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Sometimes the truth is so much stranger than fiction.
Twelve years ago, 18-year-old Natalee Holloway went missing during a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Despite a world-wide media frenzy, Natalee’s body was never found and the case remains unsolved. The investigation into Holloway’s disappearance was headline news as the story seemed almost cinematic in the amount of intrigue it produced. Crooked cops? Murder? An intricate cover-up? The truth behind the final moments of Holloway’s life are shrouded in mystery, but it’s a mystery that may soon be solved.
Premiering tonight on Oxygen, The Disappearance Of Natalee Holloway is a new true-crime docuseries that follows Natalee’s father, Dave Holloway, and his longtime private investigator T.J. Ward as they investigate a potentially game-changing new lead that may finally provide much-needed answers to a series of questions no family should have to ask. If you’re unfamiliar with the basics of the case, the premiere episode — which is now streaming on Oxygen.com — offers a comprehensive recap of this captivating whodunit while also reaffirming that the most riveting mysteries aren’t found under the guise of fiction.
The Case of Natalee Holloway
Holloway’s 2005 disappearance is one of the most publicized missing persons cases to date. Already accepted to the University of Alabama, Holloway was scheduled to fly home from Aruba on May 30, 2005, but she never arrived for her flight. Holloway was last seen outside a nightclub, Carlos ‘n Charlie’s, before getting into a car with 17-year-old Joran van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe.
Amidst an exhaustive search for Natalee, the media attention surrounding the case began to intensify. The three men last seen with Holloway were questioned by police, but they repeatedly professed their innocence, claiming they dropped Natalee off at her hotel. In the midst of repeated claims of corruption towards the Aruba Police Department and the barrage of conflicting stories told by the men who were last seen with Holloway before her disappearance, Van der Sloot was arrested twice on suspicion of involvement and the Kalpoe brothers were each arrested three times.
Due to the dearth of physical evidence, all three were released. Natalee Holloway was declared legally dead in 2012.
Joran Van der Sloot would emerge as the prime suspect in the case. He would later confess that Holloway died the morning of her disappearance and that a friend of his disposed of the body at sea. Van der Sloot would later recant his story and instead stated that he sold Holloway into slavery. Eventually, Van der Sloot was indicted by a federal grand jury for attempting to extort money in exchange for information related to Holloway’s whereabouts. It would not be his last run-in with the law.
In 2010, he confessed to the murder of 21-year-old business student Flores Ramirez and was eventually sentenced to serve 28 years in prison.
The New Lead That May Finally Close The Case
What sets The Disappearance Of Natalee Holloway apart from other true-crime programs is the show’s emphasis on Natalee’s grieving father, Dave. Many reality docs overly rely on the inherent intrigue of the subject matter to drive the story, but this six-part series is enhanced both emotionally and narratively by the humanizing effect of Dave Holloway’s tenacious search for answers. His perseverance pays off when a man, Gabriel, comes forward claiming his former roommate assisted Van der Sloot in disposing of Natalee’s remains.
Years of dead end leads and false confessions have understandably amplified Holloway’s skepticism, but Gabriel’s credibility is somewhat authenticated when he divulges details about the case that aren’t public knowledge.
“You just can’t quit,” Holloway says during the premiere episode. “You just can’t sleep at night knowing you got a valid lead out here that needs to be checked out. We’ve chased a lot, a lot of leads, and this one is by far the most credible lead I’ve seen in the last twelve years.”
The Real-Time Update
Despite twelve years of agonizing uncertainty that no father should ever have to endure, the answers Dave Holloway has so desperately sought may finally be within reach.
Following the evidence gathered during a renewed 18-month investigation, authorities have discovered human remains behind a house in Aruba. While the remains are being tested to see if they’re a DNA match with Natalee Holloway, the fact that this lead came from Gabriel himself is cause to be cautiously optimistic that his harrowing case may finally be nearing a conclusion.
All new episodes of The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway air Saturday nights at 9:00 PM on Oxygen. You can stream the first episode of the series on Oxygen.com.
