MY HERO--BETH HOLLOWAY

Beth--

I have learned from you, Dave Holloway, your entire family, and the loving public, that we, as people, should NEVER give up on what is right and fight for what we believe in.

As a woman and a mother, you have shown and proven to NEVER give up on loved ones, friends, families, even our enemies. We all are here in life for a reason, a purpose. Since May, 2005, you have changed so many people's lives...and personally I will never forget the invisible, yet powerful strength you have given me and to so many others to pursue the dream of helping others who are lost, hurt, despaired, in need...

It has been over four years since Natalee has been gone...but you and Dave have done the greatest thing...spending a lifetime making sure no one forgets. And guess what? You have done your job...

Natalee will NEVER be forgotten.

Dave and Beth: You and your family have been a blessing to me. I now know and am completely aware to live life to the fullest, to be thankful, and to fight. Both of you have shown your strength as parents and as true human beings. Your actions have not only affected me, but to so many others. Thank you both for your inspiration, hope and perseverance.

We all look up to you both, and hope to be just like you.

Natalee would be so proud, and I'm sure she is aware, wherever she may be.

Thank you!

Love always---

MICHELLE

WHAT DOES FOUR YEARS OF DAMAGE LOOK LIKE?

Has the injustice of Natalee Holloway wrecked a permanent havoc on Aruba’s tourism, economy and reputation for the last four years?

Let’s see…

EXHIBIT A:

 

Google “Aruba Boycott” and get 1,400 hits.

Google, “Boycott and Natalee Holloway” and get 22,700 hits.

Google, “Boycott Aruba” and get 26,000 hits.

Do I need to try other search engines to make my point?

 

EXHIBIT B:

In 2008 alone:

The E! Network put out two “documentaries”.  One was “The Final Hours of Natalee Holloway”; and “20 Most Shocking Unsolved Crimes” in which Natalee’s case was listed as the #1 “most shocking” unsolved crime.

This was above Jimmy Hoffa. 

Above the Zodiac Killer. 

Above Jon Benet Ramsey. 

Amazing!

2008 also gave us A&E’s Bill Kurtis and the famous series “American Justice” that produced an hour special on Natalee’s case.  Using a different take, the show focused more on the ongoing recovery efforts to find Natalee’s body.

Haunting Evidence did an hour special using a psychic and some “ghost buster” toys in order to find out the truth of what Joran did with Natalee that last night.

…AND DON’T FORGET!  The Peter de Vries Special that changed EVERYTHING.

ABC’s 20/20 with Chris Cuomo did an hour long story on Natalee’s case up to date, including the aftermath of the “Peter de Vries Hidden Camera” scandal, and Joran’s “side job” of “alleged” sex trafficking of women between the borders of Thailand and the Netherlands…all conveniently caught on secret videotape.

A “Sex, Lies and Videotape” of the new millennium?  Could be…

Last, but never least…Greta van Susteren’s “career changing interview” with Joran after her multi-month man hunt across the globe to obtain interviews with witnesses and Joran himself who told Greta on camera that he did not kill Natalee, but sold her to an unknown man in Aruba for $10,000 after two brief exchanges in the casinos of Aruba.

Hours after the taped “confession”, Joran contacted Greta via email and recanted his entire story.

 

EXHIBIT C:

Only half way through 2009…

The Natalee Holloway Story was produced by the Lifetime Movie Network and was viewed by a record setting 3.2 million people when it aired in April of 2009.  It was the highest viewed movie in Lifetime’s 11-year history.

 

ENOUGH SAID

When in history has a “missing person-turned-corruption-case” garnered so much worldwide attention, especially after four years?

It is because of the people.  These are the "little people" with a HUGE voice that want to see justice.  They want to see the new developments or what Joran’s new lie will be.  They want to see punishment for those involved, and they want Natalee’s family to obtain closure.

The media feeds off what the public wants to see and hear.  Thanks to the media, Natalee’s case has never “gone cold”.  With every movie, documentary and book, Aruba’s massive wound continues to rip open with an increase of pain each time.

I know there are people out there who have no clue of Natalee Holloway.  However when I mention to someone that I write a blog about Natalee Holloway, and they say, “Who?”  The only words I need to use to jog their memories are “Aruba” and “missing”. 

Ah ha!  It works every time.

Each time just one person mentions her case to another person, those negative images and stories are stored either in one's immediate conscious or will lie in the subconscious. 

Perhaps that particular conversation knowingly or not, will be the cause of one less person visiting Aruba.

OH, and by the way, Carlos-n-Charlies in Aruba closed (due to the poor economy..yuk, yuk...)

BETH HOLLOWAY DISCUSSES NATALEE AT UNSOLVED CRIMES EXHIBIT

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/05/john_walsh_left_and_beth.html

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY BETH HOLLOWAY

On this special day JUST for mothers, I and everyone who is a supporter of you, Natalee and justice want to say not only HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, but thank you for being such an inspiration to so many of us.

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human 

being to do the impossible.  ~Marion C. Garretty

What should a perfect mother be?

An inspiration.

That is what a perfect mother should be.

A true mother will fight and die for their children.

Beth, you have fought for four years, yet have not died.

A true mother is a martyr.

Beth, you have been on a stake, crucified by many; 

yet you were strong and continued your mission bruised and bleeding.

This is what a perfect mother should be.

An inspiration.

A martyr.

Beth, you are all of that and more.  

Happy Mother's Day

NATALEE HOLLOWAY TO BE REMEMBERED AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF CRIME & PUNISHMENT

I received some correspondence from Beth Holloway yesterday.  She had some great news!  I'll share it with you below:

(Email from Beth):  "Natalee's case is being put on display at the National Museum of Crime and Punishment....Her info. will be placed with 9 other unsolved cases!"

I don't have any other information as to when the exhibit will be on display because I don't see it mentioned at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment's website, but if anyone knows of any further information, please post it or send it to me!  

A great remembrance of Natalee for the month of May!

http://www.crimemuseum.org/

NATALEE HOLLOWAY MOVIE RE-AIRS TODAY AND TUESDAY

The Lifetime Movie Network plans to re-air it’s movie about the disappearance of Mountain Brook teen Natalee Holloway.

The movie is the most watched ever for the Lifetime Movie Network.

• Monday, April 27 at 10 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 28 at 2 p.m.

If you don’t get the Lifetime Movie Network, click on the link below to watch the movie online.

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/lmn/natalee-holloway-movie/full-movie/video/natalee-holloway-part-1

http://www.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/lifetime_movie_network_re-broadcasts_natalee_holloway_movie/69976/

THOUSANDS SOUND OFF ABOUT THE NATALEE HOLLOWAY MOVIE

By JEN HALE

Lifetime Movie Network’s new film “Natalee Holloway” takes viewers back to Natalee’s final days in Mountain Brook leading up to her senior trip to Aruba - then into what are now believed to be her final hours. 

