Aruba Case Probed As Murder
Two former security guards arrested in the disappearance last month of an 18-year-old honors student are being investigated for murder and kidnapping, their attorney said.
"They are accused of, first of all, murder. Conspiracy to commit murder homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide and capital kidnapping," their attorney, Chris Lejeuz, said Wednesday on CBS News' The Early Show.
His clients told Lejeuz "they've never seen Natalee Holloway, and they've never spoken to Natalee Holloway," he told co-anchor Hannah Storm.
A judge was to determine Wednesday whether authorities have enough evidence to continue to hold the two men.
"The prosecutor in this case has decided to prolong the detention of these suspects," spokeswoman Vivian van der Biezan said.
The two have not been charged in the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway of Alabama, and authorities have not said she was a victim of foul play, allowing the possibility of accidental death.
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.
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.