ORANJESTAD, Aruba – The mother of an Alabama teenager who vanished in Aruba more than five months ago has returned to the Dutch Caribbean island to press authorities to solve her daughter's disappearance.
Beth Holloway Twitty (search) left Aruba in early September after a court ordered the release of three local youths who were the last people seen with her daughter, Natalee Holloway.
The honors student was last seen early on May 30 leaving a bar with Dutch national Joran van der Sloot (search) and Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. They were arrested on June 9 but released after a court ruled there was not enough evidence to hold them.
Twitty, who arrived Tuesday, told reporters that she wanted to meet with prosecutors and police to discuss a taped interview in which Deepak Kalpoe (search) allegedly says all three had sex with Holloway, who would have turned 19 last month.
"I want to keep the communication channels open with the police and prosecutor," she said, adding that so far the prosecution has declined to meet with her.
She met with Aruban tourism officials, who have expressed concern that negative publicity surrounding the case could hurt the island's tourism-dependent economy. However, the government says tourism so far hasn't been affected.
Twitty declined to give details on the meeting when asked by reporters, saying only that she planned to leave the island on Thursday.
Myrna Jansen, managing director of the Aruba Tourism Authority, called the meeting informative. "Of course, we are not investigators, but we will do our utmost to solve this case."
Kalpoe's attorney and Aruban authorities did not immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment on the tape. Van der Sloot, in a television interview in September, said he had kissed Holloway but neither he nor the brothers had sex with her.
Holloway's body has never been found and authorities have announced no developments since the release of the Kalpoe brothers and van der Sloot, who has moved to the Netherlands to attend college.
Twitty said police have told her that authorities are analyzing an audiotape of an interview of Deepak Kalpoe by an investigator hired by the "Dr. Phil" show.
On the tape, Kalpoe says Holloway "dressed like a slut," and that he, his brother and van der Sloot had sex with the U.S. teen. Twitty said police told her that investigators are trying to make sure the tape has not been altered.
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