The movie stars Michael J. Fox’s real life wife Tracy Pollan as Beth Holloway Twitty…a mother desperately searching for her daughter, a process that is still ongoing.  The movie, which originally aired Sunday night, is based on Beth Holloway Twitty’s book, Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith.

Hundreds of viewers have now posted comments on the Lifetime chat boards, sounding off about the movie…everything from support for Natalee’s family and frustration at how the Aruban government handled the case - to anger about the way the Aruban people and the island have been portrayed.

Birmingham attorney Charlie Ratcliff was born in Aruba but now lives here. He says Natalee’s disappearance is still a difficult topic for folks in Aruba.

“To say it’s been devastating to the island is an understatement. Devastating emotionally. A lot of people are heart broken and horrified one of our guests was missing,“ says Ratcliff.

At the end of the movie, the real Beth Holloway Twitty warns parents about how to prepare a safety plan for a child’s trip abroad - lessons she learned fast the hard way.

Lifetime does plan to post the movie, so folks who missed it can watch it online.

http://www.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/hundreds_sound_off_about_new_natalee_holloway_movie/69149/

A LOOK AT THE NUMBERS

Lifetime Movie Network’s premiere of “Natalee Holloway” Sunday night ranks as the highest rated and most viewed movie in the network’s history.

“Holloway,” based on the novel “Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith,” scored a 1.8 rating and 3.2 million total viewers among viewers P+2. That bested the second part of “Capture of the Green River Killer,” which scored a 1.5 rating and 2.4 million viewers P+2 in March 2008.

Sunday night’s premiere also was the highest rated telecast among women 18-49 in all of basic cable over the last 12 months, scoring a 2.5 rating and 1 million viewers in the demographic.

In addition to total viewers and women 18-49, the film also set network records among households (3.4 rating, 2.4 million households) and women 25-54 (2.7 rating, 1.1 million viewers).

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/04/natalee_holloway_draws_lifetim.php

DID THE NATALEE HOLLOWAY MOVIE HELP THE BOYCOTT?

My Rating:  

By Michelle

Overall, I think that the Natalee Holloway movie was well done. Tracy Pollan played a very good Beth Holloway in her dire moments of sadness; however, Pollan could have played up the raging anger Beth suffered by the blatant police cover up and the government's plan to protect Joran and the Van der Sloot family.

I enjoyed the beginning sequence during the infamous secret recorded car conversation between Joran and Patrick van der Eem. It was a great use of foreshadowing of what was to unfold.  

Omissions? 

After Beth and Jug landed in Aruba and found Joran's house and his father, what happened to the running back and forth between casinos in order to buy Joran time to get back to his house?  

Why wasn't Joran nervous, disheveled and sweaty when he pulled up to the house during the initial confrontation like Beth described in her book?  

Why did he not act defensive while pounding his chest screaming, "What do you want me to do about it?!"    

And what about Paulus Van der Sloot?  

No mention of his arrest, his "pool side chat" with the boys telling them "no body, no case", his "sweaty" meeting with Beth during the first week, his lawsuits against the police for arresting him, his "best friend" in the police department, and the obvious lies used to cover up where Joran was that night and the next morning.

The actor who played Joran didn't come through as evil as Joran really is.  All the features of his psychological demeanor were left out of Joran's character.  Instead the actor portrayed Joran as this charming spoiled brat like someone out of "Gossip Girl", who has a habit for preying and drugging girls.  But oops..."after like 20 times" of doing this (Joran's exact admission on TV), "something bad happened", and he just got scared and lied.  

Joran's character did not display the diabolical, sociopathic, and pathological liar that he is in real life.  The only time he appeared cold and sinister were in the secretly recorded car scenes.

I was also disappointed in the complete absence of the "catch and release" of the other characters such as Steve Croes, Geoffrey Van Comvoirt, Guido Wever, and Lorenzo Zedan-Arambatzis.  These omitted facts add to the pain that Beth and Dave had to endure while trying to find the truth of what happened to Natalee and that could have helped the strength of the film.

However, I do think the movie's perception of how Beth was treated by an angry Aruban mob with signs saying "Get Out", while screaming "Go Home!" was great. This, coupled with the police's lack of investigation has done and will continue to do harm to Aruba's already bad reputation and tourism crisis.

With that said, I think this movie did everything possible to shed light on this case while destroying Aruba at the same time.

Intentional or not?  We'll never know!  But who's complaining?

End Note:

One thing that I found somewhat creepy was the first time that the Mountain Brook kids went to Carlos-n-Charlies, a "man" was bumping into the girls and Natalee's stepbrother stepped in to push him away.  In real life it is purported to have been Geoffrey van Comvoirt. 

However, if you have a copy of the movie, watch this "man" because he looks exactly like Paulus Van der Sloot.

REVIEWER: "NATALEE HOLLOWAY MOVIE SLOPPY AND UNEVEN"

Natalee Holloway' a disappointing TV movie

Posted by Alec Harvey -- The Birmingham News April 17, 2009 1:34 PM

Maybe it's because we lived through it, with wall-to-wall media coverage after Natalee Holloway disappeared in Aruba in 2005.

Maybe it's because there still are no definitive answers as to what happened to the Mountain Brook teen who was on her senior year trip.

Maybe it's just because this Lifetime TV movie was hastily put together.

Whatever the reason, "Natalee Holloway," which premieres at 7 p.m. April 19 on Lifetime Movie Network, is sloppy and uneven, a forgettable look at the tragedy that consumed the nation's attention for months.

Based on "Loving Natalee," the book by Natalee's mother, Beth, "Natalee Holloway" stars Tracy Pollan as Beth and newcomer Amy Gumenick in the title role. Although this is a vehicle for Pollan, it's the youngster who lends the film its most interesting moments.

The main culprit here is Teena Booth's clunky script, part over-the-top movie-of-the-week melodrama and part mystery. The problem is that there really is no mystery - we all know most everything that took place in Aruba, from the body shots at Carlos 'n Charlie's to Natalee jumping in the car with Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers to Beth Holloway's dogged determination to find her daughter in Aruba.

Since the details are well known, Booth tries to mine interest elsewhere, and the dramatic moments come across as cheesy and manipulative.

For instance, a chaperone for the Mountain Brook High School trip seems to set the travelers up for disaster from the beginning.

"We won't be doing headcounts or bed checks," he says to the parents before the trip. "We're there for emergencies and to do a little gambling in the casinos." This puts much more of the blame for Natalee's disappearance on the chaperone than was the case in real life.

Or Beth's admonishment to Natalee right before her senior prom: "You have to be careful around boys and alcohol," she says. "They're liable to take advantage." Yes, Beth Holloway probably taught that lesson to her daughter, but in such an un-subtle, foreshadowing way? Doubtful.

