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CNN Larry King Live

Holloway Case: Draining the Pond

Aired July 27, 2005 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, a new witness comes forward in the Natalee Holloway case. And authorities in Aruba are now draining this pond. When they get to the bottom, might they get to the bottom of the disappearance? We'll get all the latest from Aruba with Natalee's mom, Beth Holloway Twitty, and her stepfather Jug Twitty.
Also, Peter Mohamed, the attorney with the Aruban law firm hired by Natalee's family. And CNN's Susan Candiotti covering the story on location. T.J. Ward, the private investigator working the case for the family. And Dr. Henry lee, the renowned forensic scientist. They are all next on LARRY KING LIVE.

We'll, of course, be including your phone calls. Let's start with Susan Candiotti, who has hopped from Miami over to Aruba to be on the scene. What's the latest development, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At this hour, Larry the draining of a pond not far from this hotel is going on. This pond is located not far from the hotel where Natalee had been staying, but it's also adjacent to a racquet club. You'll remember talking about this very recently. This racquet club is where a witness has come forward and talked about seeing a car parked nearby it on a road in the dead of night, the night that Natalee disappeared. And he saw, he says, the Kalpoe brothers' car, named as suspects, but no one is charged in this case.

Also in the car he said he recognized Joran Van Der Sloot. The three boys were known to be with Natalee the night she disappeared. And so authorities, law enforcement sources tell us that the reason they are draining this pond and are working, as I said, even at this hour, is because of its proximity to the racquet club where this car was parked.

They're looking for possible evidence in connection with this case, possibly even Natalee herself, or some other evidence that the boys were at that pond. They think they might be able to finish draining it by tomorrow.

KING: Why, Susan, did this witness come forward so late?

CANDIOTTI: It's unclear, but he has told some people that he had some concerns about what might happen if he came forward because of what's happened to other witnesses in this case. For example, we know that the security guards were fired after they were arrested and then cleared. The mother of the Kalpoe brothers was fired, and this kind of thing. And so -- however, those who know him say he has no reason to lie, and the law enforcement authorities at this time tell us that they believe him.

KING: Beth Holloway-Twitty, the mother of Natalee Holloway, who has been in Aruba ever since Natalee's disappearance, what do you make of this development?

BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, NATALAEE HOLLOWAY'S MOTHER: Larry, I'm really not surprised by it. I think since I've been here for almost eight-and-a-half weeks now, I think that some of these citizens here are just trying to have this assurance and truth that they can come forward with information and not fear of any repercussions.

KING: Your hope, Jug Twitty, her stepfather, is that she's not there, right, that's your hope?

JUG TWITTY, NATALAEE HOLLOWAY'S STEPFATHER: Well, absolutely, our hope is that she's not there, that she's somewhere else, and that we can find her. But we're just -- we're happy that the investigation is moving along at a lot faster pace.

And I want to say something, Larry, about the -- everybody talking about these people coming forward and, you know, losing their jobs and everything. I disagree with what your other guest is saying there. I think they need to look into why they were fired and some of them were not fired. I keep hearing that, and she's not telling exactly the truth there.

KING: Well, Susan is a good reporter. What sources did you get that from, Susan, that this was the reason -- or is this what they're saying?

CANDIOTTI: This is what they're saying, this is what people who know these people are telling us. This is what sources on the island have told us, so we're only as good as what people are saying out there. If it's incorrect, certainly we stand to be corrected if someone can tell us that it's inaccurate.

KING: Peter Mohamed, as a member of the Aruban law firm representing the Holloway Twitty family, a lot of Americans can't figure out the system. No one is charged, someone is charged, one person is being held. Are you happy with the way this has been handled?

PETER MOHAMED, ATTY. FOR HOLLOWAY TWITTY FAMILY: Well, of course the way things are going now, we represent the family and all that we want to do is that the family gets the best representation and gets what they came for. They want answers to the questions, as they said, and as everyone knows, things haven't been, let me say, been done right in the beginning. And certainly these last few days, a lot of new developments are taking place.

And as we are in contact with the prosecution, we know -- and with the police, we know that the investigative authorities are quite optimistic. I don't want to say they are to be too optimistic, but they too want to solve the case primarily for Natalee and for the family of Natalee, and then, of course, you know, to finally get this thing over with.

