Natalee Case Discussion #804 3/1/09 - 3/6/09

[Anna]

Anyone remember poster Grande?  He was phenomenal with corporate information.  Wish he would lend a hand but think he is busy elsewhere with his own forum, etc.

[Nut44x4]

Anyone remember poster Grande?  He was phenomenal with corporate information.  Wish he would lend a hand but think he is busy elsewhere with his own forum, etc.

I Doooooooo!! Yep, he is busy at HFTM and most likely other areas too.

[MuffyBee]

Anyone remember poster Grande?  He was phenomenal with corporate information.  Wish he would lend a hand but think he is busy elsewhere with his own forum, etc.

Yes, I remember Grande too.

[Keepthefaith]

18.7.56 Oct 30, 2007: Acergy Wins $140 Million Contract From Petrobras 251
 

18.2.33 Dec 03, 2007: Petrobras Signs Agreement With StatoilHydro 155

18.7.49 Jan 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Contract With Petrobras 248

18.7.41 Mar 31, 2008: Subsea 7 Announces Contract Award On Sul Capixaba Pipeline Project 245

18.7.39 Apr 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Three New Contracts From Petrobras

[Keepthefaith]

18.7.56 Oct 30, 2007: Acergy Wins $140 Million Contract From Petrobras 251
 

18.2.33 Dec 03, 2007: Petrobras Signs Agreement With StatoilHydro 155

18.7.49 Jan 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Contract With Petrobras 248

18.7.41 Mar 31, 2008: Subsea 7 Announces Contract Award On Sul Capixaba Pipeline Project 245

18.7.39 Apr 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Three New Contracts From Petrobras

http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Petroleo-Brasileiro-S-A-Detailed-Analysis-and-Forecasts-of-LNG-Terminals.html

[Lifesong]

Good morning, everyone!   

It's been a busier day than I expected, I'm sorry this is taking me so long.  I'll probably do better with small bites anyway, so here are the questions I have on the first few events...



1.    On the morning of the 30th we met on board the Persistence with Hans Mos, Richardson, and the rest of the police brass and dive division. I showed them all the 29th dive video and they agreed that it was very suspicion and looked promising.

Who invited ALE?  What was the pre-established protocol should they find something?  Just because Kyle didn’t know it doesn’t mean they didn’t have one.  Was this protocol established with the family’s knowledge, participation and approval?  Finally, who runs the dive division and who do they report to?

2.    Later that day 30-Dec we conducted the dive with the Aruban divers along with our own Tim Trahan.

3.   We discussed ahead of time 1 thumb up means positively human remains, 2 thumbs up... something conclusively identifying Natalee. When Tim T. gives one thumb down, he said that it was inconclusive. He couldn't tell by his own admission.”

4.   Aruban divers deemed that cage to be "not case related", and therefore Aruba had no interest in it. 

Here we have a giant gaping hole in whole story.  What is the truth about the dives?  How many were made?  What did the Aruban divers say they saw?  Is that backed up by the pictures?  How did “Mos, Richardson and the rest of the police brass” justify going from “suspicious” and “looks promising” to “no interest in it”?

(continued)


5.   After the diver visual inspection of the trap he was obligated to report what the Aruban divers reported because although limited, it's the only information he had and the family rightfully wanted answers.  It was a royal mess.

This implies that only the one dive was performed and the Aruban divers’ report was limited.   Again, the truth about dives is still out there.  Obviously, if there was only one dive and the reports of all three divers were “limited” or “inconclusive”, then who made the decision not to dive again?  Why?  Did anyone disagree?  Who?  etc.

6.   At that point, Kyle made the statement to all on board that "we do have an interest" and that they would recover the cage themselves.

Assuming this is true (I have no way of knowing) did anyone agree with Kyle?  Who?  Did anyone disagree?  Where was Tim Miller?  What did he say?
   
7.   That is when Mos purportedly said they would (Aruba and Persistence) dive on it - but it would take 1 -2 weeks for a forensics team to arrive, and that he would let Persistence know. 

8.   After the visual inspection on 30-Dec, the initial plan discussed by the project leads and Aruban police was for us (the team on board the Persistence) to be directly involved in the recovery of the trap. 

And by “directly involved”, you mean what exactly?

9.   There were talks about getting the proper equipment on board the Persistence such as a suction-recovery system to sift small items from the sand. 