Or the moment when Beth discovered Natalee's cell phone in her backpack: "It didn't work here, did it?," she says immediately, before even turning it on. "Her phone didn't have international calling. I never, I never, I should've, oh, my God. Oh, my God." Would the lack of international calling actually have been Holloway's first thought?

Pollan does look and sound a little like Beth Holloway, but Holloway through the years has come across much more composed, thoughtful and pragmatic than the melodramatic character Pollan creates here. A moment where Holloway flings herself in front of a cross on a hillside in Aruba doesn't help matters. It's a grand, tearful Lifetime TV movie moment, but it's contrived and over-acted.

Gumenick, on the other hand, paints a vivid and likeable portrait of the young Holloway, a bright, focused doctor-to-be who drank too much on a trip with her friends and got herself into a bad situation. Oddly, although he certainly is the villain here, Joran van der Sloot comes off looking not like the instigator of the entire evening, but a guy who took advantage when a drunk Natalee began coming on to him.

In addition to Beth, Natalee and Joran, Joran's cohorts Deepack and Satish Kalpoe are characters, as well as Jug Twitty (Beth's husband at the time) and Dave Holloway (Natalee's father). The rest, including Natalee's friends, seem to be composites, not real people.

It's tough to be objective about a movie that hits so close to home. As soon as one of Natalee's friends refers to her going to "U of A," a term we've never heard used when referring to Alabama, you wonder how credible the rest of it might be.

South Africa locations double as both Alabama and Aruba, so there's no real sense of place, other than the beach in Aruba, which looks real enough.

"Natalee Holloway" is sure to have interest, particularly in her hometown. We only wish that her tragic story had received a little classier and more thoughtful attention.

http://blog.al.com/aharvey/2009/04/natalee_holloway_a_disappointi.html

DON'T FORGET--THE NATALEE HOLLOWAY MOVIE, APRIL 19, 2009

Premieres Sunday, April 19 at 8 pm EST, airing on LMN

Teenager Natalee Holloway vanished in 2005 while visiting Aruba on a senior class trip. In a passionate and relentless effort to discover the truth behind her daughter’s disappearance, Beth Holloway captured the nation’s attention by working tirelessly to solve the mystery that shattered her family’s life.

Today, Holloway continues to speak publicly about the potential dangers of international travel. Her resolve and unwavering strength are at the center of this emotional story that takes viewers behind the headlines and into the heart of an extraordinary woman. The movie, about a mother's search for truth and justice, is based on the book "Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith" by Beth Holloway.

INTERVIEW WITH BETH HOLLOWAY

What prompted you to write the book “Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith”?

The writing of the book actually evolved over a period of time. Shortly after this happened to Natalee, I made a pledge that I would share her story with every high school I could, because I hoped that no other family would have to endure the challenges that we faced during our first few weeks in Aruba. I lived in Aruba for about four months while I was searching for her, and during the fifth month, I thought it was time for me to make good on my pledge as Natalee’s case was now in the hands of John Kelly, attorney at law. I began traveling and, over the course of two years, presented personal safety messages to over 20,000 high school and college students in 22 states. During this time I thought, “How could I reach more travelers?” and I started thinking about writing a book.

How did this movie come to be?

It’s a direct result of the book. We started talking about it with Lifetime, and at first I wasn’t sure if I could take the next step. But then I had the privilege and opportunity to fly to Los Angeles and to sit down with an incredible creative staff from Sony and Lifetime. I knew instantly that this was the next step and the right thing to do.

What was it like being on set?

I was nervous and overwhelmed at first. Even the equipment and the logistics were fascinating to me. I had my camera and took pictures whenever I could. It was really an honor to be there.

Has it been emotional to replay these events?

I don’t think that anything could compare with the first four months of what we endured while searching for Natalee in Aruba. The movie is something I view as an accomplishment, because we are able to help shed light on a lot of things that I wrote about in my book.

What is it like having Tracy Pollan play you?

It’s an honor. I think she’s a genuine, sincere, real person. There could not have been a better choice.

In the movie, we watch Beth change and grow into an activist as she searches for her daughter and for the truth about what happened. Tell us about that experience.

There seems to be a common thread among all of us who have experienced a devastating or traumatic event, and that is the wanting to reach out to others — whether it’s through philanthropic events or in my case, taking Natalee’s story podium to podium, high school to high school and college to college. You want to make a difference and ensure that no other family will have to endure the same tragedy.

What do you really think happened to Natalee?

We have tried to be so careful not to speculate over the last four years. We always go back to the known facts, and the known facts are that we have indentified the three individuals who were last seen with Natalee alive. As she was leaving Carlos and Charlie’s, we know the condition that Natalee was in. And when the suspects took her from the establishment, we have 22 different versions that they have given to the police to explain what they did with her that night. We know the sexual conduct they engaged in with her in the car as she was semiconscious, falling asleep and waking up. So we know it doesn’t look good, the things that were transpiring. Other than this, we have no further information.

You are very involved in helping others stay safe while traveling abroad. As a public speaker, what words of guidance do you give your audiences?

I remind them about the importance of their personal safety and that personal safety boils down to making a plan. Whether that plan is investigating the infrastructure of a country that you will be visiting, securing police numbers and embassy contacts, or understanding what the United States Embassy can and cannot provide for tourists who find themselves in a crisis outside our borders, it’s important to be prepared. I also remind my audiences that a lot of these occurrences transpire in the early morning hours. I cannot tell you the exhausted list of families that I have been working with whose loved one was last seen leaving an establishment at 12:30 am, 1 am or 1:30 am.

It’s the same scenario time after time, and it’s never a good outcome. It sounds so simple and something you’d even tell an elementary child — never go anywhere with strangers, never leave a place alone, and have a time and place to meet with friends before you leave the establishment.

What would you like audiences to take away from this movie?

I think the overall message is the message of hope, the hope for justice and the hope of making a difference in other people’s lives. I think what this movie will do after all is said and done is give my definition of hope — which is the inexplicable empowerment that enables us to move successfully from challenge to resolution with courage. It’s more than just wishful thinking; it’s the guarantee that there’s light at the end of whatever tunnel we’re trying to find our way through. My first phase was a fantasy phase of hope, and I thought I was coming to Aruba and taking Natalee home alive. When I left home, I told my son I’d return with her in a couple of days. As you move through a crisis and your hope is shattered, you have to find a new hope to carry you through. If I had stayed in my fantasy hope for too long, I could have never have fought so hard for Natalee’s life to make a difference.

Another message is the importance of justice. I was going to bring Natalee home whether she was alive or not. I was going to have justice and put her perpetrators behind bars. Well, none of that happened, and I can only hope that it does one day, but if it doesn’t, I still have a real hope — and real hope has actions behind it.

