Trying to find the truth about the disappearance of his daughter, Dave Holloway and his attorney must first wade through a sea of misinformation.
Monday was a prime example of what Holloway must put up with.
A man, who said he was calling from Nicaragua, contacted Holloway telling him he knew the whereabouts of his daughter, 18-year old Natalee Holloway, who has been missing since March 25, 2005 during a senior trip to Aruba. After talking with the man who would not give his name or phone number, Dave Holloway has all but written off the "source" as bogus.
"I've gotten a lot of strange stories since Natalee's disappearance," said Holloway. "Although the number of calls aren't as bad as they used to be, we still get them."
After listening to the man's claims, Holloway referred him to the attorney handling the case on this end.
"I'm about at the point where I'm running out of options," said Holloway. "The case has been closed by Aruban authorities and there just isn't any good information coming in anymore. But I still have to listen to every story I can. Maybe one day something will come from one of them."
A boat is still searching off the island of Aruba for Natalee's body. Working alongside Texas Equa-Search, a non-profit organization that specializes in searching for missing persons, Holloway said the owner of a survey boat equipped with some of the most up to date undersea technology has generously volunteered his time and crew to search for the missing teen.
"They've been down there for about three weeks," Holloway said. "You never know, maybe they'll find something."
Natalee Holloway was last seen the night before she and her classmates from Mountain Brook High School, located just outside Birmingham, Ala., were due to return from Aruba on a senior trip. Witnesses said they saw her get into a car occupied by three Aruban natives, Joran van der Sloot, Deepak Kalpoe and his younger brother, Satish Kalpoe.
During a television interview for the news program 48 Hours on March 25, 2006, Aruben Lead Investigator Gerold Dompig said theories surrounding the investigation, prior to it being closed, included Natalee's body being moved two or more times. The "source" Monday said the body was buried in Nicaragua instead of being dumped in the ocean as first suspected. Holloway has his doubts.
"He claims to have physical evidence but then balked at sending me samples so I could have DNA checked," Dave Holloway said. "There's another sign that this may be just another dead end."
Holloway has now been around the block several times since his daughter became missing. He knows there are a large number of people who would like to gain some sort of financial windfall by providing false information. As tiresome as it gets to field these kinds of calls, Holloway knows he has to listen, if for just a minute.
"Some people mean well and are genuinely trying to help but others are out there to rip you off," he said. "It's just something we have to put up with right now."
It will all stop when Natalee is found, he said.
Local News
Needle in a haystack
Information overload still plagues Holloway disappearance
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City cuts payment to Watkins
The Meridian City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to cut their monthly payment to David Watkins, project developer of Meridian's new police station, by $9,999 until work resumes on the project.
The order, made during the Meridian City Council meeting Tuesday morning, included a mutual agreement between the councilmen and Watkins to reduce the project developer's monthly consultant fee of $10,000 to $1, effective Tuesday. -
Crews work on gasoline pipeline
If you hear a loud, booming sound early today, between 4 a.m.-10 a.m., there is no cause for alarm.
Workers with Plantation Pipeline will be performing maintenance work on their 30-foot gasoline pipeline in the Meridian area to accommodate the widening of Highway 493. The location of the work activity will be at Highway 493 North and Oak Hill Baptist Church, just inside the city limits. -
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High Honor
The flowers and balloons Crestwood Elementary School Principal Kimberly Kendrick received at school Monday were not an early Valentines' Day gift.
Kendrick has been named Meridian Public School District's 2012 Administrator of the Year – an announcement that both surprised and wowed the 17-year veteran educator when made by MPSD Superintendent Dr. Alvin Taylor. -
Master Dance Class
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Digital system promises better communication
Hopefully in the near future you won't hear someone in the emergency services ask over the radio, "Can you hear me now?"
A digital communications system, one which is being pushed by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), is a few months away and, in some cases, is already in the testing phase in Lauderdale County. -
Inmate escapes custody
Mississippi Department of Corrections officials said Monday afternoon an inmate escaped from custody Friday and is still being sought.
Officials said Johnny Hall Jr. escaped from two Wilkinson County Correctional Facility officers’ custody while being escorted from his father’s wake at the Picayune Funeral Home in Picayune. Preliminary information indicates Hall left the officers and jumped into a waiting black vehicle with a white female driver. -
Citizen’s Police Academy begins today
The work law enforcement conducts on a daily basis is often misunderstood by the general public.
Officials at the Meridian Police Department developed a program to inform and educate citizens on what police do in serving and protecting the population. The program, The Citizen's Police Academy, has been gaining speed for a couple of years since it was first offered. Officials said it shows residents are interested in police work and how it is conducted. - Woman: decongestant brought meth charge in Alabama
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