Six important things Taken: Natalee Holloway on Netflix left out about the investigation

Taken: Natalee Holloway revisits the story of the 18-year-old who disappeared in May 2005, but it misses out a lot of details about the famous case. Here are some important things the Netflix documentary should have included to help paint a better picture of the investigation and what really happened. 

1. Aruba’s Justice Ministry wrongly declared Natalee dead 

On 11th June 2005, a month after she went missing, a spokesperson for Aruba’s Justice Ministry, David Cruz, wrongly declared that Natalee was dead and said authorities knew where her body was. The statement was later retracted, and Cruz claimed he was misled by misinformation.

Credit: Netflix

2. Chaperones realised Natalee was missing in the morning

The Netflix documentary makes out that nobody realised Natalee was missing until they arrived at the airport, but this isn’t true. The seven chaperones on the trip realised Natalee was missing during a headcount in the Holiday Inn lobby on the morning of 30th May, 2005, just before they were due to fly home. Natalee wasn’t there, so they called her mother Beth. 

3. Her mother flew out on a private jet that very same day

As soon as she was told Natalee was missing, Beth booked a private jet to take herself, her husband and other friends and family members from Alabama to Aruba. In total, there were 10 people on the plane, and they reached the island on the very same day Natalee disappeared. 

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4. Aruba spent $3 million looking for Holloway

The Netflix documentary gives the impression that the Aruban government didn’t do much to search for Natalee, but this isn’t true at all. Aruba spent approximately $3 million on the investigation, which was a staggering 40 per cent of the annual police budget at the time. 

Credit: Netflix

5. Her dad funded his own deep-sea search 

Natalee’s father was also heavily involved with the search and funded his own search to look for his daughter’s body. He used a deep-sea vessel called Persistence, which searched the ocean deeper than the 330ft authorities had already searched. However, he had to abandon the search in February 2008 after running out of money. 

6. Natalee was legally declared dead in 2012

Six years after she disappeared, Natalee was declared legally dead in June 2011. This came after her father launched a petition in an Alabama court to have her declared dead, for insurance and practical reasons. Her mother Beth opposed the petition, but a judge ruled that Dave had met the requirements for a legal presumption of death and signed the order on 12th January, 2012. 

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