And my real hope is that, when I present to colleges, churches, civic groups and attorney generals, I am making a difference. It’s tangible for me, and that is why I keep going.

http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/movies/natalee-holloway

BETH HOLLOWAY SPEAKS AT DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY

Kaitlyn Tucker
Staff Writer

Wednesday, Mar 11, 2009

There were few dry eyes in the Bologna Performing Arts Center Tuesday by the time Beth Holloway concluded her presentation.




Holloway came to Delta State University to speak to college students, high school juniors and seniors, as well as parents, about travel safety.

Her story is a familiar one to most in the audience.

On May 30, 2005, her daughter, Natalee, went missing during a graduation trip to Aruba. “She didn’t get to go to college like she planned,” said Holloway. “She didn’t get to do any of the things she’d planned. She was kidnapped, raped and murdered on the last night of her vacation.”

Natalee’s friends reported the 18-year-old missing after she did not return to their hotel or show up to the airport on their last day in Aruba.

“We discussed certain safety issues before she left,” Holloway remembered. “I told her to watch out for herself at the night clubs they’d be going to. Four days later, my cell phone rang. “It was a number I didn’t recognize,” continued Holloway. “Her friends had called to say that no one had seen her.

“I had to find out what happened.”

Holloway flew to Aruba and launched a search for her missing daughter. She arrived at the same hotel where Natalee and her high school friends had stayed. “We found her clothes packed neatly, her passport, her cell phone,” said Holloway. “She was all set to come home.”

For the next week, Holloway searched for her daughter without eating, sleeping or bathing.

After a whirlwind week of putting up fliers, searching through brothels and crack houses and trying to discover what had happened to Natalee, Holloway was dealt a blow.

“On the fourth morning, we got back to the hotel in the wee hours of the morning,” said Holloway. “There was a knock on our door. It was one of the hotel employees telling us the security tapes were ready.”

Holloway entered a room lined with Aruban police officers and sat down to watch the tapes from the hotel lobby from the night Natalee disappeared. Holloway and the investigators had been told that Juran Van der Sloot and two of his friends dropped Natalee off at the hotel.

Natalee never walked through the door.

“After being numb for days, there was pain,” Holloway said.

Holloway had known 17-year-old Van der Sloot was one of the last people to see Natalee. She had confronted him early on in the investigation.

“He bought drinks for her,” Holloway said. “He graphically described the sexual acts he did with her as she fell asleep and woke back up. He described Natalee getting out of the car, stumbling and bumping her head going in to the hotel.”

Nearly three years later, Van der Sloot confessed to the crimes while in a taxicab. A Dutch crime reporter named Peter De Vries had a hidden camera set up in the vehicle and the confession was caught on tape.

“He said that she had a seizure,” said Holloway. “He said that he didn’t know what to do and wasn’t sure if she was alive or not. “He arranged someone to take her body out to sea,” Holloway continued. “I believe a date rape drug was used and Natalee overdosed.

“Aruban authorities will not take action against (Van der Sloot), a judge’s son.”

Holloway’s own experiences have lead her to teach travel safety and education to young people across 25 states. “I think it’s the best way to remember Natalee,” she said. “The best thing I can ask is that you initiate a full circle safety plan.

“You are the only one who can save yourself,” continued Holloway. “Thoroughly prepare before you leave. Get educated about where you’re going.”

Holloway suggested learning basic laws of any country you’re visiting, as well as locations and phone numbers for the American Consulate and police precincts. “Activate international calling,” said Holloway, remembering Natalee’s cell phone laying in her hotel room. She had left it because she did not have international calling.

“Never tell anyone what day you’re leaving,” continued Holloway. “The entire island knew it was Mountain Brook High School’s last night.”

Holloway noted that in some tourist locations, like Aruba, visitors are likely to get taken advantage of on their last day. “If they know when you leave, they know you have a plane to catch and will be less likely to file a report,” explained Holloway.

“No matter what, personal safety is up to you,” Holloway continued. “Create a plan and take it full circle.”

The evening ended with a video tribute to Natalee.

http://www.bolivarcom.com/index.cfm?event=news.view&id=F7564D1C-19B9-E2E2-67A38D7B28954FA8

MICHAEL J. FOX'S WIFE, TRACEY POLLAN TO PLAY BETH HOLLOWAY IN MOVIE

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The tragic tale of Natalee Holloway is coming to Lifetime and actress Tracey Pollan has been tapped to play the mother of the teen who vanished during a trip to Aruba, Access Hollywood has confirmed.


Pollan will star as Natalee’s mother, Beth Twitty, in the movie based on Twitty’s book, “Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith.” Pollan, who is married to Michael J. Fox, is best known for her stint alongside her husband as his recurring love interest Ellen Reed on the 1980s sitcom “Family Ties.” She has also had guest spots on “Spin City” and “Law & Order: SVU,” for which she received an Emmy nomination.


Pollan and Fox, who married in 1988, also shared the screen in the 1988 film “Bright Lights, Big City.”Based on the harrowing true story of Natalee which captured huge national media attention – an Alabama teen who vanished during her senior class trip to Aruba — the film will focus largely on Twitty’s relentless efforts to uncover the truth behind her daughter’s disappearance.


“The Natalee Holloway Story” will air in April 2009 on Lifetime Movie Network. Production is slated to begin in South Africa in January.

http://www.accesshollywood.com/access-exclusive-former-family-ties-actress-tapped-to-play-natalee-holloways-mom_article_12703

My cast choice for the other main characters:

JORAN

Ed Westwick, who plays "Chuck" on the show "Gossip Girl"
would make a good Joran.

Rich, smarmy and sleazy.


NATALEE

Blake Lively, who also hails from "Gossip Girl" as the beautiful Natalee.

DAVE HOLLOWAY

Tom Arnold as Dave Holloway



JUG TWITTY

Harrison Ford as Jug Twitty

PAULUS VAN DER SLOOT

Al Franken as Paulus van der Sloot

ANITA VAN DER SLOOT

Shelly Winters as Anita van der Sloot

ANITA'S BACK-UP ACTRESS:

Sally Struthers, "understudy" for Shelly Winters

DEEPAK AND/OR SATISH KALPOE

"Borat" as either of the Kalpoe brothers

JORAN'S BEST FRIEND AND PHOTOGRAPHER
FREDDY ARAMBATZIS

Dude from "Menudo" circa 1984



PETER DE VRIES

Michael Douglas as Peter de Vries



JOE TACOPINO

Joe Peschi as Joe Tacopino



JAN VAN DER STRATEN

Brian Dennehy as Jan van der Stratten



DENNIS JACOBS

Vincent Pastore, from the "Sopranos" as Dennis Jacobs



GEROLD DOMPIG

Martin Lawrence as Gerald Dompig



NELSON ODUBER

"Seinfeld's Soup Nazi guy" as Nelson Oduber



RUDY CROES

Ron Howard as Rudy Croes



KARIN JANSSEN

Judith Light as Karin Janssen

"TIPS RENEW HOPES OF SOLVING CASE?" WHATEVER...