Because the last few weeks, it has been so hectic in Aruba with this case and I think primarily, you know, the family wants to really know where they're up to. That's why, of course, you know, the $1 million reward came up from, and of course if finally something comes out of this draining of the pond, the prosecution knows maybe, let me say, whether that is going to be a case and how strong the case is going to be.

KING: Before asking T.J. Ward his thoughts, Dr. Lee, assuming let's say no body is found, is it hard to get evidence out of water?

HENRY LEE, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: It's pretty easy to -- you know, they did the correct decision to drain the pond instead of dredge the pond. When you drain the pond, once the water gone, we can grade it out, grading, and look at it one grid at a time.

Look at given no bodies, maybe on a row of tape, or maybe a weapon or something, you can look at it carefully, meticulously, systematically look at everything, because that's the second possible piece of a puzzle.

The first piece, of course, the tape with some blonde hair. Now this location, if we search carefully, either find her body or eliminate her body wasn't there. Under the water, the body, if buried, actually in favor, protect the body. Decomposition is going to be delayed.

KING: T.J. Ward, I would imagine -- I know how thorough you are, you know about this pond. What are your thoughts?

T.J. WARD, P.I. FOR HOLLOWAY TWITTY FAMILY: Well, one of the things that I figure that the witness that I found saw the car that was used in the disappearance and on the 28th, 29th and 30th. And it just seemed a little strange to me that a week later the same car shows up three or four times in the same area around that pond.

Those boys were there looking for something. And there's a good possibility that the body could be buried, because there was very, very little water in there around the 29th and 30th of May, and shortly before the storm hit and the hurricane, that's what caused all the water to be there.

And it's very soft and very easy to dig and put somebody underground there. But like Dr. Henry Lee says, it would be very, very good if the body is there, that it would be preserved by the ground itself if it is underground.

KING: When you were there, did you suggest doing this?

WARD: Well, I had brought to the attention, when I found the second witness, I took all the information after taking a statement and turned that statement over to the Aruban authorities and the FBI. And I think this prompted the lake to be drained and hopefully we'll find some answers.

It's really also strange that the whole investigation has been surrounded by the beach at the Marriott, which is directly across the street from where this pond is. And taking the time from 1:30 to 2:30 there is a very remote possibility we may be on the right page in the right area of what's going on.

KING: We'll take a break and come back with more. We'll be including your phone calls. Tomorrow night Hulk Hogan joins us. Don't go away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLOWAY TWITTY: We've had a group of friends that have come forward, and they are helping us now to make it possible. We're going to be able to now raise the reward for the safe return of Natalee from $200,000 to $1 million, and we're just so hoping that, you know, just any information that someone has or they will feel comfortable to please come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Susan Candiotti, can you gauge the mood of the authorities? Do they feel like they're onto something? Is the FBI involved in this?

CANDIOTTI: Everyone is involved in it, and there is clearly a much better sense that there is more cooperation perhaps than what existed before. Certainly no one is making any accusations that there has been anything but a good rapport among those working on the ground here.

But there have been frustrations over the inability to share certain information that, for example, the FBI would have liked to have seen, but that's happening now. For example, you have Dutch interrogators who are working with the FBI up in Virginia this week, who have brought information, evidence, videotaped statements, that kind of thing from Aruba to Washington, and is going over that information with the FBI, something that wasn't happening before.

And here on the ground, continued work together to try to get to the bottom of this and get some resolution one way or the other, Larry.

KING: Dr. Lee, can you -- assuming the worst and assuming that she has been buried at sea, supposing whoever did this took her out to sea, can you get enough evidence on land to convict someone with no body?

LEE: Well, if you found that piece of a tape, the hair in fact microscopically similar to her known hair, then your (INAUDIBLE) the DNA shows this hair is similar, the DNA come from the mother, in addition, if you found some foreign DNA belongs to Van Der Sloot or some other people, let's say you drain the pond, you find a roll of tape or some kind of weapon, now you're going to have enough pieces to put together the puzzle to -- at least to try the suspect. KING: Why, Dr. Lee, are they using two labs, the Netherlands and Quantico?