By whom?  ALE or Persistence?  Makes a huge difference if it was a stall tactic by ALE or a genuine effort by Persistence, or both, or neither, or some combination thereof…there’s not enough information.

10.   Just after the 30th of Dec we were told it would take about 10-14 days to bring in a Dutch team capable of processing an underwater site..."

I have questions about this, but can’t really form them without the answers to #9.

11.   Kyle Kingman:  "The Aruban divers were on the police boat, dove from their boat, and returned to their boat.”

This follows the biggest gap in the story.  There is no information here about how the evidence recovery happened to occur on January 7th, nor is there an acknowledgement that it hasn’t been explained.

We know the Persistence was notified by ALE, because they were onsite when the divers’ boat arrived.  We do not know how far in advance the Persistence learned from ALE they were ready to dive, though we’ve already learned (#7 & #8) that it was agreed in advance that they would dive together (Persistence & ALE).  Why is Kyle leaving so much of the story out?


12.   The Persistence had no divers on the 7th. Tim Trahan was our diver on the 30th-Dec, but he was out of the country at the time.”

The big day arrives and there’s no diver on the Persistence and no explanation of why.  Why? 

13.   The samples were photographed in detail by one Aruban diver and the other two investigated the contents of the trap, the dimensions, the rigging, and what surrounded the trap.

See #1.  Who manages the Dive Team, etc.

14.   From the video, it looked like they did a diligent and careful job with the samples and the underwater photography.

15.   Kyle Kingman: “The bags were removed just after the ROV got out of the way when the divers took the samples to their boat.... and took off”

So, obviously the divers knew the ROV was there.  On the 30th they had watched the videos from the same ROV before their first dive.  They therefore had to have been well aware that the ROV was taking pictures, filming.  It doesn’t make sense to me to think they didn’t know what the ROV was doing there or that it had filming capabilities.

16.   I get done in the survey room backing up the ROV dive and head to the back deck to talk to the Polis divers and see what they sampled and see the Polis boat way in the distance heading away fast.

17.   Kyle Kingman:  "They were immediately whisked away by the Aruban police and not seen of again by us on the 7th”

I’m curious that Kyle adds the phrase “on the 7th” to the end of that sentence.  It’s probably nothing, but I question it nonetheless.


WHEW! 

Ok, this is the best I can do at the moment to explain why I'm not convinced its been proven exactly what happened and who to blame.  I'm drawn to the fact that PrivateEye did not blame Silvetti, he blamed ALE and referred to people "being chumped", but I'm likewise drawn to the strange triangle of Tim Miller-Dr. Hodges-Dave Holloway as it implies disconnect between Dave and John Silvetti, and still trying to reconcile the Miller-Silvetti continued connection.

As far as I'm concerned, no one's been ruled in or out with the exceptions of Dave Holloway and Tim Miller.

[Lifesong]

Anyone remember poster Grande?  He was phenomenal with corporate information.  Wish he would lend a hand but think he is busy elsewhere with his own forum, etc.

I remember Grande.

[Buckeye]

Lifesong

Is it possible that the Aruban divers thought the ROV was used for it's lights and didn't realize pictures were being taken?

[Keepthefaith]

18.7.56 Oct 30, 2007: Acergy Wins $140 Million Contract From Petrobras 251
 

18.2.33 Dec 03, 2007: Petrobras Signs Agreement With StatoilHydro 155

18.7.49 Jan 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Contract With Petrobras 248

18.7.41 Mar 31, 2008: Subsea 7 Announces Contract Award On Sul Capixaba Pipeline Project 245

18.7.39 Apr 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Three New Contracts From Petrobras

http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Petroleo-Brasileiro-S-A-Detailed-Analysis-and-Forecasts-of-LNG-Terminals.html

Acergy Wins Mexilhao Contract from Petrobras     
  Acergy      Tuesday, April 03, 2007 


Acergy has been awarded a contract from Petrobras to install the Mexilhao gas export trunkline in Brazil.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=43457

[Magnolia]

Good morning, everyone!   

It's been a busier day than I expected, I'm sorry this is taking me so long.  I'll probably do better with small bites anyway, so here are the questions I have on the first few events...



1.    On the morning of the 30th we met on board the Persistence with Hans Mos, Richardson, and the rest of the police brass and dive division. I showed them all the 29th dive video and they agreed that it was very suspicion and looked promising.

Who invited ALE?  What was the pre-established protocol should they find something?  Just because Kyle didn’t know it doesn’t mean they didn’t have one.  Was this protocol established with the family’s knowledge, participation and approval?  Finally, who runs the dive division and who do they report to?