As many of you know, I have been actively reporting on Natalee's case from day one, and most of you have been following this case just as closely if not closer than me.

Do you know how many of these "new reports" that will "solve the case" have surfaced over the last three years? Every time something new is reported, or someone comes forward, nothing happens.

Do I think they ever will conclude Natalee's case with the justice she deserves? Probably not. I just don't take these reports of "solving the case" seriously anymore. We've already solved the case. We know what happened. It's just a matter of putting the right people in prison.

Last year after Joran Van der Sloot confessed under hidden surveillance that he deposed of Natalee's body in the ocean, the Dutch prosecutor in Aruba, Hans Mos did NOTHING.

His logic?

Since Joran had lied so many times in the past, how could he know he was telling the truth now? Therefore, he never pursued any of the new information, nor did he bring anything to the Judges in Aruba.

What was Joran's defense after spilling the beans? He was lying because he was high on "pot". That boy has more lies than Pinocchio.

Even Natalee's father Dave Holloway stated, "As far as Aruba’s concerned, I doubt very seriously if they are going to do anything. It seems like every time you try to give them some information it’s discounted by the judges who are over this case." (http://www.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/dutch_expose_reveals_new_information_into_natalee_holloways_disappearance/46176/)

It was recently reported that Hans Mos has decided to "close" Natalee's case at the end of the year. To the denial and dismay of the Aruban Tourism Authority, their economy and tourism has greatly suffered since this debacle of justice. The "powers that be" want this case, Beth Holloway, and the name Natalee Holloway to go away. Sorry. I think Aruba's reputation will forever be tarnished. There are millions out there that will not forget what happened to Natalee.

Incidentally, none of these reports and witnesses are "new" evidence and Hans Mos has pubicly dismissed them in the past. So why is he changing his tune now? Could it be that he has some political pressure on him? Or is this just another opportunity for him to look like he's doing something?

With the whacked-out legal system in Aruba, Joran has a better chance of seeing prison after his sex trafficking scandal in Thailand.

Read the "new hopes" here. I'm not holding my breath:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/11/18/grace.coldcase.holloway/index.html?eref=rss_crime

"SUPERBETH" AHEAD OF THE BATTLE--SPEAKS TO SMU STUDENTS

Beth Holloway keeps on speaking, a definite gold winner contender for victims everywhere by continuing her fight to keep Natalee's story alive. Beth recently spoke at Southern Methodist University in Texas.

Her final message about Natalee's tragedy was poetic:

"The hope that filled her heart fills mine. It brought me here tonight and it will see me through tomorrow. Please remember that you have your own back [while traveling], and please remember Natalee."

We will not forget you, Natalee! I don't care how long it takes, this Boycott Blog will stay up and continue to feed the minds of people throughout the entire world!

Southern Methodist University

By Johnny Brackett


For many graduating high school seniors, taking a trip after graduation is tradition. Parents watch as their children pack their bags to celebrate this landmark in their life. Many times, these parents will remind them to take safety precautions because they are going on a trip without them. They double-check that their children have remembered to bring the essentials: a toothbrush, extra underwear for freak accidents and in some cases, their passport. They see their children off and watch with glee as their pride and joy waltzes off to celebrate one of their largest accomplishments to date.

For Beth Holloway, this day was one of her proudest. Her daughter, Natalee, had recently graduated from high school with over a 4.0 grade point average, awarding her a full academic scholarship to the University of Alabama. She had just completed a dance career with her high school team and developed into a strikingly beautiful young woman. Holloway drove her daughter to a friend's house, where she would depart for the airport and fly to Aruba to celebrate graduation. She said her goodbyes to Natalee and watched as the dark silhouette of her daughter's body walked up the front path and went into the house. She didn't know at the time, but this would be the last time she would ever see her daughter.

Tuesday night, Beth Holloway, a woman who Barbara Walters selected as one of the world's most fascinating people, shared the tragic story of her daughter's kidnapping to SMU students at McFarlin Auditorium.

On May 30, 2005, the last day of her trip to Aruba, Natalee Holloway vanished. Sponsored by Pi Beta Phi and Hotel Palomar, Beth Holloway shared her story and how she has overcome such a huge obstacle. Liz Grayson, coordinator of the event and member of Pi Beta Phi, said Holloway's story is valuable to students.

"She has more courage than most people and after the tragic loss of her daughter, she has fought to increase awareness of a topic that is often overlooked," Grayson said.

Holloway said four days after dropping her daughter off for her senior trip, she received the phone call that parents dread. She was told that her daughter didn't arrive at the airport that morning. Holloway recalls quickly making arrangements to get to Aruba. Upon arrival, Holloway found Natalee's belongings neatly packed ready to return home. Natalee's friends said the last they saw her she was getting into a silver Honda outside Carlos' n' Charlie's, a popular nightclub in Aruba. This is the last living memory of her, Holloway said.

Holloway said that once she got to Aruba she followed a wild goose chase of tips from both officials and strangers. She spent days roaming the streets in search of her daughter. Holloway said the hardest part was trying to find her daughter in a country that does not honor the same laws as the United States. She said she was told of many possibilities of her daughter's whereabouts: in a Jeep, stowed away in a crack house, or even abducted and taken into slavery.

"As we frantically searched for our daughter, [Aruban officials] asked us not to disturb their crack houses, not to disturb their prostitutes and asked our family how much money we had," Holloway said.

For Holloway, trying to get help in this desperate situation was like being in another world, and in reality, she was. She said that despite all the tips and running around, Natalee was nowhere to be found.

Beginning to lose hope, Holloway said that she was descending to the lowest point the human spirit can fall. She recalls trying to find another way to survive the nightmare. The hope that she would find her daughter was rapidly becoming a fantasy, she said.

"I became resilient and decided I would pick up one foot, put it down, and the other would follow. There was much work that needed to be done for Natalee," Holloway said.

Holloway returned to the states where she was greeted with overwhelming support not just by her hometown community, but also from the entire nation and abroad. She said that magnificent things happen when people come together to support others. From volunteering to help with Holloway's search for answers to simply tying a yellow ribbon to their mailbox, vast amounts of people came to her aide, she said.

Just months ago, all of the hard work paid off. Holloway said she got the break she had been waiting for. The first and only suspect, Joran Van der Sloot, the driver of the silver Honda, confessed on a hidden camera to sexually assaulting Natalee. He said after she had a seizure he disposed of her body in the ocean. Holloway said she believes Natalee was given a date rape drug and overdosed, causing the seizures that Van der Sloot described.

Joran Van der Sloot is the son of an Aruban judge. Holloway said that despite his confession, the Aruban officials won't do anything against a judge's son because their system doesn't work like the United States'. Holloway compared Natalee's situation to The Wizard of Oz, saying that when you leave the United States, you are "not in Kansans anymore." (SEE RELATED ARTICLE about "not being in Kansas" anymore.) Travelers must adhere to the customs of the country they are visiting, she said. Being a teacher, Holloway asked herself what she could do to teach others from her tragic lessons.

