INSIDE EDITION talks to the roommate of Robyn Gardner, the Maryland woman who went missing in Aruba. She expresses concern about text messages she says Gardner received from the man now in custody in connection with the case.
The FBI has joined the hunt for 35-year-old Robyn Gardner, the Maryland woman who went missing in Aruba.
Gardner's roommate, Christina Jones, is speaking out. She says she was afraid when she heard Gardner was going to Aruba with Gary Giordano, a man she met on match.com.
"She's a super loyal friend and real true joy to be around and maybe a little bit too trusting," said Jones. "It kind of made sense to go away on a vacation but it didn't make sense to go away with Gary."
She says Giordano sent Gardner threatening texts after she turned down an invitation to go on a cruise with him in June. Jones said those texts are in the hands of the FBI.
"There's things that he said that I don't want to repeat, but they were enough that kind of set an alarm in my own self when she said she was going to go away with him."
"What was the nature of those messages? Were they threatening?" asked INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent.
"Yes."
She says Gardner is more likely to relax by the hotel pool than go snorkeling, as Giordano claims she did when she disappeared.
"I just don't see Robyn getting in the water," Jones said.
Hours before she vanished, Gardner sent a Facebook message from Aruba indicating she was having a lousy time. "This sucks," she posted on boyfriend Richard Forester's Facebook page.
INSIDE EDITION spoke exclusively to an ex-girlfriend of the 50-year-old Giordano. She says he has a violent side.
"He was very paranoid, he didn't trust me. He was very physically aggressive," she said.
She is so afraid of him she asked for her identity to remain secret. "Looking back, I don't know why I went out with him more than once."
The case shares eerie similarities with the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Holloway's body has never been found.
Gardner's family said in a statement: "We can only pray that she will soon be with us and bring back the joy into our lives. She means the world to us."
Giordano is being held by the Aruban authorities while they investigate. Unless he is charged with a crime, he will be released Monday. His attorney says he is innocent and is being unjustly detained.
