Twitty Says Tragedy Led to Mission
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
BRANNON STEWART
News staff writer
In front of more than 600 Samford University students Monday night, Beth Holloway Twitty shared intimate details of the nightmare that has evolved into her life’s mission.
“I never imagined that I would be traveling around telling people of how Natalee was kidnapped, raped and most likely murdered on the last night of her senior trip,” Twitty told the students inside Reid Chapel after a video tribute to her missing daughter.
Natalee Holloway was last seen on May 30, 2005, during a senior class trip to Aruba after graduation from Mountain Brook High School.
In a press conference before her speech, Twitty said there are not any new developments in the case.
“(Aruban officials) still say they’re doing searches, but we just don’t have any communication from them,” Twitty said. “It’s so frustrating.”
In the year and a half since her daughter has been missing, Twitty has founded the nonprofit International Safe Travels Foundation to educate the public about travel safety. She spoke to students at Samford about her spiritual journey since her daughter’s abduction, but she also stressed the importance of properly preparing for safe international travel.
“I’m not saying in any way that you shouldn’t travel outside this country,” Twitty said. “But you need to remember you do leave behind the privileges and rights that we’re accustomed to here in the U.S. and that we take for granted.”
Twitty said students should be proactive when traveling overseas, such as carrying emergency contact numbers of the U.S. government and becoming familiar with the laws of the countries they plan to visit.