2.    Later that day 30-Dec we conducted the dive with the Aruban divers along with our own Tim Trahan.

3.   We discussed ahead of time 1 thumb up means positively human remains, 2 thumbs up... something conclusively identifying Natalee. When Tim T. gives one thumb down, he said that it was inconclusive. He couldn't tell by his own admission.”

4.   Aruban divers deemed that cage to be "not case related", and therefore Aruba had no interest in it. 

Here we have a giant gaping hole in whole story.  What is the truth about the dives?  How many were made?  What did the Aruban divers say they saw?  Is that backed up by the pictures?  How did “Mos, Richardson and the rest of the police brass” justify going from “suspicious” and “looks promising” to “no interest in it”?

(continued)


5.   After the diver visual inspection of the trap he was obligated to report what the Aruban divers reported because although limited, it's the only information he had and the family rightfully wanted answers.  It was a royal mess.

This implies that only the one dive was performed and the Aruban divers’ report was limited.   Again, the truth about dives is still out there.  Obviously, if there was only one dive and the reports of all three divers were “limited” or “inconclusive”, then who made the decision not to dive again?  Why?  Did anyone disagree?  Who?  etc.

6.   At that point, Kyle made the statement to all on board that "we do have an interest" and that they would recover the cage themselves.

Assuming this is true (I have no way of knowing) did anyone agree with Kyle?  Who?  Did anyone disagree?  Where was Tim Miller?  What did he say?
   
7.   That is when Mos purportedly said they would (Aruba and Persistence) dive on it - but it would take 1 -2 weeks for a forensics team to arrive, and that he would let Persistence know. 

8.   After the visual inspection on 30-Dec, the initial plan discussed by the project leads and Aruban police was for us (the team on board the Persistence) to be directly involved in the recovery of the trap. 

And by “directly involved”, you mean what exactly?

9.   There were talks about getting the proper equipment on board the Persistence such as a suction-recovery system to sift small items from the sand. 

By whom?  ALE or Persistence?  Makes a huge difference if it was a stall tactic by ALE or a genuine effort by Persistence, or both, or neither, or some combination thereof…there’s not enough information.

10.   Just after the 30th of Dec we were told it would take about 10-14 days to bring in a Dutch team capable of processing an underwater site..."

I have questions about this, but can’t really form them without the answers to #9.

11.   Kyle Kingman:  "The Aruban divers were on the police boat, dove from their boat, and returned to their boat.”

This follows the biggest gap in the story.  There is no information here about how the evidence recovery happened to occur on January 7th, nor is there an acknowledgement that it hasn’t been explained.

We know the Persistence was notified by ALE, because they were onsite when the divers’ boat arrived.  We do not know how far in advance the Persistence learned from ALE they were ready to dive, though we’ve already learned (#7 & #8) that it was agreed in advance that they would dive together (Persistence & ALE).  Why is Kyle leaving so much of the story out?


12.   The Persistence had no divers on the 7th. Tim Trahan was our diver on the 30th-Dec, but he was out of the country at the time.”

The big day arrives and there’s no diver on the Persistence and no explanation of why.  Why? 

13.   The samples were photographed in detail by one Aruban diver and the other two investigated the contents of the trap, the dimensions, the rigging, and what surrounded the trap.

See #1.  Who manages the Dive Team, etc.

14.   From the video, it looked like they did a diligent and careful job with the samples and the underwater photography.

15.   Kyle Kingman: “The bags were removed just after the ROV got out of the way when the divers took the samples to their boat.... and took off”

So, obviously the divers knew the ROV was there.  On the 30th they had watched the videos from the same ROV before their first dive.  They therefore had to have been well aware that the ROV was taking pictures, filming.  It doesn’t make sense to me to think they didn’t know what the ROV was doing there or that it had filming capabilities.

16.   I get done in the survey room backing up the ROV dive and head to the back deck to talk to the Polis divers and see what they sampled and see the Polis boat way in the distance heading away fast.

17.   Kyle Kingman:  "They were immediately whisked away by the Aruban police and not seen of again by us on the 7th”

I’m curious that Kyle adds the phrase “on the 7th” to the end of that sentence.  It’s probably nothing, but I question it nonetheless.


WHEW! 

