ARUBA - Robyn Gardner, 35, Maryland woman missing in Aruba, 2 Aug 2011 - #10

[Elley Mae]

Now thinking about it about a year and a half ago I had a detective ? me about the home behind me and if I had heard or seen anything unusually the day and night prior. I had not, and went on to say that it was my father's home who had recently past and he had never said there had been a problem there. To me that would be a neutral fashion Now had the detective approached me and said the lady in the home behind you was murdered did you see anything? Who knows what my mind would have remembered.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

Well from what has been reported it could take a long time to search his computer records. There is no statute of limitations on murder so the US just has to find that link. Aren't we all wondering why Josh Powell was not arrested sooner??? Some crimes need that one piece of evidence to "seal the deal" and I don't think this case is any different.

I don't think he is a danger to any women in the future if they all stay away from him knowing what type of person he is. One can only hope. I don't think GG abuses in public. He likes to do it with no witnesses so all we have are prior statements from those he has abused. Unless, of course, people discount witness statements because they feel they are unreliable but if this is true why would anyone believe GG when apparently he can't rely what happened at the very moment he "became distressed" and swam into shore without checking to see if GG was behind him. At the very least she could have helped him as they weren't that far offshore. An experienced diver leaving their partner behind to drown now where have we heard that before.

Well, we know there was enough daylight to start a search (at least a close to the surface search) because pictures were taken of GG on the beach in his suit pointing in the direction of where they were swimming. I know the helicopters could get there in minutes and LE did say they started searching right away and continued for a couple of days until GG's story started falling apart and those witness statements became more and more consistent that were counter to GG's version of what happened. But as I said I will ask around when I get down there in a couple of months and see when they started.

One thing I can tell you is that the Aruban fishermen and LE's rescue personnel know how those currents run along the island. They know how to search and they have been very successful in recovering bodies of those who have drowned offshore. I asked once, awhile back when NH disappeared, how many people drown here and was told a couple a year and they are recovered. So the belief by the local Arubans, at that time, was that NH did not just wander into the water and drown because her body would have come ashore. This was within a two week period of her going missing. So Arubans are quite aware of what is normal and what is not. jmo

Josh Powell was NEVER arrested...He blew himself up before that could happen. They certainly had damaging photos on his fathers computer and his within months. All they need to charge Gary would be a link to research on insurance fraud, which is the only motive that makes him a suspect, right? It takes 7 months to find "something relative to that"?

Josh Powell??? Now there is a monster....but before this happened he never was described as an abuser,pervert, shady, a liar,manipulative, etc. . {Point being ----ANYONE can be a murderer hiding right in front of us. Being a jerk doesn't automatically make you one.

IMOO Mr. Silva's witness statements are being used as fact. I do not think that is fair. Until there is a statement made that ALE has spoken to him and verifies his story , IMOO, his comments should be discounted.

If we take him out of the "witness equation" Who are the ""many other witness's " , I don't think ALE has ever disclosed this information, it has all been "reported account". Ironic that Silva is the witness constantly quoted, mainly because he got himself on T.V.....If his words are so important, why has ALE never bothered to speak with him. ALE have never stated "his account"--Silva has stated his account on T.V. and the public runs with it.

The SEARCH--Yikes !!!!! lease: let's reserve that discussion for a time after YOU have been to Aruba, and have "Specifics", cause we are just going in circles on that one. LOL!!:crosseyed:

 

[neesaki]

Eye witness accounts are notoriously faulty. People often think they saw something when they either did not, saw something else or misunderstood what they saw. And even when people do see something, the details are allmost allways distorted and inaccurate unless what they were observing was highly unusual.

People will say and do anything to get on TV as well, or to get attention as part of the story. And what makes you think that these people were not paid for their interviews and/or for acting as "sources"? That is common practice in tabloid journalism and most of the stories we are reading come from tabloid style news sources.

Ask yourself this, if this was an average day, and someone saw a stranger in passing, why would they remember the details of an unremarkable and mundane event of no immediate interest to them days or weeks later? Do you? Can you describe in detail the couple who passed you in the supermarket last week and what they were doing? Seriously.

For me it comes down to choosing whether to believe several witness statements that support reports by each of the other witnesses. Paired with Aruba LE's investigation of the case and the conclusions they reached as to what probably did not happen.