New Venture--TravelEd

Since Natalee's disappearance, Holloway has founded TravelEd workshop. TravelEd is a program for college and high school students to teach about pre-departure education and safety. Holloway said that her daughter had a false sense of security among her many friends and was blind-sided. It is critically important to prepare for going abroad before leaving, she said. Her hope is that she can make TravelEd available to high schools everywhere.

"I want you to remember it is now your responsibility to watch out for yourself. Your parents aren't going to be around to watch over you anymore," Holloway said.

Students reacted to Holloway's story with emotion and sincerity. Megan Haslam, a junior public policy major and member of Pi Beta Phi, said that listening to Holloway's story was an eye-opening experience.

"It's devastating to hear that a family had to go through this. The important thing for those of us lucky enough to hear the story is to take the lessons Holloway is teaching to heart," Haslam said.

Holloway said that hope is what got her through such an upsetting experience. She said hope is a universal message that better times are ahead. It nourishes the soul just as food nourishes the body.

"The hope that filled her heart fills mine. It brought me here tonight and it will see me through tomorrow. Please remember that you have your own back [while traveling], and please remember Natalee," Holloway said in closing.


http://www.smudailycampus.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&uStory_id=819952cf-6950-42fa-abef-ce3ac38e6a4a

ARUBA JUST CAN'T ACCEPT IT--STILL BLAMING THE VICTIM 3 YEARS LATER

So, Amigoe...you want to talk about lies? Ok, so let's talk about lies.


It's been three years since Natalee has been gone, now coming up on the the 3rd anniversary and this is the crap that is posted in your paper? What in the hell does it have to do with the fact that Natalee was last seen with Joran? What does it have to do with the fact that Natalee was most likely drugged and according to Joran, was cast into the ocean after he thought she overdosed? What does this story have to do with ANYTHING? Does it shed light on the vast lies told by not only all the perpetrators, but the police, the "witnesses", the government, the Aruban Tourism Agency? NO. It does nothing but make them look like asses by trying to discredit Beth Holloway...a woman who has no reason to lie.


This isn't a smoke screen. It's a pathetic excuse to fill up that white space in that pathetic Aruban paper.

‘New’ evidence reinforces Beth Twitty’s lie

The computer print-out showing that Beth had lied about her arrival time in Aruba.

WILLEMSTAD/ORANJESTAD – From a print-out of Natalee Holloway’s telephone it appears that the private jet of her mother Beth had already landed in Aruba at 17:15 on May 30. At least, that’s what TV-producer from Curacao, Renée Gielen says. She has the telephone print-out of Natalee’s cellular telephone. This is very striking, says Gielen, because according to her, it means that Beth Holloway wanted to come to Aruba before Natalee was missing. “The print-out shows that Beth had called Natalee’s cell at 17:15. She did that from her own cell and she could not have done that while being in the air.”


She emphasizes that it also means that the call was not done with a satellite telephone and it is also not probable that Beth’s private jet had made an intermediate landing from the United States. “That is not usual on these short flights. For that matter, she must have left even earlier.” The print-out doesn’t show that it was a missed call, but that Beth had really talked to someone.


Gielen assumes that she had talked to Paul Lilly, one of the chaperones of Natalee during her vacation in Aruba. Besides, when Beth arrived in Aruba, she was carrying a stack of posters asking Natalee to call her. “This suggests that Beth must have known that there were problems, before Natalee disappeared”, says Gielen, who from the beginning of the disappearance case three years ago, is investigating the case.


Gielen and her team are now in the process of rounding off the documentary ‘‘Natalee, The Unrevealed Time Lines’ that is expected to be presented on June 2.

MISTAKEN

Gielen considers the print-out as new evidence that Beth had lied about the exact time of her arrival in Aruba. She has been declaring all along that she arrived in Aruba ‘around 23:00’. She also wrote this in her book ‘Loving Natalee’ that was published late last year. A former employee of the airport, Alberto G, said before the cameras of Gielen that the private-jet of Beth had landed at 19:45. He retracted his declaration, because, as he said, he was mistaken. He did this after the Americans Dan Young and Kelly Castillo that claim to be detectives, showed a computer print-out indicating that Beth had arrived earlier. G. confirmed the authenticity of that print-out.


The motive of Beth lying about her arrival time is still not clear. Despite many telephone calls and e-mails, Gielen didn’t manage to reach Beth. Also the police don’t know anything. “The police say that there are no telephone data available from the radio tower equipment for that day, which is very coincidentally” says Gielen. Former chief of police, Gerald Dompig told this newspaper earlier that at that time, the police had investigated the time line, the flight data, and also the flight movements.

http://www.amigoe.com/english/

PARADISE "LOST"--ARUBA NEVER TO BE THE SAME

An Island Paradise? Or an Island Nightmare?

All the non-believers of Natalee were in for a big surprise, as her friends, Laraine Watson and Claire Fierman didn't say anything bad about Natalee and certainly nothing incriminating nor atypical behavior from a straight A, naive and sweet girl.

PAULUS = DAURY?

I wonder if Paulus watched or read any of this because it's been said by Art Wood that Paulus = Daury. Is Daddy Sloot afraid of getting caught? Joran will never give him up. So who will? His "judicial friends"? I highly doubt it. Last year a confidential source told me that Paulus has more clout on the island than we ever imagined. As Joran would say, Paulus has "shit on them, too (governmental officials, etc).

There is a myriad of interesting activities on the Island of Aruba..after hours sex shows, child prostitutes, drugs of any kind, homosexual encounters, and shady money/business dealings. He's got all of his conspirators in his back pocket. As long as the Prosecution keeps on with the infamous "catch and release" facade, Paulus stays out of the spot light, along with his precious psychopath son, Joran.


(These are excerpts from Dateline with Chris Hanson (You know him from his undercover show, "To Catch a Predator"...how fitting.)

Watch VIDEO HERE

Beth Holloway explained her excitement, yet concern about the trip to Aruba, "I was excited the Mountain Brook students had been there the previous two years. Even my step-son -- the year 2003. And there were going to be over 150 plus classmates. So, we felt like, you know, there's safety in numbers."


She felt good about it except for one troubling piece of information about a nightspot down there, a bar called Carlos 'n Charlie's. "My step-son had had an encounter at Carlos 'n Charlie's during 2003," Beth stated.


She continued with the negative story her step-brother experienced. Beth's step-son told her that the locals had coaxed some young females into leaving the establishment with them… and he (the step-son) stepped in at the last minute because just didn't feel good about the situation, you know, with them, and he stepped in at the last minute because of the situation."

But class member Laraine Watson, who's never spoken publicly about their trip, or Natalee's last night, until now, says it couldn't have started better. "We were so excited. I mean, it was a tropical paradise... without our parents! Together."