Ok, this is the best I can do at the moment to explain why I'm not convinced its been proven exactly what happened and who to blame.  I'm drawn to the fact that PrivateEye did not blame Silvetti, he blamed ALE and referred to people "being chumped", but I'm likewise drawn to the strange triangle of Tim Miller-Dr. Hodges-Dave Holloway as it implies disconnect between Dave and John Silvetti, and still trying to reconcile the Miller-Silvetti continued connection.

As far as I'm concerned, no one's been ruled in or out with the exceptions of Dave Holloway and Tim Miller.

The thing that has always bothered me is why did they wait from December 30 till January 7 to dive
on the site again.
If I were an American citizen looking for another American citizen and had seen the cage/trap
with wat appeared to be a skull in it, there is no way I would have let it sit there for a week
without going down and checking it out.  I would have not waited on Aruban divers.
If Edwardo was on board, fine ...dive with him or without, but check it out.
It does not make sense to just let it sit there.

[wreck]

Good morning, everyone!   

It's been a busier day than I expected, I'm sorry this is taking me so long.  I'll probably do better with small bites anyway, so here are the questions I have on the first few events...



1.    On the morning of the 30th we met on board the Persistence with Hans Mos, Richardson, and the rest of the police brass and dive division. I showed them all the 29th dive video and they agreed that it was very suspicion and looked promising.

Who invited ALE?  What was the pre-established protocol should they find something?  Just because Kyle didn’t know it doesn’t mean they didn’t have one.  Was this protocol established with the family’s knowledge, participation and approval?  Finally, who runs the dive division and who do they report to?

2.    Later that day 30-Dec we conducted the dive with the Aruban divers along with our own Tim Trahan.

3.   We discussed ahead of time 1 thumb up means positively human remains, 2 thumbs up... something conclusively identifying Natalee. When Tim T. gives one thumb down, he said that it was inconclusive. He couldn't tell by his own admission.”

4.   Aruban divers deemed that cage to be "not case related", and therefore Aruba had no interest in it. 

Here we have a giant gaping hole in whole story.  What is the truth about the dives?  How many were made?  What did the Aruban divers say they saw?  Is that backed up by the pictures?  How did “Mos, Richardson and the rest of the police brass” justify going from “suspicious” and “looks promising” to “no interest in it”?

(continued)


5.   After the diver visual inspection of the trap he was obligated to report what the Aruban divers reported because although limited, it's the only information he had and the family rightfully wanted answers.  It was a royal mess.

This implies that only the one dive was performed and the Aruban divers’ report was limited.   Again, the truth about dives is still out there.  Obviously, if there was only one dive and the reports of all three divers were “limited” or “inconclusive”, then who made the decision not to dive again?  Why?  Did anyone disagree?  Who?  etc.

6.   At that point, Kyle made the statement to all on board that "we do have an interest" and that they would recover the cage themselves.

Assuming this is true (I have no way of knowing) did anyone agree with Kyle?  Who?  Did anyone disagree?  Where was Tim Miller?  What did he say?
   
7.   That is when Mos purportedly said they would (Aruba and Persistence) dive on it - but it would take 1 -2 weeks for a forensics team to arrive, and that he would let Persistence know. 

8.   After the visual inspection on 30-Dec, the initial plan discussed by the project leads and Aruban police was for us (the team on board the Persistence) to be directly involved in the recovery of the trap. 

And by “directly involved”, you mean what exactly?

9.   There were talks about getting the proper equipment on board the Persistence such as a suction-recovery system to sift small items from the sand. 

By whom?  ALE or Persistence?  Makes a huge difference if it was a stall tactic by ALE or a genuine effort by Persistence, or both, or neither, or some combination thereof…there’s not enough information.

10.   Just after the 30th of Dec we were told it would take about 10-14 days to bring in a Dutch team capable of processing an underwater site..."

I have questions about this, but can’t really form them without the answers to #9.

11.   Kyle Kingman:  "The Aruban divers were on the police boat, dove from their boat, and returned to their boat.”

This follows the biggest gap in the story.  There is no information here about how the evidence recovery happened to occur on January 7th, nor is there an acknowledgement that it hasn’t been explained.

We know the Persistence was notified by ALE, because they were onsite when the divers’ boat arrived.  We do not know how far in advance the Persistence learned from ALE they were ready to dive, though we’ve already learned (#7 & #8) that it was agreed in advance that they would dive together (Persistence & ALE).  Why is Kyle leaving so much of the story out?


12.   The Persistence had no divers on the 7th. Tim Trahan was our diver on the 30th-Dec, but he was out of the country at the time.”

