On May 30, 2005, Natalee Holloway disappeared after a night out in Aruba. To this day, Natalee’s disappearance causes impact. The judicial authorities of Aruba (the Aruba Police Force, other investigative entities and the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aruba) will follow up on any serious leads that could solve this case.
The American journalist G.C. van Susteren published on social media in May 2022 that she has important information at her disposal that could solve Natalee’s disappearance.
In June 2022, an investigation led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Aruba, was launched by the RST (Recherche samenwerkingsteam) in cooperation with the FBI. The investigation mainly focused on the question whether the information provided by Van Susteren was concrete and accurate enough to solve the case. Unfortunately, the information did not contribute to solving the disappearance of Natalee.
On the contrary, the investigation has shown that Van Susteren was the victim of fraud and manipulation by persons possibly in South America with whom she had come into contact, and who, in exchange for payment, deceived her with false information.
For example, Van Susteren received a postal package from Colombia, containing shoes and clothing that, according to the sender, would have belonged to Natalee. Forensic investigation by the FBI showed that, among other things, the DNA found in the package did not match DNA belonging to Natalee or to Joran van der Sloot. The shoe turned out to be a brand counterfeit, which was probably manufactured in 2019.
Van Susteren has also received various photos and videos. The investigation into those photos and videos revealed manipulation and deception.
The photos of probable suspects involved in Natalee’s disappearance, for example, came from a public Facebook page. Other photos such as a photo of human bones that, according to the sender, were the remains of Natalee, were also found to come from the public Internet. For example, one photo was taken from a 2018 newspaper article about a garbage dump in Costa Rica.
Furthermore, the investigation showed that there were no multiple independent sources that told the same story. All the people who approached Van Susteren appeared to be connected to each other.
It had previously been agreed with Van Susteren that she would be informed about the result of the investigation and about the way in which the investigation was carried out. She has twice denied an extensive personal presentation from the detectives on these topics. Today she was notified by letter of the results of the investigation. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has also reached out to Natalee’s parents to establish contact.