Crimesider
Crimesider
March 25, 2010 5:15 PM

Natalee Holloway's Father Thinks Aruba Photo Shows Rocks, Not Daughter's Remains; Police Seem to Agree

By
Barry Leibowitz
Topics
Daily Blotter

John Muldowney took this underwater photo in Aruba (AP Photo)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS/AP) The father of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who disappeared in Aruba in 2005, says he doesn't think an underwater photograph shows his daughter's remains. Dave Holloway says he's sure the picture, taken by a Pennsylvania couple on vacation last fall, is not Natalee, but rather, a natural formation.

Holloway told CBS affiliate WHTP,  "When I first looked at the picture, I too thought it was her. But the more I looked at it, I became convinced it was a rock formation."

Natalee Holloway, 18 (AP Photo)

Holloway went on to say, "I know people mean well, and I would not want to discourage anyone from forwarding evidence because I could be wrong."

Prosecutors in Aruba say police have found nothing but rocks and coral in two recent days of underwater searching based on a photo provided by John and Patti Muldowney of Manheim, Pa. CNN is reporting the latest search has been called off.

A prosecutor's spokesman says police believe the photo likely shows coral that looks like a skull and bones.

The 18-year-old Holloway, of Mountain Brook, Ala., disappeared while on a high school graduation trip to Aruba in May, 2005.  She was last seen leaving a bar with Dutch national Joran Van der Sloot, then 17, who has been detained in the case several times. However, Aruban prosecutors say they lack the evidence to charge him.

Story contributed by CBS affiliate WHTP

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PICTURES: Natalee Holloway: Paradise Lost

MORE ON CRIMESIDER

March 25, 2010 - Natalee Holloway Disappointment, Police Call Off Search Spurred by Photograph of "Remains"

March 22, 2010 - Natalee Holloway's Body Found? Picture Leads Divers to Renew Search

March 18, 2010 Natalee Holloway's Skeleton: Did Vacationer Snap Photo of Missing Girl's Remains?
February 23, 2010 - Joran van der Sloot Confession: I Killed Natalee Holloway, But Prosecutors Don't Believe Me
March 19, 2010 - Natalee Holloway's Remains Found? Aruban Police Look into Underwater Photo



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