Natalee Holloway

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Natalee Holloway

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Natalee Ann Holloway (born October 21 , 1986 ) is a U.S. teenager from Mountain Brook, Alabama , an affluent Suburb of Birmingham , who Disappeared on May 30 , 2005 during a post- Graduation trip in Aruba . Holloway remains missing today. According to Aruban authorities she is unlikely to still be alive. The disappearance caused concern in the United States and Aruba along with a Media Sensation in both countries.

DISAPPEARANCE

Holloway and 124 fellow graduates of with Joran Van Der Sloot (17) and two companions, the brothers Deepak Kalpoe (21) and Satish Kalpoe (18), in Deepak's car.

Natalee did not arrive for her return flight that morning, nor did she appear in any Security Camera footage of her hotel lobby in the course of the night--although, according to statements made by her mother, Beth Twitty, on April 19, 2006, the security cameras at the Holiday Inn were not working the night Natalee vanished {Link without Title} . Her passport, packed luggage, and mobile phone were found in her hotel room. Searches of the island and surrounding waters began almost immediately, but have to date been fruitless.

Initially, Van der Sloot and the Kalpoes told investigators that they dropped Natalee off at her hotel and drove away as she was approached by two men (see below). After extensive questioning, they now say that Joran and Natalee were left at a beach near the Marriott Hotel at about 1:40 a.m. Joran initially claimed that he left Natalee and his shoes on the beach and walked almost 2 miles to his home. Then, in a joint police interview between Joran, Deepak, and Satish, Joran claimed that he was dropped off at his home, and Deepak and Satish drove away with Natalee. Joran then changed his claims again and told police he left Natalee at the Marriott Hotel beach near the fishermens huts, phoned Deepak, and Deepak returned and gave him a ride home. Joran now says he was picked up by Satish at about 3:00 a.m., left Natalee there - he says she wanted to stay, while he wanted to go home because he had to go to school later that morning. Satish has denied picking up Joran.

In an interview with CBS correspondent Troy Roberts aired on March 25 , 2006 , Gerold Dompig , then deputy chief of police in Aruba, stated that he now believes Holloway probably died from alcohol and/or drug poisoning and was not murdered, and that someone later hid her body. Dompig removed himself from the case shortly after making those claims. {Link without Title}

Natalee's behavior

Recent reporting, notably in the feature article in ''Vanity Fair'', has centered on the behavior of the high school group during their vacation in Aruba. According to that article, the 2006 seniors are not welcome at the Holiday Inn due to the behavior of the previous year's graduates.

Natalee's behavior has been closely examined. According to Joran's claims, Natalee lay down on the bar and let him lick a Jello Shot off her Midriff , otherwise known as a 'body shot'. [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,186581,00.html Natalee's Mountain Brook classmates who were present have not confirmed Joran's report.

Interviews of some of the Mountain Brook High School students who went on the trip to Aruba with Natalee were carried out by the FBI and Aruban authorities in the United States in January 2006.

Natalee's friends said she had been drinking all day long the day before her disappearance, and Deputy Chief Dompig indicated that the police have evidence which corroborates with this, as well as a witness who claimed she possessed drugs. The witness, a known drug dealer named "Boeti," is Dompig's brother-in-law. {Link without Title}

INVESTIGATION

Leader

Jan van der Straaten was the initial leader of the investigation. After Van der Straaten's retirement, Police Commissioner Gerold Dompig took over as the leader of the investigation. In April 2006 he was replaced by Adolpho (Dolfi) Richardson.

Initial story

On May 30 , immediately following her missed flight, Natalee's stepfather and mother, Jug and Beth Twitty, traveled to Aruba with friends by Jug's company private jet. Within four hours of landing in Aruba the Twittys and others went to the Aruban police with Van der Sloot's name and address, as the person last known to be seen with their daughter. Accompanied by two Aruban policemen and other Arubans, they went to the Van der Sloot home looking for Natalee. During this encounter, Joran and Deepak related their first story.

