An Aruban Park Ranger is accusing the Texas group, Texas EquuSearch, of destroying a turtle’s nest and damaging some of the eggs while searching for Natalie Holloway. Joe Huston, Texas EquuSearch operations director denied his group destroyed the nest. According to Aruban rangers:
The nest was found on a beach in the park on July 29, a day after the volunteer group Texas EquuSearch had been searching the area for clues into the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway, Franken said.
“Our rangers checked the coast that morning (before EquuSearch arrived) and everything was OK,” Franken said. “The next day we found everything destroyed.”
It is tough enough for turtles to survive without being disturbed. Many of the hatchlings are eaten on their way to the water and those who do make it to the surf have a rough time of it. However, I think that a little too much attention is being given to this instead of focusing on the location of the missing teen.
EquuSearch denies disturbing the eggs but their main focus is on finding Natalie. Perhaps if the rangers were as diligent about policing what goes on with people at their beaches as they are with monitoring turtle nests Holloway might be home with her parents instead of being the focus of a country wide search.
The story is here.