Disappearance of Natalee Holloway

Natalee Ann Holloway (October 21, 1986 – disappeared May 30, 2005; declared dead January 12, 2012) was an 18-year-old American high school graduate from Mountain Brook, Alabama, who disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba on May 30, 2005.

Her disappearance resulted in an international media sensation, especially in the United States.

The prime suspect, Dutch national Joran van der Sloot, has made conflicting statements over the years about his involvement, including a confession to killing her.

Holloway's remains have not been found.

Holloway, who had visited Aruba with classmates following her high school graduation, was scheduled to fly home on May 30 but failed to appear for her flight.

She was last seen outside Carlos'n Charlie's, a restaurant and nightclub in Oranjestad, entering a car with local residents van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe.

When the three men were questioned, they claimed they had dropped off Holloway at her hotel and denied knowing what had become of her.

Upon further investigation by authorities, van der Sloot was arrested twice on suspicion of involvement in her disappearance, and the Kalpoe brothers were each arrested three times.

Due to lack of evidence, the suspects were released each time without being charged with a crime.

Holloway's parents criticized Aruban police for the lack of progress in the investigation.

The family also called for a boycott of Aruba, which gained Alabama Governor Bob Riley's support but failed to gain widespread backing.

With the assistance of hundreds of volunteers, Aruban investigators conducted an extensive search operation.

American special agents from the FBI, fifty Dutch soldiers, and three specially equipped Dutch Air Force F-16 aircraft participated in the search.

In addition to the ground search, divers searched the ocean for Holloway's body.

She was never found.

Following her parents' divorce in 1993, Holloway and her younger brother Matthew were raised by their mother in Clinton, Mississippi.

In 2000, following Beth's marriage to George "Jug" Twitty, a prominent Alabama businessman, the family moved to Mountain Brook, Alabama, a wealthy suburb of Birmingham.

Holloway graduated with honors in May 2005 from Mountain Brook High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society and the school dance squad, and participated in other extracurricular activities.

She was scheduled to attend the University of Alabama on a full scholarship, where she planned to pursue a pre-med track.

At the time of their daughter's disappearance, Dave Holloway was an insurance agent for State Farm in Meridian, Mississippi, while Beth Twitty was employed by the Mountain Brook School System.

On Thursday, May 26, 2005, Holloway and 124 fellow graduates of Mountain Brook High School arrived in Aruba for a five-day, unofficial graduation trip.

The teenagers were accompanied by seven chaperones.

According to teacher and chaperone Bob Plummer, the chaperones met with the students each day to make sure everything was fine.

Jodi Bearman, who organized the trip, stated, "[T]he chaperones were not supposed to keep up with their every move."

Aruban police commissioner Gerold Dompig, who headed the investigation from mid-2005 until 2006, stated that the Mountain Brook students engaged in "wild partying, a lot of drinking, lots of room switching every night. We know the Holiday Inn told them they weren't welcome next year. Natalee, we know, she drank all day every day. We have statements she started every morning with cocktails—so much drinking that Natalee didn't show up for breakfast two mornings."

Two of Holloway's classmates, Liz Cain and Claire Fierman, agreed that the drinking on the trip was "kind of excessive".

Holloway was last seen by her classmates around 1:30 a.m. on Monday, May 30, as she was leaving the Oranjestad bar and nightclub Carlos'n Charlie's.

She left in a car with 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot — a Dutch honors student who was living in Aruba and attending the International School of Aruba — and his two Surinamese friends, brothers 21-year-old Deepak Kalpoe (the owner of the car) and 18-year-old Satish Kalpoe.

Holloway was scheduled to fly home later that day, but she did not appear for her return flight.

Her packed luggage and her passport were found in her room at the Holiday Inn.

On December 18, 2007, Aruban prosecutors announced that the case would be closed without charging anyone with a crime.

However, the case was reopened on February 1, 2008, after video footage was publicized of van der Sloot, under the influence of marijuana, saying that Holloway died on the morning of her disappearance, and that a friend had disposed of her body.

Van der Sloot later denied that what he had said was true, and in an interview said that he had sold Holloway into sexual slavery.

He later retracted his comments.

In January 2012, van der Sloot was convicted of the May 30, 2010, murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores Ramírez in Lima, Peru.

At the request of Holloway's father, Alabama judge Alan King declared her legally dead on January 12, 2012.

On June 8, 2023, van der Sloot, who was still the main suspect in Holloway's disappearance, was extradited to the U.S. to face trial for extortion and wire fraud, with both charges being linked to Holloway's disappearance.

On October 18, 2023, van der Sloot pleaded guilty to the extortion charges and confessed to killing Holloway by blunt force trauma after she rejected his sexual advances.

Eleven days later, he returned to Peru to finish his sentence for killing Flores.

Natalee Holloway was the first of two children born to David "Dave" and Elizabeth "Beth" Holloway in Memphis, Tennessee.