Their initial claims were that they drove Natalee to the "California Lighthouse" area of , Aruban Police, led by superintendent Jan van der Straaten, detained Antonius "Mickey" John (30) and Abraham Jones (28), former security guards for the nearby Allegro Hotel, which was closed for renovation.

Van der Sloot's arrest

On June 9 , Joran and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested as suspects involved in a crime against Natalee with "reasonable suspicion of murder, manslaughter or intentional containment with the dead as consequence." John and Jones were released on June 13 .

On Friday June 17 , a fourth person, later identified as Disc Jockey Steve Gregory Croes (26) was also arrested. On June 22 Aruban police detained Joran's father, Paulus van der Sloot, for questioning, and arrested him the same day. He was released on June 26 after agreeing to waive his right not to testify against his son. Croes was released on June 27 . On Monday, July 4 , a Judge Commissioner released Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, but they were re-arrested on August 26 along with another new suspect, Freddy Arambatzis, Joran's friend and neighbour. {Link without Title}

Suspects released

On Saturday, , 2005 , Paulus won an unjust detention action against the Aruban government and, by virtue of that victory, is no longer legally a suspect. Paulus has also initiated a civil action for monetary damages for himself and his family because of his detention. The final ruling on his civil action is pending--he will be entitled to damages, and a decision on the amount is due May 1.

Physical search

The search for physical evidence has been extensive--and subject to, apparently, false leads. During the time that Joran claims he was on the beach with Natalee there were three fishermen in the ocean just off the same beach spot who have stated to Aruban police that they saw no one on the beach, but they did notice a white vehicle at about 3:30 to 4:00 AM. The same morning that Natalee vanished some fishermens huts located at the same spot that Joran claims he and Natalee were on the beach were reported to Aruba police that they had been broken into and a large steel-shanked filet knife, a large mesh crab cage, some duct tape, and a rope had been stolen from the huts. These items have not yet been reported as being found. Natalee's father has stated that he was told that on the night of during the first week after Natalee disappeared. The police searched the landfill by hand for two hours, finding nothing of interest. Later, when Natalee's father, Dave Holloway , and a volunteer search team learned about the witness, the landfill was extensively searched with heavy garbage-moving/digging equipment. On August 15 it was reported that when the search team members arrived at the landfill, the excavated area had been filled in with new garbage. However, '' Vanity Fair '' has reported that the search team searched the landfill until satisfied there was no body present, and searched again in late October. On July 4 , the Netherlands deployed three F-16 aircraft equipped with Infrared sensors to aid in the search, also without initial result. In March 2006 it was reported that the aircraft photos are being re-examined with additional scrutiny and utilizing very recent new scientific advances to study them.

On January 17, 2006, Aruban police searched sand dunes on the northwest coast of Aruba for Natalee Holloway. More than 50 Aruba cadets-in-training police officers searched a one-square-mile area around where the young woman was last known to be seen. Additional searches took place in March and April 2006, without result. {Link without Title}

Arrest of New Suspects

On April 15 , 2006 , Geoffrey van Cromvoirt, 19, was arrested by Aruban authorities on suspicion of criminal offenses that, according to the prosecutor, may be related to the disappearance of Holloway and of offenses related to Dealing In Illegal Narcotics His sister is a member of the Aruban police. At his first court appearance, his detention was extended for eight days. However, Van Cromvoirt was released on April 24, 2006.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12462771/from/RSS/ In addition, another individual with initials "A.B." was arrested on April 22, 2006, but released the same day.

Reward

The reward for information leading to Natalee's safe return, pledged by her family, wealthy Philanthropist Joseph Mammana , numerous private donors, the Aruban government, and Carlos 'n Charlie's Restaurant, is $1,000,000. A $250,000 reward is also offered for information about her whereabouts, alive or dead. {Link without Title} .