The big day arrives and there’s no diver on the Persistence and no explanation of why.  Why? 

13.   The samples were photographed in detail by one Aruban diver and the other two investigated the contents of the trap, the dimensions, the rigging, and what surrounded the trap.

See #1.  Who manages the Dive Team, etc.

14.   From the video, it looked like they did a diligent and careful job with the samples and the underwater photography.

15.   Kyle Kingman: “The bags were removed just after the ROV got out of the way when the divers took the samples to their boat.... and took off”

So, obviously the divers knew the ROV was there.  On the 30th they had watched the videos from the same ROV before their first dive.  They therefore had to have been well aware that the ROV was taking pictures, filming.  It doesn’t make sense to me to think they didn’t know what the ROV was doing there or that it had filming capabilities.

16.   I get done in the survey room backing up the ROV dive and head to the back deck to talk to the Polis divers and see what they sampled and see the Polis boat way in the distance heading away fast.

17.   Kyle Kingman:  "They were immediately whisked away by the Aruban police and not seen of again by us on the 7th”

I’m curious that Kyle adds the phrase “on the 7th” to the end of that sentence.  It’s probably nothing, but I question it nonetheless.


WHEW! 

Ok, this is the best I can do at the moment to explain why I'm not convinced its been proven exactly what happened and who to blame.  I'm drawn to the fact that PrivateEye did not blame Silvetti, he blamed ALE and referred to people "being chumped", but I'm likewise drawn to the strange triangle of Tim Miller-Dr. Hodges-Dave Holloway as it implies disconnect between Dave and John Silvetti, and still trying to reconcile the Miller-Silvetti continued connection.

As far as I'm concerned, no one's been ruled in or out with the exceptions of Dave Holloway and Tim Miller.

The thing that has always bothered me is why did they wait from December 30 till January 7 to dive
on the site again.
If I were an American citizen looking for another American citizen and had seen the cage/trap
with wat appeared to be a skull in it, there is no way I would have let it sit there for a week
without going down and checking it out.  I would have not waited on Aruban divers.
If Edwardo was on board, fine ...dive with him or without, but check it out.
It does not make sense to just let it sit there.

I agree!! The whole purpose of this "costly" ocean search was to recover Natalee. At this point they BELIVED they had found her. WHY spend another whole week of costly time waiting around doing nothing????????????

[Lifesong]

Lifesong

Is it possible that the Aruban divers thought the ROV was used for it's lights and didn't realize pictures were being taken?

Anything is possible, but I don't think that makes sense.

In the picture of the ROV...the camera is not in anyway disguised - it is prominent.  If the divers were that professional and diligent with the evidence collection they were surely sharp enough to understand the ROV's picture taking capabilities, after all, the dive division was at the meeting on the 30th - they'd seen the videos taken from the ROV.   

[WhiskeyGirl]

I'm not sure if anyone posted this already.  Looking for prisioners in Aruba -

Willem Poppe wants to grow vegetables with Arubean prisoners

Tholen - Willem Poppe from Kapelle has devised a plan to grow vegetables with prisoners at Aruba. According the Zeeland biologist-entrepreneur there are plenty of opportunities for vegetable cultivation in Aruba. "There is a perfect growth climate and at present absolutely nothing is grown on Aruba, whilst there is a growing   tourist industry and many restaurants and hotels as a result" Willem tells enthousiastically. "Arubeans are in general not really poor and love fresh vegetables, but at the moment all these are being imported from Venezuela and the United States".

Also the remainder of the family Poppe (wife and four of the six children) hope to relocate to Aruba. "I am convinced that I will be able to earn a living for them in Aruba. At the same time to work with prisoners has a deeper value also, so that in this way we add value to their existence" Willem concludes. "I hope there will be investors to help start this project!".

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=39462

[Lifesong]

I feel like I should plainly explain that I believe in the Freebirds.  I have every faith and belief they asked all these questions and better ones that I haven't thought of.  I am angry about the position they are in.  I get that their hands are basically tied behind their backs and they are doing everything they can.

I support them and I'm grateful to them.

I feel its important they are not made any more vulnerable than they already are.  Its insult to injury that they have been treated so badly by some.

