Aruba Case Appears Stalled

Churchgoers in Aruba Sunday prayed for a break in the case of a missing Alabama honors student, which just the day before appeared close to resolution after one of three young men in custody told police "something bad happened" to the woman.

Prosecutors refused to confirm or deny that information from a police official, and the investigation into the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway seemed to revert to square one.

The reported confession fueled rumors of the young woman's demise, and family members later rebutted them by saying Holloway's body had not been found.

Investigators were not talking Sunday. Prosecution spokeswoman Vivian van der Biezen said the day before they were at "a very crucial, very important moment in our investigation."

But she gave no indication of what new information may have emerged in the case, and none of the five people detained in the case has been charged.

A judge in Aruba has ordered that three young men who took to the beach before she disappeared must stay in jail.

Holloway's family rushed late Friday to an old stone lighthouse beside Arisha beach after Deputy Police Commissioner Gerold Dompig told The Associated Press that one of three young men in custody admitted that "something bad happened" to Holloway and was leading police to the scene of the alleged crime.

The three men--the son of a Dutch justice ministry official and two Surinamese brothers--said they took Holloway to the lighthouse in the early hours of May 30, after a night of dancing and drinking. She has not been seen since.

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