Claire Fierman had been friends with Natalee since they met in junior high. "We were on the beach. We stayed outside all day. You'd usually take a nap, get dressed, go eat dinner, and then go to one of the bars. Come home whenever you wanted to."


On the last night of the trip, Sunday, May 29, Natalee and her friends headed down to the hotel casino. They soon struck up a conversation with a young man. He said he was 19 years old, a tourist visiting from Holland. His name was Joran.


Laraine Watson stated, "I met him in the casino and I didn't shake his hand or anything, I just said, 'Who's that?' when my friends introduced me."


Chris Hansen: What did you make of him?


Laraine Watson: He just looks like an average, normal high school guy. I mean, I remember he's really tall. I remember looking at him thinking, "Oh, who's that guy?" You know, he's hanging out with my friends.


Chris Hansen: What was the 'buzz' on him with the rest of the gang?


Laraine Watson: You know, I don't know if he initially came up to my girlfriends and said, "Hey." and started talking to them. Or if they approached him. But Natalee was in there when I saw him near the blackjack table. And I don't know if they were even talking. I just remember seeing him and wondering what he was doing hanging out with my friends.


Chris Hansen: Did he create any suspicions?

Laraine Watson: Not really. I just was curious to see who the boy was. I wasn't really suspicious. I mean, he's going to come out with us later.


In fact, Joran did join Natalee and her friends later at that same well-known nightspot that had worried Natalee's mom.


Laraine Watson: It was fun. I mean, when you go with a big group of your friends out to a bar, it's fun. And we were legal. You know, we were 18 and we could drink. Joran seemed to fit right in with the hundred-plus kids from Mountain Brook, who essentially took over the bar Sunday night.


Chris Hansen: Did you see him at Carlos 'n Charlie's that night?


Laraine Watson: I did see him. I didn't talk to them. I just saw him dancing.


Chris Hansen: Did you see him have any interaction with Natalee at all?


Laraine Watson: No.


Chris Hansen: What time did you wrap it up at the bar that night?


Laraine Watson: I think the bar closed at 1:00 a.m. So, we pretty much left when the bar closed. So, you know, the last song came on..."Sweet Home Alabama" came on. I think they all knew we were from Alabama, so they played it for us. And we went outside and started trying to get in taxi cabs to get back to our hotel. And it was kind of chaotic.


Chris Hansen: Did you think that's how Natalee got separated from the rest of the crowd?


Laraine Watson: I do. I do. I didn't see her in the car that she was last seen in. But some other members of the group did see who Natalee had gone off with. They didn't think anything of it at the time but she had gone off with Joran and some of his friends. The next morning, Monday, the group was scheduled to catch flights taking them all back home. But at the Holiday Inn, no one had seen Natalee.


Claire Fierman: So, I'm boarding my plane. One of our friends, Francis Ellen, comes running through the airport, grabs me as I'm getting on my plane and says, "Natalee is not coming home. We can't find her." And I say, "Beth is going to be so mad." Because my initial reaction is she's overslept. Where is she? You know, it wasn't panic.


But as Natalee's plane pulled away from the gate panic did begin to set in. Less than 12 hours after her daughter Natalee was reported missing, Beth Holloway Twitty's plane touched down in Aruba. She was joined by her then-husband Jug and a few friends from home, and the group wasted no time tracking down clues about what had happened to Natalee.


Their first stop: the Holiday Inn -- where Natalee had stayed --- and where they began asking questions about that Dutch tourist named Joran. Beth Holloway: So, all I did was give this little bit of information to the nighttime manager and she knew instantly who he was. ...Minutes later the group from Alabama was arriving at his family's home.


By now police had arrived at the house and Paulus van der Sloot, a politically-connected legal official, hovered as police questioned his son, Joran. And when it came to the key question -- when did Joran last see Natalee -- he said that he and two friends, brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe -- had dropped her off at her hotel around 2 am. End of story.


By now at least 20 people had gathered around -- Beth, her husband, their friends, and police -- and they all got in cars and headed back to the Holiday Inn. At the Holiday Inn, Joran himself showed Beth and the group where he had supposedly left Natalee, right at the hotel's front entrance. Beth Holloway: So, he spread his arms out. Said, "This is where I dropped her off." and he explained how she got out of the car, and she stumbled. And he said, "She fell and she hit her head."

The Next Morning

The group tried to get some rest, and the next morning Beth went to the police station hoping to follow up on what she had learned the night before.

Beth Holloway: (After they arrived at the police station) The lead detective (Dennis Jacobs), told me that he would have to have a shave. And he rubbed his cheeks, and his stretched his arms down to his large stomach and said he would have to have his Frosted Flakes first before he could deal with me. And then, after two hours, he came out and said that he'd changed his mind. That he didn't need to meet with us after all.


The next day Beth was back at the police station and this time the detective had questions for her. "He asked me if Natalee ever had a history of seizures or epilepsy? And I said, "No." Beth Holloway Twitty says she didn't understand the significance of that question at the time and wouldn't for more than two years. But soon after that question was posed to her, there were arrests in the case. Just not who she thought. Then the family brought in a hard-charging, hard-living Texan named Tim Miller. If anyone could find Natalee, they thought that perhaps he could.

Watch Tim Miller's VIDEO HERE

Little did Tim Miller know, but he'd spend nearly a year of his life in Aruba knocking on doors, hunting down leads, sifting the sand -- and the sea. "I'll never forget that day when Dave Holloway's in the bottom of that well on Natalee's birthday, putting trash in a bucket, and I'm pulling it up thinking, 'Maybe they put Natalee in a well and threw trash on top of her.' And I said, 'It's a hell of a way to spend your daughter's birthday.' I said, 'Dave, get out of that hole.'


And so, he got out, and I went down. And then he said, 'Tim, get out of that hole.' He said, 'I'm leaving Aruba. I will never come back here again.' "


But Tim Miller says that very day, in October, 2005, there was a turning point. The deputy police chief saw Miller and Dave Holloway and shared a hunch. Miller said, "There's no need for you all to be searching the landfill anymore." He said, "I think you all need to be out in the sea, three to five miles."


Soon, there was another tip -- one that seemed to add credibility to that theory. On the night Natalee disappeared, Miller learned that there had been a break-in at a fisherman's hut on the beach. Among the missing items --- a metal and wire box --- a fish trap. Miller wondered if they could have used it to dispose of Natalee's body and weigh her down at sea so her body couldn't be discovered.


"Well, we talked to a lot of people in Aruba. And they say 90 percent of anybody that drowns on that side of the island, their bodies will float up to the banks of Venezuela. I don't think that they was willing to take a risk on Natalee's body floating." Miller was determined to launch a search, but one sophisticated enough to find a target so tiny -- a fish trap -- in an area so vast seemed just about impossible.