[Magnolia]

[quote
[/quote]

The thing that has always bothered me is why did they wait from December 30 till January 7 to dive
on the site again.
If I were an American citizen looking for another American citizen and had seen the cage/trap
with wat appeared to be a skull in it, there is no way I would have let it sit there for a week
without going down and checking it out.  I would have not waited on Aruban divers.
If Edwardo was on board, fine ...dive with him or without, but check it out.
It does not make sense to just let it sit there.
[/quote]
I agree!! The whole purpose of this "costly" ocean search was to recover Natalee. At this point they BELIVED they had found her. WHY spend another whole week of costly time waiting around doing nothing????????????
[/quote]

The suspense would have killed me!  I would wager that at least 50% of the men on
the Persistence knew how to dive with tanks, even if they were not certified SCUBA.

[hotping]

18.7.56 Oct 30, 2007: Acergy Wins $140 Million Contract From Petrobras 251
 

18.2.33 Dec 03, 2007: Petrobras Signs Agreement With StatoilHydro 155

18.7.49 Jan 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Contract With Petrobras 248

18.7.41 Mar 31, 2008: Subsea 7 Announces Contract Award On Sul Capixaba Pipeline Project 245

18.7.39 Apr 08, 2008: Subsea 7 Wins Three New Contracts From Petrobras

http://www.bharatbook.com/Market-Research-Reports/Petroleo-Brasileiro-S-A-Detailed-Analysis-and-Forecasts-of-LNG-Terminals.html

Acergy Wins Mexilhao Contract from Petrobras     
  Acergy      Tuesday, April 03, 2007 


Acergy has been awarded a contract from Petrobras to install the Mexilhao gas export trunkline in Brazil.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=43457

Here's another link check up top You can look at each year....

http://www.acergy-group.com/public/GeneralPressReleases2

[Lifesong]

The thing that has always bothered me is why did they wait from December 30 till January 7 to dive
on the site again.
If I were an American citizen looking for another American citizen and had seen the cage/trap
with wat appeared to be a skull in it, there is no way I would have let it sit there for a week
without going down and checking it out.  I would have not waited on Aruban divers.
If Edwardo was on board, fine ...dive with him or without, but check it out.
It does not make sense to just let it sit there.

I agree!
And you make another great point - I forgot about Eduardo!  I agree Manolia, nobody on the crew OR the search team dives?  Not having a diver just comes out of left field to me!

[Buckeye]

[quote

The thing that has always bothered me is why did they wait from December 30 till January 7 to dive
on the site again.
If I were an American citizen looking for another American citizen and had seen the cage/trap
with wat appeared to be a skull in it, there is no way I would have let it sit there for a week
without going down and checking it out.  I would have not waited on Aruban divers.
If Edwardo was on board, fine ...dive with him or without, but check it out.
It does not make sense to just let it sit there.
[/quote]
I agree!! The whole purpose of this "costly" ocean search was to recover Natalee. At this point they BELIVED they had found her. WHY spend another whole week of costly time waiting around doing nothing????????????
[/quote]

The suspense would have killed me!  I would wager that at least 50% of the men on
the Persistence knew how to dive with tanks, even if they were not certified SCUBA.

[/quote]

and if all else failed they could have flown in a US diver sooner than a week....

[Keepthefaith]

We've all seen the MONEY these OPPORTUNIST have,as well as the MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CORPORATION's they deal with.How F'ing hard would it have been to come up with the money needed to continue the search "IF NECESSARY"....All these targets with ONE F'ing diver on board from the USA.Are you kidding me.Really.What a joke this Persistence search was.JMOO..

[hotping]

[quote

The thing that has always bothered me is why did they wait from December 30 till January 7 to dive
on the site again.
If I were an American citizen looking for another American citizen and had seen the cage/trap
with wat appeared to be a skull in it, there is no way I would have let it sit there for a week
without going down and checking it out.  I would have not waited on Aruban divers.
If Edwardo was on board, fine ...dive with him or without, but check it out.
It does not make sense to just let it sit there.

I agree!! The whole purpose of this "costly" ocean search was to recover Natalee. At this point they BELIVED they had found her. WHY spend another whole week of costly time waiting around doing nothing????????????
[/quote]

The suspense would have killed me!  I would wager that at least 50% of the men on
the Persistence knew how to dive with tanks, even if they were not certified SCUBA.

[/quote]

and if all else failed they could have flown in a US diver sooner than a week....
[/quote] Doesn't the FBI have divers? I know that the FBI was not supposedly on board but You would think that the Crew of the Persistence would have called them in....WTH was going on that They did not dive before the Arubans ever came back to retrieve the contents of the trap.....