Where is Beth Holloway now? Natalee’s mother’s latest bid to see her killer charged with murder
As Netflix’s Taken: Natalee Holloway streams, her mother is working with Dutch lawyers to have Joran van der Sloot chargedBeth Holloway is at the heart of Netflix’s new documentary series Taken: Natalee Holloway, which tells the story of her 18-year fight to find out what happened to her daughter.
Natalee, 18, vanished on a school graduation trip to Aruba in 2005. It wasn’t until 2023 that Joran van der Sloot finally admitted killing her, as part of a plea deal in the US.
So where is Beth now, and how has she rebuilt her life?
Where is Beth Holloway now?
Beth has returned to her career as a speech pathologist in public schools, after stepping away for nearly a decade while she searched for Natalee.
Speaking to Netflix’s Tudum, she said of her busy life now: “And no idle time here, none.”
She also supports other families of missing people, drawing on her own experience. “Sometimes I’m just there to facilitate communication with law enforcement,” she explained.
How did Beth Holloway fight for answers?
In the years after Natalee disappeared, Beth became one of the most recognisable campaigners for missing people in the US.
She published a memoir, Loving Natalee: A Mother’s Testament of Hope and Faith, in 2007, which became a New York Times bestseller. In 2010, she opened the Natalee Holloway Resource Center in Washington DC to help families of missing people.
She also set up the International Safe Travels Foundation to teach people how to travel abroad more safely, and has spoken at schools and colleges about personal safety.
Her story was dramatised in the 2009 TV film Natalee Holloway, in which Tracy Pollan played her.
Is Beth Holloway still seeking justice for Natalee?
Yes. Although van der Sloot confessed, he has never been charged over Natalee’s death. Because she was killed in Aruba, US courts can’t prosecute him for it, and Aruba’s time limit for bringing a case has passed.
Beth is now working with Dutch lawyers Royce de Vries and Annemiek van Spanje, who have filed a murder complaint against van der Sloot, a Dutch citizen, with the authorities in the Netherlands.
De Vries is the son of the late Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who secretly filmed van der Sloot in 2008. “He’s going to finish this job,” Beth said. Of the complaint, she added: “It’s in the hopper.”
Read more: Stephany Flores Ramirez – Joran van der Sloot’s second victim
How does Beth Holloway feel now?
Beth has said she has never used the word “closure”. But she says finally learning what happened to Natalee ended years of uncertainty, scam calls and taunting from her daughter’s killer.
“The not-knowing is the never-ending nightmare,” she said. “I’m on top now, and that’s what is most important.”
She also credits her faith with carrying her through, and believes Natalee’s story is still helping others. “I think she’s still working today,” she said.
All three episodes of Taken: Natalee Holloway are streaming now on Netflix.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI technology to synthesise source reporting and structured data. It has been reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by our human editorial team before publication.
