An Aruban prosecutor said Thursday that a jawbone found on the island last week belongs to a young woman, signaling a potential link to Natalee Holloway, the US teen who went missing under mysterious circumstances in 2005, WSFA-TV reported.
"I'm happy that it's human. And the initial finding is that it's from a young woman, so maybe we will be able to solve this case. I hope so. But we will wait to see what the findings are," Aruban prosecutor Peter Blanken told CNN.
The bone was reportedly found by tourists near the Phoenix hotel on the Caribbean island and handed over to authorities.
DNA testing is currently being performed on the bone to see if it belongs to Holloway. Aruban authorities made the initial determination that the bone belonged to that of a young woman, but it has been sent to the Netherlands Forensic Institute in the Hague for final forensic analysis.
The jawbone reportedly contains an intact molar. DNA extracted from the bone will then be matched to that of Holloway's biological parents to determine whether or not it belonged to her. It is believed that results of the test should be known within the next few days.
The 18-year-old Alabama teen was last seen leaving a nightclub in Oranjestad, the Aruban capital, on May 30, 2005 while on the final night of a high school graduation trip. The subsequent search and investigation generated headlines around the world. Her body has never been found.
Dutch national Joran van der Sloot, 23, is the prime suspect in the case. Holloway was last seen leaving the Aruban nightclub with van der Sloot and two other males. He was arrested following her disappearance, but was never charged in the case and was later released. He is currently in jail in Peru charged with the first-degree murder and robbery of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in his hotel room in Lima, back in May.
A US grand jury in Alabama indicted van der Sloot on June 30 for wire fraud and extortion after he allegedly asked Holloway's mother, Beth Holloway, for $250,000 to tell her where to find her missing daughter's remains.
No comments:
Post a Comment