LEE: Well, that's one thing, you know, of course, the jurisdiction, that the Netherlands have the jurisdiction. Now because the FBI is involved, they want FBI to look at the evidence. That's one thing I think against the forensic principle is to share the sample now if you don't have enough.

Of course if you have enough sample, share the sample can be independently verifying each other. Let's say you have a bundle of hair, you give a couple of hairs to FBI to compare, a couple of hairs to Netherlands, if two laboratories have identical results, scientific value, forensic value in court is going to be much stronger.

So share the sample if you have enough sample, much better. Of course, FBI have a good database, for example, the tape, they can look at the fabric count, (INAUDIBLE) count, the type of fiber, the adhesive material, determine the manufacturer of the tape, and maybe can trace back to somebody who bought the tape, and that's a kind of combination of forensic investigation and physical evidence linked together.

KING: The -- Beth, I guess everyone is puzzled about what keeps you going? You've been there ever since it happened. What are your days like?

HOLLOWAY TWITTY: Oh, Larry, each day is so different. There has not been one day that's been the same since I've been here. And, you know, when I say I think about -- I look at what I've been through and what I've not seen and what I've not heard, I mean, I can't say it's just me, Larry.

I mean, the supporters that have been with me, they're going through the same thing that I am, and that is what's getting me through. It's just incredible the support that they give me.

KING: Jug, you're a stepfather. How close are you to Natalee?

TWITTY: I'm pretty close. I mean, she's lived in my house now for five years. I try -- I've tried to coach her every day. She moved into a new environment over here, and I have two children of my own that I'm very, very hard on, and I make them live up to high standards.

And Natalee would always come to me or come to Beth and say, have you told Jug about this, have told Jug about that? Because she's an incredible girl and she came into an environment which is really, really tough and she did an incredible job and I'm so proud of her.

KING: Peter, have you been involved in a case -- a possible murder case before?

MOHAMED: Yes. I think most lawyers -- we don't have many murder cases in a sense like you all have in the United States, but there are homicide cases. But I think like everyone should know by now, a case with,, let me say, a magnitude like this one is quite unique in Aruba.

And I must say especially the mystery surrounding the case, we're now at a point where actually the -- let me say a few weeks ago we would think that Natalee was left at a beach at a Marriott along the fishermen huts with Joran Van Der Sloot. And now suddenly the last few days it seems there is a witness who is so credible that actually they're draining a pond, because this witness places them at another place on another time in which they were supposed to be one at home, one was at a beach and one was sleeping.

So a case of this magnitude hasn't been seen in Aruba, I think, not in years.

KING: Ever. T.J. Ward, do you think you're going to get a resolution?

WARD: I would hope so, Larry. I saw the statement yesterday before I left Aruba of the -- Van Der Sloot's statement he made some time ago about -- implicating one of the brothers on the beach with Natalee. And of course that leads me to believe from other investigations I've done like this that he's probably part of it.

And at the time, being right across the street and the pond being where it is, and the two witnesses found in the athletic club complex, I mean, it's just incredible, and I think we're on the right page. I think we're right there, we're looking at things, and I think something will come out of this after the pond is drained. I think we'll probably come up with some evidence.

KING: We'll take a break and come back and start to include your phone calls. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're going to go to your phone calls. The Twittys will be leaving us at the bottom of the hour, these are harried circumstances, the hour is late.

Salem, Missouri, Hello.

CALLER: Hi, my question is, while they're draining the pond, is there any type of netting or screening at the end of the hose that may catch some small type of possible evidence such as jewelry or anything else that would be very minute?

KING: Dr. Lee?

LEE: That's a very important observation, and yes, I'm sure they're going to have some mesh and wire or screen to cover the entrance so to trap all those smaller material. Also they're not going to put the inlet directly into the soil, probably on top of the water and gradually coming down.

KING: Beth, I asked T.J. Ward if he was confident about a resolution. Are you? HOLLOWAY TWITTY: Well, you know, Larry, I am, I really am, but I've always been very optimistic all my life. And I truly feel we will have answers. And I heard Peter Mohamed when he began at the beginning of your show, that's we're here for, we're here for answers and we will continue to be here for answers.

KING: Jug?

TWITTY: I'm sorry, same question?

KING: Yes, same question.

