Where is Natalee Holloway?

Natalee Holloway was an 18 year old girl who lived in Alabama. She graduated from Mountain Brook High School in 2005, and as part of her Graduation present, her parents paid for her to take an "unofficial" school trip to Aruba.
Aruba is a safe place, isn't it? Think again.
Natalee Holloway disappeared on May 30th, 2005 in Aruba. The night before she was scheduled to return home. What really happened to her? This is the question that America is constantly thinking about when we hear the story on Television or on the internet.

A few days earlier, a boy by the name of Joran Van Der Sloot, caught Natalee's eye. They were seen on a casino video tape together a couple of days before her disappearance. Joran had told the group of girl's that he was also a tourist, staying in the Holiday Inn (same hotel the school was staying at). Little did the group know, Joran lived in Aruba and one of his favorite hobbies was picking up tourist girls from America.

On May 30th, 2005, at about 130 A.M, Natalee was last seen leaving a local "good time" bar, Carlos'N Charlies'. She was being escorted out by Deepak Kalpoe, a good friend of Joran's. Satish Kalpoe was waiting for them in his car, to supposedly "drive them around." Natalee never returned to her hotel. All of her belongings were still in her room, including her cell phone.

The investigation into Holloway's disappearance began shortly after she missed her flight home. The island of Aruba and the surrounding waters have been extensively searched, especially in the month following Holloway's disappearance, though searches continue. Ten individuals have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in Holloway's disappearance, however, no charges have been filed against anyone, and there are no suspects in custody. Was there a cover up in Aruba? I think so.

On May 30, 2005, immediately following Holloway's missed flight, Jug (Natalee's stepfather) and Beth Twitty (Natalee's Mother) traveled to Aruba with friends by private jet. Within four hours of landing in Aruba, the Twittys presented the Aruban police with the name and address of Van der Sloot as the person with whom Holloway left the nightclub. Beth Twitty has stated that Van der Sloot's full name was given to her by the night manager at the Holiday Inn, who supposedly recognized him on a videotape. The Twittys and their friends, with two Aruban policemen, went to the Van der Sloot home looking for Holloway. Van der Sloot initially denied knowing Holloway's name, but he then told the following story, with which Deepak Kalpoe, who was present, agreed: Van der Sloot related that they drove Holloway to the California Lighthouse area of Arashi Beach because Holloway wanted to see sharks, before dropping Holloway off at her hotel around 2:00 a.m. According to Van der Sloot, Holloway fell down as she exited the car but refused Van der Sloot's help. He stated that she was then approached by a dark man in a black shirt similar to those worn by security guards as the young men drove away.

Of course, the two "dark" security guards got arrested immediately. But why hadn't Joran, Satish, and Deepak gotten arrested? Could it be because Joran's Father was a Judge on the Island? There were even eyewitness accounts that Deepak was seen washing out his car the night that Natalee disappeared, but somehow, the three managed to avoid being arrested until it was too late. Now tell me, was there not a cover up on this Island?

On June 5, Aruban police detained Antonius John and Abraham Jones, former security guards for the nearby Allegro Hotel, which was then closed for renovation, on suspicion of murder and kidnapping.The initial reason for their arrests has never been officially disclosed; however, according to news accounts, the Van der Sloot and Kalpoe statements may have been a factor in the arrests. John and Jones were released on June 13 without being charged.

Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested June 9, 2005, on suspicion of kidnapping and murdering Holloway. Why did it take almost 2 weeks to arrest these boys? Aruban law allows for arrest on serious suspicion from investigators; to continue holding the suspect in custody an increasing evidentiary burden must be met at periodic reviews. According to Dompig, the focus was on these three suspects from the "get-go". Dompig stated that surveillance of the three began three days after Holloway was reported missing, and included surveillance, telephone wire taps, and even monitoring of their e-mail. Dompig indicated pressure from Holloway's family caused them to stop their surveillance prematurely and to detain the three suspects.

As the investigation continued, on June 11, David Cruz, spokesman for the Aruban Minister of Justice, indicated that Natalee Holloway was dead and authorities knew the location of her body.Cruz later retracted the statement, saying he was a victim of a "misinformation campaign". What are the chances of that? Hmm. That evening, Dompig alleged to the Associated Press that one of the young men detained admitted "something bad happened" to Holloway after the suspects took her to the beach, and that the suspect was leading police to the scene. The next morning prosecution spokeswoman Vivian van der Biezen refused to confirm or deny the allegation, simply stating that the investigation was at a "very crucial, very important moment".

On Friday, June 17, a fourth person, later identified as disc jockey Steve Gregory Croes, was also arrested. Van der Straten told the media that "Croes was detained based on information from one of the other three detainees." On June 22 Aruban police detained Paulus van der Sloot, Joran van der Sloot's father, for questioning; Paulus van der Sloot was arrested that same day. Both Paulus van der Sloot and Croes were ordered to be released on June 26.