Louis Schaefer & The Persistence



How a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles) Works

Until Louis Schaefer entered the picture. Schaefer is a self-made multimillionaire who made hisfortune in the underwater exploration business. Schaefer was one of the few people in the world with the expertise to help find Natalee's body if Tim Miller's theory was correct. And he was offering his services free of charge.


The plan was to use high-tech equipment to map the ocean floor off Aruba, and then, step-by-step, use state of the art equipment to scan the bottom for anything that looked like it could contain Natalee's remains. Just before Thanksgiving, 2007, Dave Holloway came to see the Persistence -- the vessel that he hoped would bring Natalee home. "There's been times, I'll be honest with you, you look up at the sky at night, or get up and you can't sleep. Look up at the stars. Think, God help us. Answer some prayers for us," stated Holloway.


In November 2007, Tim Miller and Dave Holloway went to New Iberia, La., to see off the research vessel named Persistence. Dave Holloway said, "Your boat says it all -- persistence. I've been persistent, and Tim's been persistent and everybody else is going to be persistent."

Example of a ROV in progress

Dave Holloway: And when this went out, I thought, gosh, the only thing I can hold on to is, is this

boat search. I said, that's my last hope. That's my very last hope.

Tim Miller: The sea has always been calling us back.


In December 2007, Miller returned to Aruba, and based on his theory and study of water currents, literally drew a line in the sand.


Tim Miller: I stepped on the boat and said "Natalee we're coming to get you." Now we're finally coming to get you. And I still believe that from the bottom of my heart. She's out here and now we're on our way.


On Christmas Eve sonar pictures revealed what looked like a large trap, almost exactly where Tim Miller theorized it would be. And on Dec. 29 the crew dropped a remote operated vehicle, or ROV, into the water to get a closer look. Tim Miller: It looked like a skull. Still looks like a skull.


Tim Miller: I'm thinking at this point, "Oh, my God, maybe we've got something. Maybe we've got something." Could they have found her? Or was hope, perhaps, making them see what they wanted to see?


Tim Miller: In my years of searching we have seen several bodies, skeletal remains--I have seen my own daughter's skeletal remains. I can't help but believe at this moment that that is human remains in that crab trap. Tim Miller couldn't help but think that the date they first saw that trap -- Christmas eve -- was a sign that just maybe they were on to something.


Tim Miller: Maybe that was some of God's timing. I hope maybe Beth and Dave can have what they have been looking for two and half years. , "Dave, we found her." Dave Holloway: "Are you sure?" and he said, "I'm 99.9 percent sure." He said, "We hadn't gone down and dove under or anything. But the photographs--" he said, "I tell you, Dave." I-- he said, "That's what we're looking for. And that's gotta-- that-- that's it."



Tim Miller: Everything was going right. That morning there was actually a double rainbow when we got started. Another sign from above? A school of dolphins followed the Persistence as it sailed out to the target.


Tim Miller: I know I looked at somebody on the boat, and I said, "The-- the dolphins are going with us to go ahead and get Natalee."

An answer from the depths

The researchers had discovered a fish trap about 90 feet below the surface in almost the exact spot search expert Tim Miller had theorized Natalee's body might be. The divers approached the target and signaled above. And then...it's thumbs down. Negative, not it. A crushing disappointment. To be sure there was no relevant evidence, material from the trap was given to the FBI.


For the Holloways, though, another wild ride began. Natalee Holloway's parents were about to be thrown another bombshell --perhaps the biggest yet. An elaborate hidden camera sting in the Netherlands, arranged by Dutch reporter Peter de Vries, caught Joran van der Sloot on tape with a man named Patrick who had gained his trust.


Van der Sloot not only said he was with Natalee when she collapsed on a beach, but that he had a friend with a boat get rid of her body. For Dave Holloway, watching the show was the most painful moment yet.


Dave Holloway: It was a good thing he-- there was an ocean between us and Holland, because I would have come after him.


Though the tape was difficult to watch, for Natalee's parents it seemed to confirm many things they have believed all along. First and foremost that Joran was with Natalee -- and had something to do with her disappearance.


Beth Holloway: I wanted to come to the TV and kill him. I wanted to peel his skin off his face. Second, that her body was, indeed, dumped at sea.


Tim Miller: You know, I think there's a lot of truth in it. And I think it validates what we've been wanting to do for the last couple of years, and that's search that water. But for Natalee's mother, there was something else about the tape that was particularly revealing.


On the tape, Joran van der Sloot says all of a sudden it was like a scene from a movie, the way Natalee was moving. "Shaking?" his friend asked. "Yes," he answered. When Beth heard van der Sloot describe what happened, she said it not only made sense, it confirmed to her what she had believed from the start.


Beth Holloway: The facts are within 48 hours of Natalee's disappearance, a lead detective asked me if she had a history of epilepsy or seizures. Two and a half years later, the main suspect himself, admits that Natalee -- he felt as if she suffered an epilepsy or seizure. And he even indicates how she's shaking. So, if we look at just that one-- just that one piece, that's one thread out of a lot. Then, I have to say yes, there definitely was some collusion and corruption going on in the early days of Natalee's disappearance. Absolutely.

Excuses From Corrupt Morons

However, according to the prosecutor's office it's standard procedure to ask if a missing person might have a seizure disorder. Police and prosecution officials declined on-camera interviews, but have consistently denied that there was any corruption, collusion or mishandling of the investigation. The director of Aruba's hotel and tourism association says everyone wishes the Holloway case had been treated more urgently in the first 48 hours, but that police wrongdoing was certainly not an issue.


Rob Smith: In fact, quite the opposite, you know, our island is very focused on tourism, so we've put a tremendous amount of effort into solving this case, millions and millions of dollars from our police budget have been focused on nothing but bringing resolution for the family. Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers insist they had nothing to do with Natalee's disappearance or death. And when it comes to that videotape, van der Sloot claims he was lying, impaired by marijuana. After the hidden camera footage aired, prosecutors sought to arrest Joran van der Sloot again but judges denied the request.


Joseph Tacopina (van der Sloot's lawyer): For two courts to deny his rearrest shows you the value, the evidenciary value of this tape, which is none.


Joseph Tacopina: Joran's story, over 20 hours that he was taped, is disprovable by fact, disprovable in its inconsistencies internally, and incredible because he was under the influence of narcotics when he was making those statements.

Not Giving Up Joran and Paulus!

Dave Holloway: That search will continue. They have the capability to find something as small as a quarter on the ocean floor. I mean, that's how sophisticated this equipment is. Today Natalee Holloway would be 21 years old, a junior in college, phoning home to chat about friends or boys or maybe a biology test she'd aced that afternoon. Instead, she is gone. Her final resting place, a mystery.


And so her parents keep searching, hoping that somewhere off the coast of Aruba, a boat called the Persistence, may bring them an answer -- and peace.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23301056/