TWITTY: Well, yes, I think, hopefully, and I really thought today, maybe tomorrow, with the FBI working with the Aruban authorities, they're doing a lot of things, Larry, here that they weren't doing the first three weeks we got here. So I'm very, very optimistic.

KING: Walnut Creek, California, hello.

CALLER: Yes, hello, Larry. Thank you for taking my call.

KING: Sure.

CALLER: My heart goes out to the Holloways. I'd like to know if there's a death penalty in Aruba, and is it a judge or jury trial? And have they ever found Natalee's driver's license that she had taken with her?

KING: Peter? Peter, what can you tell us?

MOHAMED: Well, I heard the part of the jury trial. We do not have a jury trial. What we have here in Aruba are professional judges, and it will be a single judge who in the first instance will judge the case.

In case -- well, let me say after the judge makes his verdict, the prosecution -- or let me say the suspects, can appeal. And then it will go in front of a panel of three judges, which will probably be from the island of Curacao.

And then after that case of appeal, the case can go to Holland for, let me say, the supreme court in Holland. But that's -- you know, in Holland they do not go into the case itself, into the facts, they only, let me say, review the case and judge the case on whether all procedures apply -- let me say, the law has been applied the way it should.

KING: Same as in the United States in that regard.

T.J., do you know if her driver's license has been found?

WARD: No, I do not know that. I do not.

KING: Does anyone know? Susan Candiotti, do we know anything about what she might have had on her? CANDIOTTI: Don't know, Larry. And, of course, you will recall that her bag was packed and ready to go. She was planning to leave the next day, so most if not all her personal belongings would have been in the hotel room, and they certainly have that.

KING: Beth or Jug, do you know about her driver's license?

TWITTY: Well, she did have her driver's license because she was 18 and she was legal to go in there, so yes that's the only thing she had on her was her driver's license.

HOLLOWAY TWITTY: Susan, that is absolutely correct. I mean, everything else was packed and all she had was her driver's license, no credit cards. She may have had a little cash additionally, and that was it.

KING: This has a story about nightclubs and boys and drinking. Was she that way back at home, Beth?

HOLOWAY TWITTY: No, Natalee is -- no, absolutely not. I mean, you know, and I'm going to again say, you know, Natalee was in Carlos & Charlie's of legal age. I mean, she was there as a patron of theirs, of legal age, and that is -- you know, I think about Joran and how he was there and he was not of age.

KING: Yes. But I mean, it would not be unusual for her then to go to a club and go out with friends. It would not be an unusual occurrence?

TWITTY: Let me answer it.

KING: Go ahead, Jug.

TWITTY: Larry, Larry, you know, hey, this is Aruba. Aruba is different. The kids come down here to have a good time. You're legal at 18, and no, she did not go out and drink and do all that kind of stuff at home. But when you graduate, you come down here, and that's what you come down here for, to have a good time.

And so I think the problem is, you come down here and, you know, you go to a place like Carlos & Charlie's and you get caught all up in it and they just serve you whatever you want to be served. And these little girls, they've never experienced this before, and there's no telling what can happen to you in there.

KING: That's what I wanted to confirm and ascertain.

Hagerstown, Maryland, hello.

CALLER: Hi, I just want to first say my heart goes out to the Holloway and Twitty family. My question is for Beth. What would be your next step if you get no clues or any information from the Quantico or from the pond?

HOLLOWAY TWITTY: Well, I think you're reading me pretty well. I'm always wanting to have something set into motion. And I think that's why I really want to go forward and really -- with these posters and reward for a safe return, the million dollars, the $100,000 for her whereabouts and just really make sure that information is posted everywhere.

As a matter of fact, we're going to begin that tomorrow from the ships coming in to any possible place it can be posted, because you've got to have something going, you're exactly right.

KING: Peter, as a resident of Aruba, does this all puzzle you, that this mystery has gone on so long?

MOHAMED: Yes, I think it doesn't puzzle only me, it puzzles everyone, I think. As I said in the beginning, we haven't had a case like this before. It's also very interesting legally, because if you see what was happening from the beginning, the first two security guards who were picked up, who, it seems now, had nothing to do with the case, (INAUDIBLE).

It seems now the judge's son has been involved. When they made their statements, it seems they keep changing their statements. Now it goes so far, the FBI becomes involved, the Dutch legal investigating authorities got involved, so I think this case is so unique that even as you've seen in so many interviews with people on the island, everyone is still baffled about why it became this big.

