Prosecutors in Aruba asked the U.S. Department of Justice for assistance in the case of the missing American tourist because the suspect in the case is no longer cooperating with the investigation, according to a statement released Thursday night.
The statement refers to the suspect as G.V.G. It has widely been reported that Gary Giordano, who claimed to be Robyn Gardner’s travel partner, was in jail on the Caribbean island Thursday as authorities looked for clues to what happened to Gardner.
The public prosecutor is set to publish a photo of the suspect with the woman and appeal to the public for any information about where the two may have been seen on the island, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.
Gardner went missing and apparently drowned while snorkeling off the western tip of the island on Aug.2, the Aruban prosecutor's office said, according to interviews with Giordano.
Aruban Solicitor General Taco Stein said earlier that police had detained Giordano because of seeming inconsistencies in his version of events. And on Thursday he said that if Gardner had drowned where Giordano had said, "We think that her body would have surfaced by now.
"We know the spot where he said she must have drowned. We have searched there extensively and in view of the weather situation we are almost certain that the body would have come to the surface," Stein said.
Giordano's Aruban lawyer, Michael Lopez, insists his client is innocent and is being unjustly detained. "There is no concrete or direct indication that our client might be involved in any illicit act concerning his friend."
The tropical island has been trying to distance itself from the mysterious disappearance of Natalee Holloway six years ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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