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Natalee Holloway is an 18-year-old graduate of Mountain Brook High School in Mountain Brook, Alabama who went missing in Aruba in the early hours of May 30, 2005. Holloway and 124 of her fellow graduates were on a senior class trip.
The night she disappeared, Holloway ate and danced at Carlos’ n Charlie’s bar and restaurant. She did not appear for her return flight hours later. Aruban police found her passport in her hotel room with her packed bags.
It was not clear if Holloway had been drinking the night of her disappearance, though her relatives say she does not party much and is a straight-A student who had earned a full scholarship at the University of Alabama.
On June 5, police detained two former security guards from the Allegra Hotel near where Holloway was staying. The two have been identified as Antonius "Mickey" John, 30, of Grenada, and Abraham Jones, 28, from Bonaire. The two have since been released and John has declared that they are innocent.
It was reported by different news agencies that Holloway was seen at more than one bar with three men, two Surinamese born brothers, Satish Kalpoe and Deepak Kalpoe, and Joran Van Der Sloot, the 17-year-old son of a high-ranking island judicial official who was born in the Netherlands. The three have admitted to leaving the bar with her at 1:30 a.m. and driving to see a lighthouse at Arashi Beach. According to the Kalpoe brothers, she was making out in the back seat with Van Der Sloot. They said that they dropped her off at her hotel about 2 a.m., where she was approached by a man in a security guard's uniform as they left the scene.
Initially not suspected of wrongdoing, the three were taken into custody on Thursday, June 8 and appeared the following Saturday before a judge, who determined that they could be held in custody for another week without official charges brought.
The Diario a local daily newspaper, has reported that a human blood sample found in a car at the residence of Joran Van Der Sloot had been sent to the U.S. and will be tested for a possible match to Natalee, whose mother gave a blood sample to investigators. Other reports dispute that the sample was of blood and add that a sample was also sent to the Netherlands.
A new search came about Tuesday, June 14, 2005 after security guard, Antonius "Mickey" John was released from police custody. John said he spoke with Deepak Kalpoe, one of the three youths detained. Kalpoe, told him that he, his younger brother and their Dutch friend lied to the authorities about returning Holloway to the Holiday Inn.
Instead, Kalpoe said, they dropped the 17-year-old Dutch youth and Holloway off near the Marriott, John said. The area searched Tuesday, Malmok beach, is next to the Marriott's Palm Beach, and is a popular spot for nighttime lovers.
Kalpoe also allegedly told John that about an hour after dropping the couple off, he received a cell phone text message from the Dutch teen, saying he would e-mail Kalpoe as soon as he got home. Kalpoe said the Dutch youth never sent the promised message, John said.
On Friday June 17 authorities announced that they had detained a fourth person, later identified as Steve Gregory Croes, 26, a disc jockey.
CNN and other national American television networks devoted much air time to her search. The Aruba government and local tourism organizations have offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Holloway’s rescue, her family and benefactors in Alabama have offered an additional $30,000, and Carlos’ n Charlie’s donated another $5,000 toward a total reward which has now reached $75,000.
Related link
Special reports section from the Birmingham News
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