Beth Twitty's involvement

Beth Twitty has alleged in televised interviews that Joran, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe know more than they have claimed, and, at least one of them sexually abused and/or raped her daughter. She bases her allegations on parts of an interview with Deepak Kalpoe in which (at least on the version aired on Dr. Phil) he seems to answer "She did" to a suggestion that Natalee had sex with all of them. These clips were first aired on the popular television talk show '' Dr. Phil ''. However, in versions of the tapes provided by Aruban authorities, Deepak appears to say "No, she didn't" (the version provided by Dr. Phil has heavy, dramatic music making it harder to discern what Deepak said). According to Satish Kalpoe's attorneys, David Koch and Elgin Zeppenfeldt, the audio has been cut and pasted. The Dutch forensic institute has investigated the credibility of the tapes, and concluded that content of the aired tape did not match the original tape and that he said "No, she didn't". The FBI is also investigating the credibility of the tapes.

Twitty claims to have received papers stating that Joran admitted having sex with Natalee at his home and described private details of her, and on the night she vansihed Joran told authorities that Natalee was falling in and out of consciousness. She has not yet provided any copies of such papers, and the evidentiary basis for this is unclear. Vinda de Sousa, former Holloway-Twitty family Aruban attorney, has indicated that no such statement was made.[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12405242/], In addition, former deputy chief of police Gerold Dompig has denied that any such statements were made, stating that all three suspects have consistently denied having sexual intercourse with Natalee. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9676188/] Zeppenfeldt, and a number of experts on the various talk shows, have stated that Deepak clearly answered "No, we didn't" to the question if they all had sex with Natalee. A copy of the tape (provided by the Aruban police) is available at [http://www.scrux.com Scrux.com .

CRITICISM OF THE INVESTIGATION, CALL FOR BOYCOTT

The Twittys and their supporters have criticized the lack of progress by Aruban police {Link without Title} . Aruban officials and non-US press have attributed their criticism as a lack of understanding of Dutch judicial procedures employed on the island for much of the tension. Various uncorroborated theories alleging a cover-up have so far not resulted in any official response. The Twittys' own actions in Aruba have also been criticized. Some allege that they are actively stifling any evidence that would impugn their daughter's character by asking her fellow students to remain silent about the case and using their access to the media to push their own version of events. The Holloway's have denied this publicly.

Jug Twitty wrote Governor Bob Riley on , a little-known special interest group, called for their own boycott of Aruba on November 10 . {Link without Title}
The deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in The Hague, Mr. Chat Blakeman, stated that the call for a travel boycott for Aruba by the Governor of Alabama is not supported by the government of the United States.
{Link without Title}
Other states, groups, organizations, and persons have enjoined the call for a boycott of Aruba.

Members of the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, the Aruba Tourism Authority, the Aruba Hospitality & Security Foundation, the Aruban Chamber of Commerce and government figures, including Public Relations Representative Ruben Trappenberg, formed a "Strategic Communications Task Force" to respond collectively to unfounded portrayals of the island. The group publishes the Weblog '' Aruba Truth '', issues press releases, and sends representatives to appear in news media. They have joined the Aruban government in opposing the calls for a boycott of the island.

MEDIA COVERAGE

U.S. Television Networks have devoted much air time to the search for Natalee, the investigation of her disappearance, and rumors surrounding the case; Greta Van Susteren , host of '' On The Record '' on Fox News , perhaps most prominently. Van Susteren's continuous coverage of the story caused ''On The Record'' to get its best ratings to date As the case has worn on, much of the attention has been given to Beth Twitty's endeavors [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9065827/ .

CRITICISM OF MEDIA COVERAGE

The saturation of coverage triggered a backlash among some critics who allude to the media's supposed " language {Link without Title} . The story generated only mild interest in the Netherlands.

The saturation coverage of Natalee's disappearance by the American media was largely eclipsed in late August 2005 by Hurricane Katrina . Beth Twitty has alleged that Aruba took advantage of the media lull to release the suspects and discourage continued U.S. media presence on the island. {Link without Title} . However, the deadline for hearings on extending their detention was set long before the hurricane.

Police Procedural s on American television have aired episodes based to some extent on the Natalee Holloway case:

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	CATEGORIES ABOUT NATALEE HOLLOWAY

	1986 births

	possibly living people

	holloway, natalee

	disappeared people

	people from birmingham, alabama

	2005 in the united states

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