Dave Holloway - Aruba. The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise

ARUBA

ARUBA

The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway
and Corruption in Paradise

Dave Holloway

with

R. Stephanie Good

and

Larry Garrison

Copyright 2006 by Dave Holloway, R. Stephanie Good, and Larry Garrison

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Current, a division of a wholly owned subsidiary (Nelson Communications, Inc.) of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
on file with the Library of Congress.

Holloway, Dave.

Aruba : the tragic untold story of Natalee Holloway and corruption in paradise / Dave Holloway with R. Stephanie Good and Larry Garrison.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-59555-063-1

1. Holloway, Natalee. 2. Missing childrenAruba. 3. Missing personsAruba. 4. Young womenCrimes againstAruba. I. Good, R. Stephanie. II. Garrison, Larry. III. Title.
HV6762.A75H65 2006
362.8dc22 2006002714

Printed in the United States of America

06 07 08 09 10 QW 5 4 3 2 1

I dedicate this book to my daughter
Natalee,
for your love, your beautiful smile, and your inspiration,
and for teaching me that giving up is never an option.

Contents

THERE ARE LITERALLY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO have helped us during our ordeal, physically, emotionally, monetarily, or through their prayers.

I want to start by thanking my wonderful wife, Robin, who has provided endless support and love.

My children Matt, Brooke, and Kaitlyn who fill my heart with peace and joy and make each new day a little brighter than the last.

My mother, Chris Holloway; my brothers, Steve Holloway, Phil Holloway, and Todd Vestal; my sister, Linda Allison; my mother-in-law and father-in-law, Carol and Melvin Parten; my brothers-in-law, Michael and Steve Parten, who have all joined in our search, held us up when we needed support, and kept our heartache from completely overwhelming us.

My father, Jack Holloway, who has watched over us and given us strength during these difficult months.

My church and community for surrounding us with their warmth and comfort.

My State Farm colleagues and policyholders, the many total strangers who sent their good wishes, and the many strangers who became our friends.

The search teams, especially Tim Miller and Equusearch, Art Wood, and Patrick Murphy; the Internet bloggers; the news media; the politicians; and some of the good people of Aruba who truly care about seeking answers and justice for Natalee.

The persons who have made this book possible:

Larry Garrison, for knowing how to open the right doors for opportunities and for your brilliance in making things happen.

Stephanie Good, for your creativity, knowledge, and the ability to write a New York Times bestseller.

And finally, the teams at Nelson Current and Waterside Productions for making this book a reality.

God bless you all!

ONE
Everybodys Child

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MUCH IT HURTS TO LOSE A child. There are no words to describe the feelings that choke a parent who outlives a daughter. It is not supposed to happen this way. I was never prepared for this kind of pain, this type of emptiness. My heart has an insurmountable void that used to be filled with Natalees presence.

I watched as she received her high school diploma, and I took pictures of her at her graduation ceremony. I planned to be there when she graduated from college and then medical school. My pride would have enveloped us both. I had long imagined the day when I would see my Natalee in her beautiful white wedding gown. We would meet in the back of the church for her last moment as daddys little girl and, as she encircled my arm with hers, I would lean down and whisper the words that all fathers must say to their daughters on that very special day, I love you. I would walk her down the aisle and proudly offer her hand to her fianc, and I would return to my seat knowing that my girl had accomplished all that a father could desire. At that moment, it would be clear that the first tier of her life with me had come to an end and that the man she would now look to for approval and love would be her husband. But she would always be my little Natalee... always.

When Natalee and her brother Matt were young, we lived in Clinton, Mississippi. We had been building some very special memories, but lately it has been difficult to recall them without a lot of pain. I try to picture Natalee riding her bike around the neighborhood, or envision the excited expression on her face when she woke up on Christmas morning and spotted the toys we had stayed up half the night putting together. I remember how she loved climbing up onto my back as I crawled along the floor on my hands and knees and how when she wanted to show off her dancing, she jumped up on her miniature table to do a routine and it tipped over, throwing her off and breaking her arm. I think back to her first days of kindergarten when she was only five and how I drove her up to school every morning and walked her to class to show her around and get her used to it. I can still see her sad little face during the second week when I told her it was time to go in on her own. She still wanted Daddy to walk her to class. I keep thinking back because Im so afraid that if I dont, the memories will begin to fade. And, for now, that is all I have of her to hold on to.

Natalee was seven and Matt was five when their mother, Beth, and I divorced in 1993. After I remarried in 1995, my wife, Robin, and I lived in Jackson, Mississippi, but we relocated back to Clinton in 1996 to be close to Natalee and Matt. When Beth remarried in 2000, she and her husband, Jug, moved to Mountain Brook, Alabama, and Robin and I moved to Meridian, Mississippi, where our two daughters, Brooke and Kaitlyn, were born. Natalee and Matt live in Mountain Brook with Beth and Jug and visit us in Mississippi as often as their schedules allow. Prior to Natalees sixteenth birthday and obtaining her drivers license, she and Matt had been coming to our home every other weekend and more frequently during their summer vacations from school. But, during Natalees senior year in high school, her visits were a bit less frequent due to her many extracurricular activities. So Robin and I made it our business to visit her and watch her dance at football games with her dance team, the Dorians.

Robin and I have maintained a close, loving relationship with Natalee throughout her childhood and teenage years. We have tried to instill certain values and traits in all of our children that would enable them to succeed in life. Those values include honesty, integrity, morality, and a deep faith in God. We believe that Natalee has a solid foundation in those values. Robin and I have our own set of faith-based values that guide us in our daily lives. At this time of upheaval, we have gained strength from our reliance upon those values. We have felt Gods presence every step of the way, and that is what has sustained us in these, our darkest hours of need.

Natalee is missing.

I desperately want her back.