KING: Yes. And, Susan, aren't you a little baffled as to how big the story has gotten?

CANDIOTTI: Yes, you know, you don't see this very often, the continued interest and presence here from the news media, as they try to figure out what happened to this young lady and follow the struggles of the family as they try to learn as well what happened to their beloved daughter.

And that, of course, is what it makes this so intriguing and also just how someone can disappear so suddenly and apparently without a trace.

KING: Yes. Beth and Jug, we thank you again for being with us, our hearts go out to you, we hope for nothing but the best news, the best news, of course, being that she's alive.

TWITTY: Thanks for your help, Larry.

HOLLOWAY TWITTY: Thank you so much, Larry and Susan.

KING: Beth Holloway Twitty, Natalee Holloway's mother, and Jug Twitty, Natalee's stepfather. Peter Mohamed, T.J. Ward, Dr. Henry Lee, and Susan Candiotti will remain. Lots more of your phone calls ahead. Don't go away.

KING: We're back.

In Aruba is Peter Mohammed, a member of the Aruban law firm representing the Holloway and Twitty families. His colleague, Vinda DeSousa has appeared on this program as well. As is in Aruba, Susan Candiotti, CNN national correspondent who's been covering this case from the get-go.

In Atlanta is T.J. Ward, private investigator hired by the Holloway and Twitty family. He's president and CEO of Investigative Consultants International.

And in San Destin (ph), Florida tonight, where he addressed state attorneys, Dr. Henry Lee, one of the world's major forensic scientists, host of trace evidence on Court TV. Founder and professor of the forensic science program at the University of New Haven and chief emeritus of the Connecticut state police.

Back to the calls. White Rock, British Columbia. Hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: First of all, my daughter graduated at the same time as Natalee, so my heart really goes out to the Holloway and Twitty families. I understand that there's construction going on in the racquet club area, and I'm wondering if anyone has looked into the possibility that Natalee's body was buried there, and then cement poured over it the next day.

KING: T.J.?

WARD: Well, there's construction going on there ever day into the late hours. And that thought has crossed our minds. And I'm sure law enforcement out there has taken that into consideration also.

KING: Susan, how many FBI people are there?

CANDIOTTI: Larry, there is one FBI agent who remains on the island. Early on, as many as eight people were here, including an agent who worked strictly with the family day in and day out, a victim/witness coordinator who was helping them. But now they're down to one agent.

Of course, there are more agents now at FBI headquarters at Quantico, in Virginia -- they're offices there -- more who would be there working with the Dutch investigators who are there going over, again as we said before, witness statements and the like. So far more behind the scenes.

Naturally, also those working at the laboratory there. And we do understand in that regard, they're working on that DNA test on that piece of duct tape with hair found on it to see whether it is Natalee's. And the FBI tells me that they might have preliminary results on those DNA tests as early as tomorrow.

KING: Atlanta, hello.

CALLER: Yes, Larry, thanks for taking my call.

KING: Sure. CALLER: I'm calling, mainly, because I'm interested in knowing if the Holloway/Twitty family or the law enforcement people have checked into all the security cameras that were outside of Charlie's and Carlos McGhee's, whatever it is. And even the racquet ball club, to see if they've started looking into that, you know, anything to where they maybe could have tracked the cars leaving the bar that evening, or when the boys had been sighted.

KING: Peter Mohammed, do you know?

MOHAMED: Well, as far as I know -- and I think that's one of the frustrations, of course, of this case, is there was no suspicion or indication that the boys had anything to do with the case until a few days after the disappearance of Natalee. So I don't think there's any way except for the witness that came forward since last Friday that anyone let me say was like indicating or could place the boys anywhere after leaving Carlos and Charlie's or the racquet club.

So, that's actually the authorities are very glad now that this witness came forward. And I know T.J. knows that also.

KING: T.J.?

WARD: Yes. When we were out there to the racquet club a couple days ago, we did go through to see if there were cameras and some evidence like that we could use. We literally knocked on door to door in that subdivision. And I will soon be returning. If there is no evidence that turns up here, I'll hit the ground again and we'll start picking up the pieces and go forth as we did in the past.

KING: Dr. Lee, forensically -- forensically how puzzling is this?

