Suspect in disappearance of Robyn Gardner reportedly told police: "she might be dead now."
(CBS/AP) ORANJESTAD, Aruba - In the first few hours of searching for missing Maryland woman Robyn Gardner in Aruba, her travel partner, Gary Giordano, looked down at his watch and said calmly to Aruban authorities, "She might be dead now," reports ABC News.
Giordano, a 50-year-old businessman from Gaithersburg, Maryland, has been detained on suspicion of involvement in the presumed death of Gardner, although he has not been charged with a crime. Giordano could be released Tuesday unless a judge orders otherwise.
Giordano traveled to Aruba with Gardner on July 31 and reported her missing two days later, saying she disappeared while they were snorkeling. He assisted the search but was detained at the airport as he tried to leave the country because of questions about his account of what happened.
According to ABC News, a local fisherman, Sergio Silva, said Giordano seemed extremely drunk when he reported Gardner missing.
A source also told ABC that when police spoke with Andrea Coulson, Gardner's mother, she told them Giordano had called her three days after her daughter went missing.
He said, " I just got my socks and my shoes wet when I was looking for your daughter," reports the station.
In a statement, Coulson said she thought it was a strange thing to say due to his previous account that the couple had been snorkeling when she vanished.
Several witnesses have disputed Giordano's snorkeling defense.
Last week, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of Aruba released the last known images of Robyn Gardner. The two pictures of Gardner's back were taken as she left the restaurant on the afternoon she went missing.
It was also previously revealed that Giordano had tried to redeem a $1.5 million insurance policy on Gardner shortly after she disappeared. The accidental-death policy was purchased shortly before traveling to Aruba. The policy only covered the trip to Aruba.
Anyone who saw Giordano or Gardner during their stay in Aruba is asked to contact the Aruban police or to call the tip-line 11141. A separate phone line for tips has been opened in the United States. The number is 297-582-0695.
Complete Coverage of Robyn Gardner on Crimesider