During this period the remaining detained suspects' stories changed. All three suspects indicated that Van der Sloot and Holloway were dropped off at the Marriott Hotel beach near the fishermen's huts. Van der Sloot stated that he did not harm Holloway, but left her on the beach. According to Satish Kalpoe's attorney, David Kock, Van der Sloot called Deepak Kalpoe to tell the latter that he was walking home, and sent him a text message forty minutes later.

At some time during the interrogation Van der Sloot detailed a third account, that he was dropped off at home and Holloway was driven off by the Kalpoe brothers.Dompig discounted the story, stating:

This latest story came when Van der Sloot saw the other guys, the Kalpoes, were kind of finger-pointing in his direction, and he wanted to screw them also, by saying he was dropped off. But that story doesn't check out at all. He just wanted to screw Deepak. They had great arguments about this in front of the judge. Because their stories didn't match.

(How many different versions of a story can a person give? If you're innocent, why all the lies? We will never know.)

On Monday, July 4, following hearings before a judge, Deepak and Satish Kalpoe were released, but Joran van der Sloot was detained for an additional sixty days.

A small pond near the Aruba Racquet Club close to the Marriott Hotel beach was partly drained between July 27 and July 30, 2005, after an individual, known as the gardener, came forward. According to Jug Twitty, the gardener claimed to have seen Joran van der Sloot attempting to hide his face, driving into the Racquet Club with the two Kalpoes on the morning of May 30 between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m.[58] Nancy Grace described the gardener as "the man whose testimony cracks the case wide open". Another individual, "the jogger", claimed to have seen men burying a blonde-haired woman in a landfill during the afternoon of May 30.[60] The police had searched the landfill in the days following Holloway's disappearance. The landfill was searched three times after the jogger's statements, including a search by the FBI with cadaver dogs. Nothing was found.

The FBI announced that Aruban authorities had provided it with documents, suspect interviews, and other evidence. A group from the Aruban police and prosecutor's office traveled to the FBI central laboratory at Quantico, Virginia, to consult with American investigators. After a piece of duct tape was found with strands of blond hair attached to it, samples were tested both at a Dutch lab and at Quantico. The FBI subsequently announced that the hair was not Holloway's. (How convenient. So whose hair was it? We never found out.)

The Kalpoe brothers were rearrested on August 26 along with another new suspect.According to his lawyer, 21-year-old Freddy Arambatzis was suspected of taking photographs of and having physical contact with an underage girl, an incident which allegedly occurred before the Holloway disappearance and in which Arambatzis's friends Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were supposedly involved. Van der Sloot's mother, Anita van der Sloot, stated, "It's a desperate attempt to get the boys to talk. But there is nothing to talk about". While no public explanation was then made for the Kalpoe rearrests, Dompig later said that it was an unsuccessful attempt to pressure the Kalpoe brothers into confessing.

On September 3, 2005, all four of the detained suspects were released by a judge despite the attempts of the prosecution to keep them in custody, on the condition that they remain available to police. Subsequently, on September 14, all restrictions on them were removed by the Combined Appeals Court of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

In the months following his release, Joran van der Sloot gave several interviews, expanding upon his version of events, most notably a lengthy interview for On the Record which aired over three nights in March 2006. During the interview, Van der Sloot indicated that Holloway wanted to have sex with him, but he did not because he did not have a condom. (Now tell me, what 17 year old boy is going to pass up the chance to have sex with a drunken girl whose leaving the following day, just because he doesn't have a condom?). Van der Sloot stated that Holloway wanted them to stay on the beach, but that he had to go to school in the morning. According to Van der Sloot, he was picked up by Satish Kalpoe at about 3:00 a.m., leaving Holloway sitting on the beach. In August 2005, David Kock, Satish Kalpoe's attorney, stated that his client had gone to sleep, and had not returned to drive Van der Sloot home. Van der Sloot stated he was somewhat ashamed to have left a young woman alone on the beach, albeit by her own request, and related that he was not truthful at first because he was convinced Holloway would soon turn up.

The FBI and Aruban authorities interviewed (or in some cases, re-interviewed) several of Holloway's fellow graduates in the United States in January 2006. On January 17, 2006, Aruban police searched sand dunes on the northwest coast of Aruba in search of Holloway's body, as well as areas close by the Marriott beach. Additional searches took place in March and April 2006, without result.

Shortly before leaving the case, Dompig gave an interview to CBS correspondent Troy Roberts, which was broadcast on March 25, 2006. In that interview, Dompig stated that he now believes Holloway probably died from self-consumed alcohol and/or drug poisoning, was not murdered, and that someone later hid her body. Dompig also stated that Aruba had spent about $3 million on the investigation, about 40% of the police operational budget.

