24 September 2008

NEW YORK -- Dutch crime reporter Peter R de Vries has received an Emmy Award, the most prestigious US television prize, for his film about the disappearance of US teenager Natalee Holloway.

In the film, a man who befriended the prime suspect, Joran van der Sloot, talked at length with him in a Land Rover equipped with hidden cameras. During the conversations, the suspect gave a detailed account of how Holloway lost consciousness, or possibly died, on the beach, and how he disposed of her body.

The US teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared on Aruba in 2005 while on holiday.  Upon further investigation by authorities, Van der Sloot was arrested twice on suspicion of involvement in her disappearance but has since been released due to lack of evidence.

De Vries accepted the award in New York together with Natalee's mother Beth, dedicating it to the missing teenager's memory. De Vries' film was watched by seven million viewers in the Netherlands.

One of the reasons for the large numbers of viewers was De Vries' prior announcement that he had solved the case. He refused to reveal any details until the actual broadcast on 3 February.

The US television network ABC bought the rights to the film and added its own interviews as part of a special broadcast on prime time television: 'The Final Hours of Natalee Holloway'.

[Radio Netherlands / Expatica]