Then I look at GG's unbelievable version of events that is wrought with inconsistencies and add that to his questionable and suspicious behavior when he didn't try to rescue Robyn and appeared to be making a lame attempt to get help. Top this off with his history of criminal behavior and abuse toward women and an accidental death policy in the amount of 1.5 mill.
It is jmo that these are not the actions and behaviors of an innocent man.

Because there are still obvious unknowns, it's true that we do not have a total or complete picture of what happened that day. But even at that, the picture we do have thus far makes it fairly easy for me to arrive at the conclusion I have reached. And that is, that GG has been untruthful about the events of that day, and thus about what happened to Robyn.

It is all of this taken together, as a whole, that imo, makes GG look quite guilty of foul play.

 

[neesaki]

Ask yourself this, if this was an average day, and someone saw a stranger in passing, why would they remember the details of an unremarkable and mundane event of no immediate interest to them days or weeks later? Do you? Can you describe in detail the couple who passed you in the supermarket last week and what they were doing? Seriously.

Seeing a woman with long, blonde hair walking on a beach with a man who had been driving erratically; seeing them drive out to a rocky point in a car covered with pointed rocks; seeing a man who was described later to have cuts on his neck and was behaving oddly considering the circumstances... I really doubt would be viewed as "unremarkable and mundane". In fact, after the Natalee Holloway case has plagued Aruba for years, ijmo that Arubans are probably paying more than their fair share of attention to women with long blonde hair, especially Americans. I know if it were me, I would.

 

[neesaki]

Patrol officers, first responders usually take the initial statements and turn them over to the investigators. The investigators, seasoned detectives who are experienced at taking statements then take their own statements and notice any descrepancies in their initial statements. If they are consistent with their original statements they usually consider their statements reliable. When you are recalling a story from memory and not from what you discussed with others it will be consistent. Recalling what you have seen and relaying that information determines whether or not you are telling the truth. Even GG could not get his story straight and he had a personal interest to do so. These witnesses were just normal people going about their daily lives and have only related what they observed.

If LE used their statements they believe they are accurate. The fact that they are all pretty consistent would leave you to believe what they are saying did actually happen. Sometimes witnesses don't get a statement that a suspect said exactly word for word. But when a person visually sees others leave in a car around the same time it's pretty reliable information.

So you have numerous witnesses who have consistent statements about an event they observed and you have a suspect who is inconsistent with his statement about what actually happened. Now who would you believe???? The Aruban's certainly do not believe GG's story because he is still a suspect. jmo

Yes, there is no reason to believe that any of the witnesses were biased in this case. Plus, their statements show a pattern in GG's behavior. GG, on the other hand, has considerable reason to be biased.

 

[Dushi]

he witness says he was fishing on a beach on that day and he saw the two take a walk along the reef around 4 p.m., but they never went in the water.

A short time later, the couple drove away and he never saw either of them again, the witness says. http://abcnews.go.com/International...s-claims-case-missing-woman/story?id=14350220



A fisherman in Aruba says he saw the man suspected of Robyn Gardner's disappearance driving erratically and appearing to be drunk on the day the American tourist vanished.

Sergio Silva told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he saw Gardner and Gary Giordano leaving the Rum Reef Bar & Grill in a rental car on Aug. 2, driving "in the wrong direction."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/robyn-gardner-fisherman_n_938285.html


The last person to see Robyn Gardner and Gary Giordano together was the owner of a dive shop on Aruba who noticed their car far out on a rocky point of the island which he thought was an unlikely place to be snorkeling.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/aruba-dive-shop-owner-person-robyn-gardner/story?id=14315628


Does anyone have a statement from Mr Silva saying he saw the car on the reef?
I can only find one from the owner of the dive shop

 

[Dushi]

Yes, there is no reason to believe that any of the witnesses were biased in this case. Plus, their statements show a pattern in GG's behavior. GG, on the other hand, has considerable reason to be biased.

At no time have I suggested Silva was lying or biased
I said that eye witnesses are often mistaken as is shown by the above post on inaccuracies of eye witness statements

 

[Dushi]

The owner of the dive shop at the Rum Reef Bar & Grill, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he saw the pair that aftenoon that Gardner vanished. He said he noticed the woman's shoulder tattoos --- a leopard print patttern -- but saw no unusual behavior.