On April 11, 2006, Dave Holloway published his book, co-authored with two writers, Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise.

On April 15, 2006, Geoffrey von Cromvoirt was arrested by Aruban authorities on suspicion of criminal offenses related to dealing in illegal narcotics that, according to the prosecutor, might have been related to the disappearance of Holloway. At his first court appearance, his detention was extended for eight days. However, Von Cromvoirt was released on April 25, 2006. In addition, another individual with initials "A.B." was arrested on April 22, 2006, but was released the same day.

On May 17, 2006, another suspect, Guido Wever, the son of a former Aruban politician, was detained in the Netherlands on suspicion of assisting in the abducting, battering, and killing of Holloway. Wever was questioned for six days in Utrecht. While initially Aruban prosecutors sought his transfer to the island, he was instead released by agreement between the prosecutor and Wever's attorney.

At Aruba's request the Netherlands took over the investigation. A team of the Dutch National Police started work on the case in September 2006 following receipt of extensive case documentation in Rotterdam. On April 16, 2007, a combined Aruban-Dutch team began pursuing the investigation in Aruba

On April 27, 2007, a new search involving some twenty investigators was launched at the Van der Sloot family residence in Aruba. Dutch authorities searched the yard and surrounding area, using shovels and thin metal rods to penetrate the dirt. Prosecution spokeswoman Van der Biezen stated, "The investigation has never stopped and the Dutch authorities are completely reviewing the case for new indications". A statement from the prosecutor's office related, "The team has indications that justify a more thorough search." Investigators did not comment on what prompted the new search, except that it was not related to Van der Sloot's book. According to Paulus van der Sloot, "nothing suspicious" was found, and all that was seized were diary entries of him and his wife, and his personal computer-which was subsequently returned.

According to Jossy Mansur, managing editor of Aruba's Diario newspaper, investigators were following up on statements made during early suspect interrogations regarding calls made and emails sent between the Kalpoe brothers and Joran van der Sloot. He also said investigators could be seen examining a laptop at the house.

On May 12, 2007, the Kalpoe family home was subject to an "inspection". The two brothers were detained for about an hour upon objecting to the entry by police and Dutch investigators, but were released when the authorities left. According to Kock, the brothers objected to the search because officials did not show them an order justifying the intrusion. A statement from Van der Biezen did not mention what, if anything, officials were searching for, but indicated nothing was removed from the home. A subsequent statement from Het Openbaar Ministerie van Aruba (the Aruban prosecutor's office) indicated that the purpose of the visit was to "get a better image of the place or circumstances where an offense may have been committed and to understand the chain of events leading to the offense".

With Aruban investigators citing what was described as newly discovered evidence, Joran van der Sloot and Satish and Deepak Kalpoe were rearrested November 21, 2007, on suspicion of involvement in "manslaughter and causing serious bodily harm that resulted in the death of Holloway". Van der Sloot was detained by Dutch authorities in the Netherlands, while the Kalpoe brothers were both detained in Aruba. Van der Sloot subsequently returned to Aruba and was incarcerated.

In November 2007, Dave Holloway announced a new search for his daughter, probing the sea beyond the original 330-foot (100 m) depths in which earlier searches had taken place. That search, involving a vessel called the Persistence, was abandoned due to lack of funds at the end of February 2008 with nothing of significance found.

On November 30, 2007, a judge ordered the release of Satish and Deepak Kalpoe, despite attempts by the prosecution to extend their detention. The two brothers were released on the following day. The prosecution appealed the Kalpoes' release. That appeal was denied on December 5, 2007, with the court writing, "Notwithstanding expensive and lengthy investigations on her disappearance and on people who could be involved, the file against the suspect does not contain direct indications that Natalee passed away due to a violent crime". Van der Sloot was released without charge on December 7, 2007, due to lack of evidence implicating him as well as a lack of evidence that Holloway died as the result of a violent crime. The prosecution indicated it would not appeal.

On December 18, 2007, prosecutor Hans Mos officially declared the case closed, and that no charges would be filed due to lack of evidence. The prosecution indicated a continuing interest in the Kalpoes and Joran van der Sloot (though they are now no longer legally suspects), and alleged that one of the three, in a chat room message, had stated that Holloway was dead. This was hotly contested by Deepak Kalpoe's attorney, who stated that the prosecution, in translating from Papiamento to Dutch, had misconstrued a reference to a teacher who had drowned as one to Holloway. Attorney Ronald Wix also stated, "Unless (Mos) finds a body in the bathroom of one of these kids, there's no way in hell they can arrest them anymore

The CONFESSION! Finally.
On January 31, 2008, Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries claimed that he had solved the Holloway case. De Vries stated that he would tell all on a special television program on Dutch TV on February 3. Beth Twitty's attorney, John Q. Kelly, told ABC News that he had little faith that the supposed evidence would prove pivotal to the case and suggested that it would be quickly debunked.

