Man held in woman's disappearance in Aruba to be released

By the CNN Wire Staff

November 29, 2011 -- Updated 0655 GMT (1455 HKT)

Robyn Gardner has been missing since August 2, when she disappeared during a snorkeling trip

Robyn Gardner has been missing since August 2, when she disappeared during a snorkeling trip.Aruban authorities vow to continue with the investigationSolicitor general: Giordano has refused to answer questions in recent weeksHe plans to return home to the United States, his lawyer saysHe is yet to be formally charged in the case

(CNN) -- Gary Giordano, a U.S. citizen held in Aruba in connection with the disappearance of a Maryland woman, is expected to be set free Tuesday after weeks in detention.

On Monday, Aruba's general prosecutor vowed that investigators will keep working "to get to the bottom" of what happened to Robyn Gardner, who was last seen in early August.

Prosecutor Taco Stein said Giordano has refused to "answer our questions" in recent weeks. Still, Stein vowed that such a lack of cooperation won't stop the investigation into the disappearance.

"We take this in stride," Stein said of a judge's decision to rule against the prosecution and allow for Giordano's release. "We would have liked it to be different... Of course, the investigation will continue."

Giordano's U.S.-based attorney, Jose Baez, said in a statement last week that his client would be released at 8 p.m. Tuesday and "return home to his family in the United States."

A three-judge panel will hold a hearing starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday to assess the decision to release Giordano. Yet Stein has acknowledged Giordano likely will not be in the country by then -- while insisting that, "if we need him again, we will seek extradition with the United States."

Giordano, 50, has yet to be formally charged in the case.

According to statements from the prosecutor's office, Giordano said he'd been snorkeling with Gardner when he signaled her to swim back. When he reached the Aruban beach, Gardner was nowhere to be found, he reportedly said.

"I only looked back when I hit a rock," Giordano told investigators, according to a transcript of a police interview obtained by CNN. "Before that, I did not look back. I was only busy saving my life."

He was later arrested, with Aruban judges repeatedly granting requests to extend his detention while the investigation continued -- until Friday, when a judge rejected a prosecution bid to hold Giordano for 30 additional days.

The solicitor general stressed Monday that Giordano's likely departure won't alter Aruban authorities' commitment.

"We are determined to get to the bottom of this, not just for the reason of justice but (because) the family of Robyn ... deserves answers ... to get clarity and the possibility of closure," Stein said. "Especially at this time of year, it must be very hard not to know what happened."

CNN's Vivian Kuo and Greg Seaby contributed to this report.

Source: CNN