The circumstances surrounding Natalee Holloway’s disappearance were almost deceptively straightforward. On May 29, 2005, she was at a nightclub in Aruba called Carlos ‘N Charlie’s (pictured) with a group of classmates. When the nightclub closed, the group split up. Natalee was seen getting into a car with three other people, later identified as Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe, and Satish Kalpoe. She was never seen again. 

The year after her disappearance, Vanity Fair took a look at what had been going on behind most of the mainstream media coverage, noting that Natalee’s mother, Beth Holloway, believed from the very beginning that van der Sloot was behind her daughter’s disappearance. She and her husband, Natalee’s stepfather, were in Aruba shortly after her disappearance and became the loudest voices in their demand for answers. Almost immediately on their arrival in Aruba, they got a lead: Natalee had been not only seen in van der Sloot’s company, but he reportedly had a bit of a reputation. One hotel employee told Beth, “He tends to prey upon young, female tourists.”

But it was also undeniable that many people in Aruba were upset about the situation, condemning the coverage as taking over their country and creating a narrative about how dangerous it was. One local businessman, Charles Croes, initially helped the family navigate the island and coordinate with the police. A year later, he said: “That girl, Natalee, I wish she’d stayed home. … The kid is just not worth all this trouble, this heartache. Is Natalee worth it? Is she?”

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