He later saw Giordano's rental car at the tip of a rocky path leading out to the ocean, and said he thought at the time how unusual it was to see people snorkeling at that spot.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/aruba-dive-shop-owner-person-robyn-gardner/story?id=14315628



Why did he assume they were snorkelling?
They did not rent equipment.
It has been stated that they did not ask anyone about snorkelling there

 

[Elley Mae]

The owner of the dive shop at the Rum Reef Bar & Grill, who wished to remain anonymous, said that he saw the pair that aftenoon that Gardner vanished. He said he noticed the woman's shoulder tattoos --- a leopard print patttern -- but saw no unusual behavior.

He later saw Giordano's rental car at the tip of a rocky path leading out to the ocean, and said he thought at the time how unusual it was to see people snorkeling at that spot.

http://abcnews.go.com/International/aruba-dive-shop-owner-person-robyn-gardner/story?id=14315628



Why did he assume they were snorkelling?
They did not rent equipment.

Unless he could actually see them in the water with snorkeling equipment on.
I would like to know what is meant by "unusual" as in not a good place to see stuff or unusual as in not safe to snorkel there,etc.

 

[neesaki]

If we take him out of the "witness equation" Who are the ""many other witness's " , I don't think ALE has ever disclosed this information, it has all been "reported account". Ironic that Silva is the witness constantly quoted, mainly because he got himself on T.V.....If his words are so important, why has ALE never bothered to speak with him. ALE have never stated "his account"--Silva has stated his account on T.V. and the public runs with it.

B&SBM. " A large number of witnesses have been questioned in Aruba, and in the U.S., and they expect to hear from more, according to Mr. Stein."

http://issuu.com/themorningnews/doc...yout=http://skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml

 

[neesaki]

A fisherman in Aruba says he saw the man suspected of Robyn Gardner's disappearance driving erratically and appearing to be drunk on the day the American tourist vanished.

Sergio Silva told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he saw Gardner and Gary Giordano leaving the Rum Reef Bar & Grill in a rental car on Aug. 2, driving "in the wrong direction."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/robyn-gardner-fisherman_n_938285.html

B&SBM: I have many times wondered if the reason that GG was driving the car erratically and going in the wrong direction, may have been that they had started fighting. Maybe Robyn even grabbed the steering wheel causing the car to swerve.

Thus, the description that the car was going in the "wrong direction". I really can think of no other good explanation for it unless GG was just that drunk. :dunno:

I can for sure think of no reason for the fisherman to concoct such a story. :waitasec:

 

[neesaki]

At no time have I suggested Silva was lying or biased
I said that eye witnesses are often mistaken as is shown by the above post on inaccuracies of eye witness statements

Oh, I wasn't saying you were suggesting that anyone was lying or biased, lol, I was simply addressing LC's post. Actually, I didn't even notice, was her post in reply to yours?

Ah, I went back and checked and it was. BTW, who is Christina? TIA

 

[Dushi]

Oh, I wasn't saying you were suggesting that anyone was lying or biased, lol, I was simply addressing LC's post. Actually, I didn't even notice, was her post in reply to yours?

Ah, I went back and checked and it was. BTW, who is Christina? TIA

The name was in a post you quoted
I may have it wrong?

Robyns friend? Is that her name?

 

[Sapphire]

Seeing a woman with long, blonde hair walking on a beach with a man who had been driving erratically; seeing them drive out to a rocky point in a car covered with pointed rocks; seeing a man who was described later to have cuts on his neck and was behaving oddly considering the circumstances... I really doubt would be viewed as "unremarkable and mundane". In fact, after the Natalee Holloway case has plagued Aruba for years, ijmo that Arubans are probably paying more than their fair share of attention to women with long blonde hair, especially Americans. I know if it were me, I would.

IMO, Robyn would be somebody I would remember seeing. A woman with long blonde hair, breast enhancements and a tattoo on her arm, would stand out to me. Plus the fact that she had a full face of makeup and was dressed in a long dress and wedge shoes in a location where most people are dressed casually. She would be somebody I would most likely not forget.

 

[Sapphire]

The name was in a post you quoted
I may have it wrong?

