ORANJESTAD, Aruba – Aruban authorities want Dutch police to take over the investigation of the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway, who vanished in the Caribbean island more than one year ago, a local newspaper reported Friday.
Aruba's Justice Minister Rudy Croes sent a letter last week to Netherlands' Internal Affairs Minister Johan Remkes and to another Dutch official asking the Dutch police to handle the case since, saying little progress had been made, the Solo di Pueblo newspaper reported.
If Dutch police take over the investigation, they would have access to all case files and their own office. They could also carry their weapons, said the newspaper, which didn't cite where it got the information from.
FOXNews CountryWatch: Netherlands
Remkes will visit the Dutch Caribbean islands, including Aruba, next week, authorities said in the Netherlands.
Telephone calls placed to Croes' office for comment Friday went unanswered.
Holloway vanished on May 30, 2005, the last night of a high school graduation trip to Aruba. Then 18, the native of Mountain Brook, Ala., was last seen leaving a bar with three young men.
Authorities have arrested eight people in connection with her disappearance and then released them for lack of evidence.
Hundreds of volunteers, Dutch Marines, the local coast guard, the FBI and others have scoured the island's dunes, beaches and trash dumps in the search for Holloway. Scuba divers and sonar-equipped coast guard ships have also examined the seabed offshore.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox