NATCHEZ &045; LouEllen and Guy Stout didn’t hear about the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway until they were boarding the plane to Aruba.

And once they got to their summer beach vacation destination, the itinerary changed a little.

&uot;Everybody down there is involved, everyone is looking,&uot; LouEllen Stout said. &uot;My husband said, ‘What do you think about searching.’&uot;

So the Stouts, of Natchez, and traveling partners Polly and John Spence of Monroe, La., headed to informal search headquarters at the Holiday Inn where they met Holloway’s step-dad.

For two days they searched their assigned 5-mile radius and for two days they hung yellow ribbons in honor of the recent high school graduate who disappeared on May 30 and never boarded her flight home.

The Stouts arrived in Aruba on June 3.

&uot;We were looking for anything,&uot; Stout said. &uot;She could be anywhere and nobody knew what we were looking for.&uot;

Fellow search volunteers included many tourists and lots of locals, she said. Stout estimated seeing about 150 people searching their area in one day.

When authorities put a temporary halt to the searching, the volunteers hung the ribbons.

The Stouts were featured in an Aruban newspaper as part of a story on volunteer searchers.

Stout, who returned to Natchez on Saturday, said rumors were flying on the island, but the locals were doing all they could to help.

&uot;The Arubans are the nicest, most genuine people,&uot; Stout said. &uot;They are getting a bad rap on this. The support there from the Americans of Aruba was very heart warming.&uot;

Since returning to America, LouEllen said she and her husband have paid very close attention to all the reports coming from Aruba.

Even though vacation turned into a little more than they bargained for, Stout said the experience was worth it.

&uot;What’s a few hours when you can make a difference,&uot; she said. &uot;How can you not (help)?&uot;