US man loses appeal in Aruba missing tourist case

ORANJESTAD, Aruba — An Aruban court on Wednesday rejected a Maryland businessman's attempt to reverse an order detaining him as a suspect in the presumed death of his travel companion in the Dutch Caribbean island.

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The ruling from the three-judge panel means that Gary V. Giordano will have to remain in custody at least through the end of the 60-day investigative detention period imposed on Aug. 31.

"Of course he's very disappointed and sad about this decision," his attorney, Michael Lopez, said outside court.

Lopez had argued that authorities do not have enough evidence to detain Giordano as a suspect in the presumed death of Robyn Gardner, a 35-year-old woman from Frederick, Maryland, who traveled to Aruba with him for what was supposed to be a five-day trip.

Giordano, who is from Gaithersburg, Maryland, and owns a temporary staffing business, was arrested as he tried to leave the island on Aug. 5. Prosecutors have said they initially detained him because he gave inconsistent statements about Gardner's disappearance.

The prosecution has disclosed little of the evidence against Giordano but has said he was the beneficiary of a $1.5 million accidental death insurance policy he took out on her before their trip.

Giordano has told Aruban police that Gardner was apparently swept out to sea as they went snorkeling off the southern tip of the island. Authorities have searched the coastline near where she vanished and parts of the island but her body has not been found. Richard Forester, an on-again-off-again boyfriend of the missing woman, said Wednesday that he is trying to organize a new search effort.

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German tourist rescued teens during island massacre

A German tourist is being hailed as a hero for rescuing at least 20 people from a gunman's rampage on Utoya island in Norway, according to media reports.

Marcel Gleffe, 32, was with his family Friday at a campground across the water from the island when he heard gunshots, Der Spiegel reported. He and his family looked out from the shore, thinking it might be fireworks, but instead they saw a plume of smoke and a girl swimming frantically in the water and screaming.

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Gleffe got into the boat he had rented and set off, Der Spiegel said. He was the first person to reach the island where Anders Behring Breivik gunned down dozens of youngsters at a summer camp.

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"I just did it on instinct," Gleffe told The Telegraph newspaper.

"You don't get scared in a situation like that, you just do what it takes. I know the difference between fireworks and gunfire. I knew what it was about, and that it wasn't just nonsense."

He said many of the youths were suspicious and shouted, "Are you police, are you police?" Some of them reportedly shouted, "terrorist, terrorist, terrorist," as others tried to explain that the shooter was dressed in a police uniform.

Video: Girl pretended to be dead, survived Norway attack (on this page)

"They were happy to get help, but they were unsure whom they could trust," he told the local Dagbladet newspaper, according to The Telegraph.

"There were people swimming everywhere in the water. I threw them lifejackets and pulled those into the boat who were having the most trouble. Everyone was screaming, but they were also helping each other," he told Der Spiegel.

Slideshow: Norway in mourning after massacre (on this page)

Gleffe made several trips to the island to rescue around six people each time for about an hour, when police finally arrived, a German English-language news website The Local reported. Other people from Gleffe's campsite also joined him and ferried people back to the mainland with their boats.

"Cooperation with the police and rescue crews afterwards was very good, but it all came too late," he said.

When police arrived, Gleffe stopped to think about himself for the first time, he told The Local.

"I was myself so frozen that I had to first warm myself up. I was turning blue," he said.

Meantime, the alleged killer appeared in court Monday , telling a judge that his bomb attack in Oslo and the camp shooting rampage was aimed at saving Europe from a Muslim takeover.

Police revised the death toll downward to 76 from 93, saying eight people were now known to have died in the bomb blast in central Oslo, and 68 on Utoya.

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