A MOTHER'S FIGHT - Justice for Natalee

BETH HOLLOWAY WON'T GIVE UP UNTIL SHE UNCOVERS WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO HER TEENAGE DAUGHTER

- Kylie Walters 

The future couldn’t have looked any brighter for US teen Natalee Holloway as she boarded a plane with a bunch of girlfriends in May 2005 to celebrate graduating high school.

The vivacious 18-year-old planned to spend a few glorious sun-soaked days relaxing by the beach and her nights dancing away in the clubs before she headed back to study pre-med at the University of Alabama on a full scholarship. But five days after she arrived in the Caribbean for her dream trip, Natalee vanished, never to be seen by her loved ones again.

In an exhausting 18-year effort, which has seen multiple arrests made over Natalee’s disappearance but no prosecutions, Beth Holloway, 63, has never given up on trying to find out what really happened to her daughter. Now, after nearly two decades, she could finally be on the verge of getting answers.

The man who has long been the main suspect in the investigation, Joran van der Sloot, stands accused of manipulating Beth into paying him cash for information about what happened to Natalee in 2010. He will shortly be extradited to the US from Peru, where he is serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of Stephany Flores, to face charges of extortion and wire fraud charges. If convicted, he faces having a further 40 years added to his prison term.