Robyns friend? Is that her name?

Christina Jones aka Sophia Parnachelli is Robyn's friend.

 

[R.U.Kidding!]

I don't think it's even clear that Mr. Silva made himself known to LE prior to him being interviewed by GMA. And we don't know that LE did not interview him afterward his report to GMA. The night of the incident it was thought to be a drowning so it is highly unlikely LE was looking for witnesses other than did you see anyone in the water and if they said no LE moved on to the next person. After GG became a suspect those witnesses became important and if no one had gotten Mr. Silva's name he could have fallen through the cracks. But initially LE was looking at an accidential drowning and searched for two days under that belief. jmo

From this post it sounds like since ALE considered it an "accidental drowning"
at the time, they may have never gotten the names of the witnesses, and perhaps It was not just Mr. Silva who "may" have fallen through the cracks.
Considering it was a week later when they suspected fowl play, ALE could only go back to the witnesses that had names for, right? Will WE ever find out exactly whose witness statements have been verified. If someone here knows that info could you please share it with the WS members here so we can all be on the same page when we talk about "many witness" statements.
Right now I think we have a fisherman, and a couple on the beach, right? JMO but that does not seem like "many".

I wonder who would be considered a witness in the U.S., I mean witness to what? This occurred in Aruba, so maybe this is nothing more than statements about GG's character, because so far there is no news on the computer findings.

B&SBM. " A large number of witnesses have been questioned in Aruba, and in the U.S., and they expect to hear from more, according to Mr. Stein."

http://issuu.com/themorningnews/doc...yout=http://skin.issuu.com/v/light/layout.xml

 

[Sapphire]

I wonder if the ALE ever found and questioned the people in the white Hyundai Getz they were looking for?



Aruban prosecutors released a surveillance image of a car in their search for witnesses in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner.

At 5:59 p.m. Aug. 2, the day Gardner disappeared, a white Hyundai Getz was headed north between the Rum Reef Restaurant and the sea. Authorities think the people inside may have seen the rented Toyota RAV4 suspect Gary Giordano, 50, of Gaithersburg, and Gardner, 35, of Frederick, used during their trip to the island parked by the restaurant. It’s also possible they saw Giordano and Gardner, according to the prosecutor’s office.

The prosecutor wants to talk to the driver or any passengers from the Hyundai.

<snip>

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/New-Photo-Released-in-Aruba-Investigation-129168298.html

 

[Dushi]

I wonder if the ALE ever found and questioned the people in the white Hyundai Getz they were looking for?



Aruban prosecutors released a surveillance image of a car in their search for witnesses in the disappearance of Robyn Gardner.

At 5:59 p.m. Aug. 2, the day Gardner disappeared, a white Hyundai Getz was headed north between the Rum Reef Restaurant and the sea. Authorities think the people inside may have seen the rented Toyota RAV4 suspect Gary Giordano, 50, of Gaithersburg, and Gardner, 35, of Frederick, used during their trip to the island parked by the restaurant. It&#8217;s also possible they saw Giordano and Gardner, according to the prosecutor&#8217;s office.

The prosecutor wants to talk to the driver or any passengers from the Hyundai.

<snip>

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/New-Photo-Released-in-Aruba-Investigation-129168298.html

I have never read anything further about this vehicle except in the NE article
If police found the driver, I don't think that information was released

I can't imagine they would have seen Robyn at 5:59
They possibly could have seen GG car parked at the side

 

[Sapphire]

I have never read anything further about this vehicle except in the NE article
If police found the driver, I don't think that information was released

I can't imagine they would have seen Robyn at 5:59
They possibly could have seen GG car parked at the side

The information about this vehicle was also published in the Aruba Herald newspaper. There is a screen capture of the car with a time stamp at the link below.


http://arubaherald.com/court/981-th...ossible-witness-in-missing-of-us-tourist.html

 

[Dushi]

The information about this vehicle was also published in the Aruba Herald newspaper. There is a screen capture of the car with a time stamp at the link below.


http://arubaherald.com/court/981-th...ossible-witness-in-missing-of-us-tourist.html

Yes, I know the information about the car was widely published
I meant, I have never heard anything about whether or not LE found the driver
I heard nothing more after the NE article