Aruba Missing Woman Case: Companion Apprehended
After U.S. resident Robyn Gardner, 32, went missing following an Aruba snorkeling trip on Aug. 2, authorities apprehended her companion on Tuesday.
Gary V. Giordano, 50-year-old companion of Gardner, has reportedly been detained after questions arose from statements he made to authorities.
"Statements made by the traveling companion led to such questions that on Friday, Aug. 5, 2011, it was decided to detain him for further questioning on the possible drowning of the woman," the prosecutor's office said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
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Micheal Lopez, lawyer for Giordano in Aruba, said his client should not be held by authorities.
“Our client emphatically denies being involved in any malicious act concerning his friend and consequently does not consider himself a suspect,” Lopez said in a statement.
According to the account from Lopez, Gardner and Giordano both entered Aruba from America and decided to go snorkeling in a shallow-water area called Baby Beach. However, the two Americans were soon pulled by a strong sea current which caused Giordano to tap on Gardner’s leg as a signal to swim back to shore.
However, when Giordano returned Gardner was not with him.
Lopez told the Associated Press that Gardner searched for his companion through the waters before running to get help. After the official search for the missing woman ended on Saturday, Giordano attempted to leave the island but was apprehended at the airport.
The Aruba Today newspaper reported that Giordano was taken into custody because he attempted to leave Aruba after telling Gardner’s mother that he would help search for her daughter when she flew onto the island.
However, Lopez denied these claims. The lawyer said his client received permission from a nearby U.S. vice consulate official after participating with police questioning, helping with the search for Gardner and waiting for her mother to reach the island.
Richard A. Forester, Gardner’s alleged boyfriend, has recently spoken out about the recent turn of events. He said Gardner and Giordano were supposed to be platonic friends, but questioned the relationship.
“I’m starting to believe that’s not true,” Forester said in a phone interview. “I’m starting to believe there was some romantic thing.”
Gardner’s boyfriend said he spoke with her on Facebook before her disappearance and saw that her Google chat was active after she reportedly went missing. For this reason, he told AP that he believed someone had been searching through her email account.
“I’m terrified as to what may have happened to her,” he said. “I’m sad and scared that I might not see her again. I love her very much and all I am concerned about is that she gets home safely.”
Gardner’s is not the first case involving a missing U.S. citizen traveling to Aruba. Natalee Holloway, an Alabama teenager, disappeared on a high school class trip to the island in 2005.
