Aruba Suspects Remain In Custody

Authorities may hold suspects Nick John, 30, and Abraham Jones, 28, without filing formal charges for up to 116 days, their attorneys say. The former security guards were arrested last Sunday in connection with the May 30 disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Alabama.

By Aruban law, reports CBS News Correspondent Kelly Cobiella, someone is charged only when he or she is about to be tried. Prosecutors can hold suspects up to 116 days before charging them with a crime.

The judge will review the case again next Wednesday and every eight days after that until there is a final resolution, officials said. Authorities may hold the suspects for a total of 116 days without filing formal charges.

"They are accused of, first of all, murder. Conspiracy to commit murder homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide and capital kidnapping," attorney Chris Lejeuz, representing one of the suspects, said Wednesday on CBS News' The Early Show.

The other court-appointed defense attorney is Moraina Pietersz.

Both suspects, whom he initially represented, told Lejeuz "they've never seen Natalee Holloway, and they've never spoken to Natalee Holloway," he told co-anchor Hannah Storm.

Jones' wife, Cynthia De Graaf, said she and her husband were together continuously on May 29 and May 30, the day Holloway was last seen.

"He was home. He was even sick," De Graaf said, breaking down in tears as she waited outside the courthouse for the hearing to start. "They ruined everything. My daughter has been asking for her father."

Jones' mother, Cynthia Rosalie Jones, 64, added that the only way her son knew about Holloway was from seeing the news on television.

"They have my son there for something he knows nothing about," Jones said emphatically. "My son is innocent."

Authorities have not said Holloway was a victim of foul play, allowing the possibility of accidental death.

Meanwhile, police and the FBI kept up a search for Holloway, but a lack of any solid leads was hindering progress, according to several officers. Local officials asked the FBI to bring in dogs trained to search for people.

Investigators were scaling back their search for the 18-year-old, heading out only when they get a fresh tip. So far, they're focused on Aruba, but haven't ruled out going beyond its shores.

"The investigation will tell us when we need to go to the other islands to do the investigation," said police spokesman Edwin Commenencia.
Holloway's father, Dave Holloway, was in Aruba to help with the search.

The parents said they had not received any request for ransom or any other evidence that she had been kidnapped or murdered.

"As far as I know, there's no evidence of that, so that gives me hope that Natalee is still alive," stepfather Jug Holloway told Early Show co-anchor René Syler. "That's what we're here to do, is find Natalee."

Does Holloway really believe she's still alive?

"I truly don't know. I wish I could tell you," he said. "We've gone through an emotional roller coaster here. There's a sighting almost every day of Natalee. She's a beautiful young blond girl. And I think whenever somebody sees somebody like that, they immediately think it's Natalee."

Holloway has been missing since May 30, when she vanished while on a five-day trip with more than 100 classmates celebrating their high school graduation on this Dutch Caribbean island. Seven chaperones accompanied them.

Authorities had not ruled out any possibilities, including that Holloway may have drowned, Attorney General Caren Janssen said. Two divers among the eight FBI agents in Aruba have been searching the waters surrounding the island, Comemencia said.

The two men in custody were security guards at a hotel two blocks from the Holiday Inn where Holloway was staying. Their work contracts expired the day before she disappeared, a police officer told The Associated Press.

The men were known to police because they had a habit of going around to hotels trying to pick up women or bum cigarettes, said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In Holloway's hometown of Mountain Brook, Ala., residents tied yellow ribbons to everything from mail boxes to ATMs.

Holloway's disappearance also has upset Arubans, who take pride in the island's reputation for friendliness and safety.

Tourism accounts for 70 percent of the economy in the territory of 97,000 people, with 73 percent of visitors coming from the United States. Many American tourists have volunteered to help in the search.

"I believe we have never, ever had a similar case with this much pressure on Aruba in our history. There's a lot of pressure, yes, to solve this case," said Lejeuz.