LEE: Well, it's kind of interesting, you know, to talk about, T.J also talk about a tape with hairs, it's almost a week now. The hair microscopically comparison, an experienced hair examiner usually in less than an hour we can exclude somebody, sometimes in a minute we can exclude somebody, because we can tell the racial origin. If this hair -- it's not a Caucasian hair, right away you can eliminate. And somatic (ph) origin, you can tell easily.

So, after a whole week, which means microscopically those hair may be similar to Natalee's hair. So in one sense, that's a good sign, there are some indication. Now they want to do further tests to do some DNA to confirm or to eliminate.

If they can eliminate offhand right away, we probably would have already heard from them. Now of course, now if mitochondrial DNA shows they could be similar to Natalee, now it is going to take even longer now to look for foreign DNA, any other DNA.

Another issue, drain the lake, of course they're going to grid it out, each grid look for body. But on the other hand, just like I mentioned before, there could be weapons, tapes also don't forget her clothing. That's pretty important. The driver's license, or anything that belongs to her. That's why it's crucial for the family to do a inventory or close friend, say exactly what is missing from her belongings. And with that list, the investigator can go back, look at the area, try to find those items.

KING: We'll take a break and back with more phone calls. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back. We go to Campbellton, New Brunswick. Hello?

CALLER: Hi. I love your show.

KING: Thank you.

CALLER: I would like to ask your -- Mr. T.J. Ward if he thinks Joran van der Sloot -- the boy that is in jail -- if his dad is involved -- if he would have moved the body or did something with it?

WARD: Well, yes, I do think he's involved. And as you're well aware from the evidence and the Aruban police probably also think that he has something to do with it, being as he's still locked in a jail.

There's no doubt in my mind about the two Kalpoe brothers also being involved and I also probably -- from information that we have detained, that the father of van der Sloot is also involved in this case.

KING: Susan, I know your reporter, can't have an opinion, but what do you make of what T.J. just said?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well...

KING: No. I'm asking Susan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Susan, go ahead.

CANDIOTTI: You're right, Larry. My opinion isn't relevant here, but it's interesting to watch these developments and see what happens next. It was certainly unusual to see the Kalpoe brothers released and so, we're watching that to see whether that changes.

But a judge has ruled that in his opinion there wasn't enough evidence to hold them. But under this system -- and that's why it's always interesting to travel and cover stories in different places -- there is a wide -- a great amount of time where judges can always go back and bring people back in again as the situation changes and that's what the situation is here in Aruba. I think about 146 days in all. Isn't that correct, Peter?

MOHAMED: Yes, that's true.

KING: And Peter, what's your reaction to the statement about being held and whether other possible witnesses might be involved?

MOHAMED: You mean being held?

KING: Yes. I mean, do you think there are a lot more people involved? Do you think the judge is involved?

MOHAMED: OK. Well, I think the prosecution at least did. So, that means that from the investigation they did there were at least indications that he was involved.

And as far as I know, he's at least still a person of interest and anything that comes up, as I said and just like Susan just said, it's the same with the Kalpoe brothers, they're free to walk, but it doesn't mean that they're off the hook. They're still suspects in the case and it means that if anything comes up, they might be rearrested. But on the other hand, even without being rearrested, they can still be brought to trial.

KING: Arlington, Virginia...

CANDIOTTI: ... Have to be very careful

KING: I'm sorry. Go ahead, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: I was going to say: You have to be very careful in these investigations, because you have to have evidence. You can't just suspect and you have to prove something here. And so, must be very careful about how we treat everyone that has been named in this case. No one has been charged with anything at this stage.

KING: By the way, Susan, is it always windy in Aruba?

CANDIOTTI: Always. Always a windy island. That's right and also, no mosquitoes at night. That's one thing you don't have to worry about here.

KING: Arlington, Virginia. Hello.

CALLER: Hi.

KING: Hi.

CALLER: I'm sure I'm not the only one who would like to contribute money to help the family pay for expenses like hotels and they had to hire an attorney and they're hiring a private investigator. Has a network been set up that will take donations -- private donations?

KING: Peter?

MOHAMED: If you go to NataleeHolloway.com, there's all the information there for to making donations. NataleeHolloway.com.

