LONOKE, Arkansas (AP):
THE MOTHER of a United States teenager missing in Aruba said yesterday she is trying not to be too hopeful over the arrest of a Dutch casino dealer in the case.
Speaking to reporters after a speech at Lonoke High School, Beth Holloway Twitty said she was "guardedly optimistic" about the latest arrest in the disappearance of her daughter, who went missing nearly a year ago on a senior graduation trip to the Caribbean island.
FEW ANSWERS
"An arrest is better than no arrest, so hopefully it will bring about something," she said.
Twitty said that though authorities have arrested and released a number of suspects, there have been few answers.
"I think we got really caught up with the arrest of G.V.C.," Twitty said, referring to suspect Geoffrey van Cromvoirt, who was arrested and released last month.
Holloway, who was 18 when she disappeared, was last seen leaving a bar with Dutch teen Joran van der Sloot and two Surinamese brothers May 30, 2005. Van der Sloot and the brothers, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, were jailed and later released after a judge ruled there was not enough evidence to hold them.
DUTCH NATIONAL
The latest arrest is of an unidentified Dutch national who worked as a card dealer at the Excelsior casino, Twitty said. She said she had heard the suspect's name before as a "person of interest" but nothing further.
Holloway, who lived in Alabama with her mother, has connections to Arkansas. Her mother is originally from Arkansas and other relatives still live in the state. Holloway's father now lives in Meridian, Mississippi.
