(CBS/AP) The search for Natalee Holloway the Alabama teen who disappeared during a high school graduation trip to the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba, is continuing, nearly a year after her disappearance.

A team of several boats from Aruba's coast guard was planning to use sonar equipment Friday and focusing on the area off the shore of the hotel where Holloway stayed, at the northern end of the island, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solorzano.

Authorities have arrested seven people in connection with Holloway's disappearance and then released them for lack of evidence. On Saturday, they arrested Geoffrey van Cromvoirt, 19, saying he was suspected of "criminal offenses that may be related to the disappearance" of Holloway, who was 18 when she vanished. Officials have not provided details about why van Cromvoirt was arrested.

His beach friends still find his arrest hard to believe.

"I thought it was a joke. Geoffrey? I mean ..." Danielle Buffalini told Solorzano.

His defense attorney has released a statement, claiming the teenager was not working as a beach patrol member in May or June of last year.

The defense also stresses that van Cromvoirt is not friends with the three men arrested earlier in the case, Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and his brother Satish.

John Q. Kelly, an attorney for the Holloway family, said he was told by an FBI agent that van Cromvoirt's name had come up earlier in the investigation. Kelly said he had no other information about the suspect.

Aruba's chief prosecutor has told Kelly "they have sufficient evidence to hold him ... and they're continuing to interrogate him," Kelly said in a telephone interview from his New York office Thursday.

CBS News has obtained transcripts of secretly recorded conversations that van der Sloot and the Kalpoes had with one another. Just weeks after Holloway disappeared, the three were taped in the back of a police car accusing each other of lying and doing something to the Alabama teen.

In the transcripts, van der Sloot says to the Kalpoe brothers, "I know very well that you are afraid, that is, if you did something bad with the girl, and if they find the girl then we will see."

Satish Kalpoe answers "I'm not afraid, why must I be afraid?"

Deepak says "I want them to find the girl."

A judge on Tuesday approved a prosecution request to hold van Cromvoirt pending further investigation. He also was detained on suspicion of drug offenses.

Footage aired on an American television network showed a handcuffed van Cromvoirt, wearing a black hooded sweat shirt and blue jeans, coming out of a police station on Thursday evening. When he saw the television camera, he pulled his sweat shirt over his face.

A number of searches involving Dutch marines, the FBI and hundreds of volunteers have been conducted throughout the island and off the coast. More recent searches have focused on dunes along the island's north shore.
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I doubt they'll ever find her.

Does this break the record for longest search of a missing person or what?

I don't know what the record is. I geuss I'll look it up.

I am soooooooo sick of hearing about the search for Natalie. What about the other millions of people who are missing?????

They aren't pretty blond young women that went missing in a popular vaction spot. I know it sucks but it's true.

pretty + young woman + rich parents + foreign country= EXTREMELY LONG SEARCH WHILE WE FORGET ABOUT THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN OUR OWN COUNTRY WHO ARE MISSING.... if you gave them one tenth of the attention we've given natalee holloway, you'd find most of them!!!!

So it's not survival of the fittest, but SURVIVAL OF THE RICHEST ?

pretty much.... as unfortunate and sad as it is.

Having lived on Aruba for a while, I have some strong feelings on how the media is calling for a boycott of Tourism to Aruba. Every Where you go there is a danger that something bad will happen. The whole "Lets Punish arubans" attitude is really a blood boiler for me, the government sucks, yeah just like any other 2nd world country's whose police force is under paid and over worked. Why hurt the people of an island who so far has had an awesome track record with safety compared to other islands in the Caribbean? Just me venting i guess...

From what I hear, you are much more likly to get killed, kidnapped, mugged, or anyother bad deed done to you anywhere else excpet Aurba. I hear Aurba is a pretty quiet place with very little crime. Is that true Skeptic?

I don't think it has anything to do with money or social status... I think the searches are continuing because she has parents that won't give up and are pushing the authorities to keep the search going... I know my parents would do whatever they had to to find me or the person/s responsible for my death. Even now when I am 35 years old .. they would still pull out all resources including money if need be!

True, but how many parents of missing kids are out there, refusing to give up hope that their child will be found, yet aren't on the news?
I think they're right- the reason Natalee has been in the media for so long is that she's white, good-looking, and upper-class.
But still, I hope they find her.

That's still no reason for people to bash the efforts to find her or to find out what happened to her.

I feel sorry for all parents who have missing children... but if this family can get it done... then that's great.

I guess I feel a little defensive for her and her family because I feel I have somewhat in common with her.. I am white, blonde, considered good looking and from an upper class family... I hope my family wouldn't be ridiculed if they had the means to find me or my sisters if one of us was missing...

But .. really I do see your point on that... but still... no reason for people to be so negative about it... they should hope she is found or her killers brought to justice... (as I see you do fox... I'm just ranting)

Upper class? Not so much, more like middle class.

those 3 little bastards,the two brothers and the judge's son,killed that girl,and did god knows what else to her,and most likely fed her body to the sharks.the only way any of them will ever go to jail is if one of them confesses,because if they have'nt found any forensic evidence by now,they are'nt ever gonna find any!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feeding her to shark? WTF?! How the hell are those guys gonna to lure shark? Shark aren't like a pet dog that come to you when called! Also shark doesnt even like taste of human flesh!

I hope parents end up find nothing. I've read about them, they are dumbest people ever! They backstabbed lot of people who tried to help them. I hope parents get what they deserve!

Remember early on those three were arrested then the Pleasure boat worker was detained.

Natalie was put off that boat into deep water.

When Natalie first went missing I began to meditate on this case, and Natalie came in and looked towards aruba and said a name.

I then saw her lifeless body laying on the sand.

I heard the word forcible Rape.

I then saw the Pleasure boat and natalie was wrapped in something and put over the side of the boat.

I then heard the words Sonar, to say she was put deep in the Ocean.

I say they will probably never find her body, and I hope these high living party boys don't get away with this.

This information came to me early on even before her mother arrived on the Island but as soon as it was on the News.

I did write about this earlier but I say I can't tell this story enough in the hopes that someone pays for her sensless murder.

As opposed to non-forcible rape? All rape is by force. And that's 2 words. Your spirits need a dictionary.

LOL

She's the reason I hate Nancy Grace. This is all Nancy Grace ever talks about. It's so annoying.

That's a little harsh don't you think? All the parents want is closure. All the backstabing proves is that they are willing to look for their daughter. I'm sure you would do whatever it takes to find your child.

That's true, I mean, a mother or fathers love has no boundaries Though, if they would have given the money they used to look for her to kids in Africa, 10 people might have been saved, likely more.

I don't know the official numbers of people gone missing over here (N.Ireland) but there's one case where a 20ish year old girl went missing over a year ago and they're still searching for her. She's shown to be this loving caring girl who enjoyed life etc etc but it's well known she's in with a bad crowd drug dealing etc and tried to do some nasty characters out of some money. I'm not saying she deserved what she got, but other cases of missing people get nowhere near as much media coverage.

Sharks can be lured they follow scent trails of blood.

I think that the media covers these stories of missing people when the loved ones are most active. In other words the missing cases where there aren't people constantly saying, "where is my child/relative/friend/etc" aren't going to get as much attention.

No. I believe Amelia Earhardt has this one beat.

How long did her search last?

They still haven't found her.