KING: It's NataleeHolloway.com.

MOHAMED: Yes.

KING: To Salt Lake City, Utah. Hello. Salt Lake, are you there? Hello?

CALLER: Hello?

KING: Yes. Speak up. Go ahead. Go ahead!

CALLER: For Salt Lake?

KING: Yes. Go ahead.

CALLER: I was -- you know we had Elizabeth Smart kidnapped in Salt Lake.

KING: Right.

CALLER: And not found for nine months or so. And I was wondering, with the slave trade the way it is around the world, if it's possible -- I don't know, do boats and yachts come into Aruba?

KING: T.J., could -- is this a possibility, slave trade?

WARD: Well, yes, there is a possibility and we're just -- I think tomorrow if the lake is emptied and that should take us to another level of this story. And as soon as we can do that, then we -- if there is any evidence there or there is a body there or a body not there, then we'll either know to go look somewhere else or we'll take what they do find and we'll take it from there.

KING: In fact, from a family perspective, that's a hope, isn't it?

WARD: Yes, that is.

KING: We'll take a break and be back with more on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE. Hulk Hogan and his family tomorrow night. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We're back.

Chesterfield Township, Michigan. Hello.

CALLER: Yes. Are there any statistics or database on tourism safety and tourists meeting with foul play and what countries are the safest, etc.?

KING: Susan Candiotti, do we have any statistics on that, safe countries, unsafe countries?

Reporter: I was having a hard time -- statistics on how safe certain countries are than others?

KING: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: I'm sure there are.

KING: I'm sure there are.

CANDIOTTI: I haven't checked into them lately, but you can find anything on the Internet these days, most certainly; through various search engines, naturally.

KING: T.J. Ward, do you know?

WARD: Well, no, but I can tell you Aruba is a safe place. This is just an unfortunate circumstance that's happened here and I think the attorney will tell you that -- that's with us tonight for the family -- that I believe there's only been one other incident here recently and I think it was in 1996 that a tourist had an incident similar to this.

KING: Peter, Aruba is generally considered quite safe, isn't it?

MOHAMED: Yes, it is. I think T.J. -- T.J. is right about that. One of the last incidents was a homicide regarding a tourist has been years ago.

So, for tourists I think it's unfortunate that some press members or media are putting Aruba in bad daylight and it's not necessary, because as you've seen yourself -- I mean, with the whole world press on the island for the last -- almost the last two months, this was the most unfortunate incident.

And if there was anything else that, you know, came up that made Aruba look unsafe, it would have certainly be in the press. So, we consider Aruba still a safe place to be and last week the minister of tourism published the latest figures and tourism figures are still as high as ever. So, I think it's still -- we're sure that it's still a safe place to come to.

KING: Saint Catherine's, Ontario. Hello.

CALLER: I'd like to say that I want to say my prayers for Natalee's mother and family. And I would like to know what the Vanderbilt (sic) Properties, the George Vanderbuilt's (sic) property properly searched, because I think he knows more than they're saying he does know.

KING: Dr. Lee, do you know if it was a thorough search?

LEE: I understand they did a very thorough search, but I don't know anything seized from the property. They apparently did not find a body or any indication.

Of course, you know, I'm not involved in the investigation. If this is my case, of course I'm going to check the Van der Sloot brother -- him and the brothers, what she wore that day. Try to look at the two aspects -- one is the investigation. One look at the physical evidence there. Try to correlate any inconsistency.

And I still think, you know the pond draining, that's going to be either found something or nothing. And if found something, of course, that would bring to another level. If not, you go back to the ground zero.

But on the other hand, tape is another issue. They should look for choice evidence on the tape. And in particle, algae material, can do some investigative lead for the investigator to follow what's the most likely place, of course the geographic profile, that's another thing.

KING: T.J., do you know if there was a thorough search?

WARD: No, I believe it was not a thorough search. And I believe when Equusearch went in there to take their crew in there and try to search, they were limited to where they could and where they couldn't search. And that was one of the frustrations we had when we went on the property.

I believe if there would have been a search warrant issued in the beginning with law enforcement, law enforcement could have took control of this investigation and searched everywhere that they wanted to, with the foundation -- with the courts behind them to do what need to be done. But when Equusearch went in, as a volunteer, they were told where they could look and where they couldn't look.

