2005 to 2026: A full timeline of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance, 21 years on

Taken: Natalee Holloway on Netflix tells the story of the 18-year-old’s disappearance in Aruba in 2005, but the timeline is a bit confusing. Here are all the key events over the past 21 years, and when they happened. 

26th May 2005 – Natalee arrived in Aruba 

Natalee arrived in Aruba alongside 124 other classmates from Mountain Brook High School in Alabama for a high school graduation trip, staying at the Holiday Inn. 

29th May 2005 – Natalee’s final night 

On her final night in Aruba, Natalee was last seen alive outside Carlos’n Charlie’s nightclub in Oranjestad. There, she met Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe.

Credit: Netflix

30th May 2005 – Natalee went missing

Natalee was seen leaving in a car with Joran, Deepak and Satish in the early hours and this was the last confirmed sighting of her alive.

In the morning, the teenagers all went down to the lobby before flying home, and the chaperones noticed Natalee was missing during a headcount. They went to her room and found all her luggage packed, including her passport. 

Natalee’s mother Beth was called and notified that her daughter was missing. The rest of the group flew home, and Beth, her husband Jug Twitty and other family friends flew to Aruba that same day on a private jet. 

31st May 2005 – The investigation began

Aruban police and the FBI began investigating Natalee’s disappearance, searching beaches, hotels, nearby countryside and coastal areas.

5th June 2005 – The first arrest was made 

Police arrested two former security guards who worked at a nearby hotel. Both of them were released. 

9th June 2005 – More arrests were made 

Joran van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested. The Kalpoe brothers were released on 4th July before being re-arrested on 26th August on suspicion of rape and murder.

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23rd June 2005 – Paul van der Sloot was arrested

Paul van der Sloot, Joran’s father, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Natalee and held for 48 hours before being released. 

Credit: Netflix

3rd September 2005 – All suspects were released 

Van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and Satish Kalpoe were all released from custody.

February 2006 – Joran travelled to the US

Joran van der Sloot travelled to the US and started giving TV interviews about the night Natalee disappeared. 

December 2006 – Natalee’s parents sued 

Beth and Dave Holloway filed a wrongful death lawsuit in California against Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, which was dismissed. 

21st November 2007 – Three suspects were arrested again 

Joran van der Sloot was arrested in the Netherlands, and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested in Aruba following new evidence.

Credit: Netflix

December 2007 – The suspects were released 

The Kalpoe brothers were in custofy for two weeks before being released on 1st December. Van der Sloot was in custody for three weeks before his release on 7 December. Prosecutors dropped the charges against all three suspects because of insufficient evidence on 18th December.

3rd February 2008 – Hidden camera footage was released

A Dutch journalist released hidden footage which showed Van der Sloot speaking about what allegedly happened to Natalee. He claimed she became unresponsive while they were on the beach and he couldn’t revive her, so her dumped her body in the sea. Joran then claimed he was lying. 

March 2010 – Joran offered to confess

Joran contacted the Holloway family’s lawyer, John Q Kelly, offering to reveal what happened and where Natalee’s remains were. In exchange, he demanded $250k – $25k upfront and the rest later.

10th May 2010 – The undercover operation began

John Q Kelly met Joran in Aruba and gave him $10k in cash. The remaining $15k was sent by bank transfer in an undercover operation to charge him with wire fraud and extortion. In exchange, Joran told them what happened to Natalee and claimed her body was buried beneath a house, which was false. 

30th May 2010 – Stephany Flores was murdered

Joran met Stephany Flores Ramírez at a casino in Lima on 30th May 2010. They left the casino together and went to his hotel room at Hotel Tac, where Van der Sloot beat her to death. 

Credit: Netflix

June 2010 – Van der Sloot was arrested

Van der Sloot was arrested in Chile for Ramírez’s murder on 3rd June and transferred back to Peru. On 30th June, he was indicted for wire fraud and extortion in Alabama. 

January 2012 – Van der Sloot was sentenced

He pleaded guilty to killing Ramírez on 11th January. The following day, Natalee was declared legally dead by an Alabama judge. Joran was then sentenced to 28 years behind bars in Peru on 13th January, where he remains.

2014 – Joran got married in prison

Van der Sloot married Leidy Figueroa in jail in 2014, and they welcomed a baby in that same year. 

June 2023 – Van der Sloot was extradited to the US

Joran was extradited to the US to face trial for the extortion and wire fraud charges. He pleaded not guilty, but later agreed to a plea deal where he would receive a shorter sentence if he confessed. 

18th October 2023 – The big confession

Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to the extortion and wire fraud charges and confessed to killing Holloway with a cinder block on the beach and putting her body in the ocean after she rejected his sexual advances. He was then sentenced to 20 years in jail, which runs concurrently with his 28-year Peruvian prison sentence, so he won’t spend any extra time behind bars. 

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