By MARGARET WEVER

The Associated Press



ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Three young men previously detained as suspects in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway were re-arrested Wednesday, the Aruban public prosecutor’s office said, citing new evidence in the case.

Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005, hours before she was scheduled to fly home to Alabama after a high school graduation trip to this Dutch Caribbean resort island. The 18-year-old was last seen in public leaving a bar with the three young men who now are again suspects in her disappearance.

Dutch teenager Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers, Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, were arrested on suspicion of involvement in manslaughter and causing seriously bodily harm that caused the death of the American teenager, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

“The public prosecutor’s office has ordered their renewed arrest because further investigation into the disappearance has led to new incriminating evidence,” the prosecutor’s office said in the statement.

Van der Sloot was arrested in the Netherlands, where he is attending a university, and is expected to be extradited to Aruba. The Kalpoe brothers were arrested in Aruba.

All three young men previously have denied any role in Holloway’s disappearance. The brothers were expected to appear in an Aruban court on Friday, when prosecutors planned to president new evidence to judge.

The brothers were expected to make an initial appearance in an Aruban court Friday, at which point prosecutors were expected to present the new evidence to a judge. A court date in the island had not yet been set for van der Sloot.

Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for the Dutch national prosecutor’s office, said van der Sloot could be sent to Aruba without an extradition hearing and the transfer would occur “within several days.”

The three were first arrested in June 2005, but a judge ordered their release, citing insufficient evidence. All three have denied any role in Holloway’s disappearance. Van der Sloot has said he dropped her off at her hotel and never saw her again.

In April, investigators from the Netherlands dug around the home of van der Sloot’s family for two days without revealing what prompted the search. Then in May, Dutch and Aruban investigators visited the home where Deepak and Satish Kalpoe live with their parents for what authorities termed an “inspection,” without revealing details.

Vinda de Sousa, an attorney Dave Holloway, Natalee’s father, said she has left a message for the family but has not talked to them and is not privy to the new evidence.

“I’m as excited as the Holloway family can be,” she said. “Anything new in this case, or any development, just gives you rekindled hope that one day this will be solved. I know the investigation never stopped.”











See theheraldbulletin.com and Thursday's The Herald Bulletin for updates on the developing story.