On February 1, the Dutch media reported that Joran van der Sloot made a confession regarding the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. Later that day, Van der Sloot stated that he was secretly filmed by someone, but that he was telling the individual what he wanted to hear, and that he had no role in her disappearance. That same day, the Aruba prosecutor's office announced the reopening of the case.

The broadcast aired February 3, 2008. The broadcast included excerpts from footage recorded from hidden cameras and microphones in the vehicle of Patrick van der Eem, a Dutch businessman and ex-con, who gained Van der Sloot's confidence. Van der Sloot was seen smoking marijuana and stating that he was with Holloway when she became unresponsive. Van der Sloot stated that he attempted to revive her, without success. He said that he called a friend, who told Van der Sloot to go home and who disposed of the body. An individual reputed to be this friend, identified in the broadcast as Daury, has subsequently denied Van der Sloot's account, indicating that he was then in Rotterdam at school.

The Aruban prosecutor's office attempted to obtain an arrest warrant for Van der Sloot based on the tapes; however, a judge denied the request. The prosecutor appealed the denial, but the appeal failed on February 14, 2008. The appeals court held that the statements on the tape were inconsistent with evidence in the case and were insufficient to hold Van der Sloot.

On February 8, 2008, Van der Sloot met with Aruban investigators in the Netherlands. Van der Sloot denied that what he said on the tape was true, stating that he was under the influence of marijuana at the time. Van der Sloot indicated that he still maintains that he left Holloway behind on the beach.

I have been following this case from the start up until now. What got me intrigued in it was the fact that I was the same age as Natalee, also planning my graduation trip. It really hit me hard, knowing she was a girl just like me, celebrating her graduation and thinking she'd have an amazing time in Aruba with her friends.

I have tried many times to put myself in her position. At first I said to myself, "why would she ever trust this guy enough to leave her friends to go with him?" But it could easily happen. You never think that anything bad can happen to you, you're just looking to have fun. Especially if you're drunk in a bar and have seen this guy around before. I'm sure many of us have been in that very same position, only we got lucky and didn't disappear.

So what do I think happened?

Joran Van Der Sloot is without a doubt, guilty. There is no reason why an innocent person would make up so many different lies; if he had really left her at the beach, he would of just said this from the start. And since when does smoking some pot make you start thinking up and saying lies? Pot might make you stupid, but it doesn't turn you into a liar.

Do I think Deepak and Satish are guilty? Absolutely not. I think the only thing either of these boys are guilty of is going along with their pal Joran's lies. Instead of trying to cover Joran's butt, they should of came forward in the beginning and told Authorities exactly what they knew.

So what do I think happened?
I believe Natalee willingly left the bar with Joran that night. I say willingly because there are many theories going around that Natalee probably thought Satish's car was a taxi cab and she was told they were driving her back to the Holiday Inn. I do not buy that theory. She willingly left with them, knowing she was going into Joran's friends car. Stupid move? Absolutely. But when you're drunk, you trust everything and everyone. And when you have a crush on someone, you want to trust them, you want to be with them.
I believe that Deepak and Satish got annoyed after a little while, driving around aimlessly while Joran is in the back of the car making out with this girl. I believe they did drop Joran and Natalee off at the beach, because Joran figured he could have some "fun" with this American girl before she leaves to go home the next day.
I think Natalee willingly messed around with Joran for a little while on the beach. And then I believe she passed out, leaving Joran full access to take advantage of her (have sex with her). I believe while this was happening, something did go wrong. I'm going to say alcohol poisoning, or maybe even a bad reaction to something slipped in her drink earlier in the night mixed with the alcohol. This resulted in her death. Joran panicked, thinking if he called the cops they would figure out he had sex with her and maybe even think he murdered her. So, he called up Paulus (his Father) for some help. Paulus had a lot of pull on that Island, i'm sure he still does to this day. He knew exactly who to call and what to do. I believe they probably did take her body out to sea and dumped it somewhere.

I also strongly believe that shortly after, Natalees body did wash up onto the shore. There were many accounts early on when it was stated that her body had been found, but then later denied it. Many people on the Island of Aruba know what happened to Natalee Holloway, but no one will speak up. I strongly believe that one day this case will be solved; someone will slip sooner or later.

Do I think Joran Van Der Sloot is a murderer? No. I think he is a coward. He's a coward for knowing exactly what happened to this young girl, and not coming forward to give that family the peace and closure that they deserve. And because of that, he deserves to be punished and he deserves to be treated the way that he's been treated all of these years.

I fully support the boycott of Aruba, and I fully support the Holloway family. Justice needs to be served.