are not newsworthy in someone's judgement. Sometimes, it helps to look a bit farther to understand better and sometimes selective empathy is worse than ignorance, but sadly some news channels seem to have forgotten why they are in business in the first place (I don't support the BBC in any way, they are as guilty as any big corporate news network).


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## Robert Hudson

Well if you want to see nothing but negative pictures of Iraq or Blair/Bush conspiracy theories, all you need to do is watch CNN, al jazira or PBS. Under exposure of that subject is certainly not a problem.

The Aruba case is sad and in any kidnapping public exposure is a good thing, but lately the media has been so quick to jump and run with a story that they over saturate the story. What I object to in this case is the media judging the "chaporones" giving blame to them, questioning the character of the victim, criticising the Aruba legal system, calling the island a center for the sex slave trade...anything to keep the story going.

The media has gotten egg on their face in a couple stories lately. The runaway bride and the girl from Oregon who killed herself on vacation in northern California. In both cases cable news in particular before the outcome was known over sensationalized their disappearance and got into the personal life of their families, their friends and anyone associated with them, building the story up to a fever pitch. Did you ever see that movie with Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia about how the media creates false heroes? Same thing.


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## baj

I am being very cynical in my old age, but the market exists for sensationalist news.Also, Robert you are right. I think far from just giving us the news, the media nowadays gives it to us fully packaged complete with opinions and analysis. Clearly they think the viewer is too lazy to come up with our own opinion, so rather than presenting a fact and ending it, the media makes the decisions for us who is right and who is to blame, so we can lap it all up in a 15sec newsbite and get on with our busy lives.


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## TWood

The movie NETWORK predicted the current state of the news, in 1976.

I forget the title, but there's a science fiction novel about a USA where each news network backs a particular political candidate, and the winning candidate is the one backed by the network with the best ratings. Not so far off.

TW


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## gnatster

Heard on NPR today "Where The White Women At?" as as part of the "On The Media" show. Listen to it here Real Audio payer required.


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## Piscesgirl

Alrighty back to our regularly scheduled topic, i.e. Natalee, missing in Aruba. 

Apparently one of the guys arrested, Steve Croes, is to be released tomorrow. The Texas Equusearch group has begun assisting with the search and hopefully they'll find something before too long (evidence, body, etc.). They brought several dogs although the word is that the airlines were not cooperative and they had to charter a flight (not confirmed).


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## trenac

They released 2 men today, the father of Van Der Sloot & Steve Crose. The family of Natalee feels this is a set back in the case. The police say they will re-arrest these men if they find more evidence against them.

Feels good to be back on track


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## Piscesgirl

I was extremely surprised that they released the father, but maybe they'll put him under surveillance like they did the three boys.


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## trenac

Not enough evidence to be held any longer is what the authorities said. But I'm sure that he pulled some strings with him being who he is.


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## Piscesgirl

I'm pretty sure you are right. Everyday I hope to hear something -- especially with that Texas Equusearch group out there. Even a body -- that would at least be closure for the family...


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## Piscesgirl

Still no body, but it seems the boys have been charged with Murder. I guess the Aruba's police force is keeping what evidence they have under wraps...


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## trenac

That is good news...

How about the dad, why would he even give his son that advice "if there is no body then there is no case" if his son had not confused to his dad. There something not quiet right with that.

I'm sure that the police know more and have more evidence then what they state to the public. That's how it usually works.

Do you get the feeling that we are the only two that are interested in this case


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## Piscesgirl

Hehe we might be the only two interested, but I'm practically obsessed with it, so that makes up for the rest  I do find it curious that the father gave that advice to the son -- he has to be guilty. The father has his own shifty eye appearance that I mistrust as well. I would guess he helped in this whole mess.


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## trenac

I feel tha same


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