KING: We'll take a break and be back with some more moments, a few more phone calls as well. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KING: We go back to the calls. Greenville, South Carolina, hello.

CALLER: Yes, hi. I have two questions. First of all, what kind of reputation do these three boys have? And my second question is, had Natalee been to this bar previous to that evening? In other words, was there some kind of relationship that had been established between her and those three guys?

KING: Good questions. Peter Mohamed, what do we know?

MOHAMED: From what we know, Natalee met Joran just the last day, that same Sunday in the casino. She was introduced to Joran by two other friends of hers. And Joran decided later that night to go to Carlos and Charlie's with the Kalpoe brothers. And that's where they supposedly met and went on to together. And that's the last thing we know.

KING: That was the first night, you have no prior record of anything between them?

MOHAMED: No. There seems to be no earlier contact between the two before that night.

KING: Brookfield, Connecticut, hello.

CALLER: Hi, Larry. I have a two-part question.

KING: Sure. CALLER: Were any of the suspects ever given a lie detector test? And if not, why not? And now that our FBI is involved, could they ask for a lie detector test?

And the second part is, would a like detector test be as accurate now two months later as it would have been right after she vanished?

KING: Dr. Lee, does it matter when a lie detector test is given?

LEE: Of course, the timing is important. But lie detector tests, basically is a polygraph. You really don't tell somebody lying or not. It's just a psychological reaction. And ideally, you should administer it right from the beginning, the best timing. But however, if one change so much, if you design the question correctly, you still can get the reaction.

KING: T.J., were lie detector tests at all administered to anybody?

WARD: Well first of all, if you recall, Larry, we went to Aruba about three weeks ago to take a new 21st century polygraph, per se -- the Laird Voice Analysis (ph), to Aruba. And we demonstrated not to the police -- not only to the Aruban government, and they said, ah, it's all well and good and great, but they were afraid to jeopardize the case.

On the second part of the question with this Laird voice analysis, no other polygraph is allowed in Aruba in their proceedings.

KING: Does the FBI use them, TJ, just as an investigative tool?

WARD: The polygraph, yes, is used by the FBI. But again this is a case that belongs to the Aruban authorities and the FBI has no jurisdiction according to the letter that came down from Holland other than monitor what goes on in the course of the investigation and give advice how to handle the investigation.

KING: Susan, has the FBI told you cordial or not cordial their relationships have been with the Aruban authorities?

CANDIOTTI: Being described as very cordial. The people who have been on the ground here over the past couple months working hand in hand with the people -- the Aruban investigators, it's been a very good relationship.

Naturally, privately, there have been frustrations expressed about the inability on the part of the FBI to play a larger role, but of course they're invited guests here. And they've got to play by the rules.

But certainly things are changing a bit as we previously described, with more of the evidence and investigative materials being shared with the FBI by the Aruban authorities after the head of the Miami FBI office came down and met with law enforcement officials and with the prime minister, things started to change.

KING: T.J., what do you expect tomorrow, if anything, from the pond?

WARD: Well, that's a trick question. If something does come up, then we'll know how to proceed with it. And if something doesn't come up, we're going to hit the ground again in the next couple of days, and I'll do what I was asked to do by the family when I was hired.

KING: So, you don't envision ever a time where you say, there's no where to go with this?

WARD: Well, in all due respect for the family -- and I believe since we got there, and since the FBI got there, there's been a big change in the course of this investigation. And there's somebody out there that knows what's going on. And on top of that, I understand that Holland authorities have just sent three juvenile expert interrogators down from Holland. And Of course, I think that will be incorporated somewhere here in the near future, to not only talk to Van der Sloot, but maybe the Kalpoe brothers and the same.

KING: Thank you all very much. The dilemma continues.

Susan Candiotti, Dr. Henry Lee, T.J. Ward and Peter Mohamed, earlier, Jug Twitty and Beth Holloway Twitty, the stepfather and mother respectively of this missing, beautiful, young lady.

Hulk Hogan is our special guest tomorrow night, along with his family. They've got a new TV thing coming. And Hulk is always a delight.

And Art Linkletter, 94 years young, shares the cameras with us on Friday.

Right now -- we don't share cameras with Aaron Brown, he shares with no one. Aaron works alone.

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