Mom Shares Tragedy, Travel Safety Advice with Teens
By Robyn Bradley Litchfield
Montgomery Advertiser
Beth Holloway Twitty wants to spare another family from the nightmare she has been living since her daughter, Natalee, disappeared two years ago on a trip to the Caribbean.
Twitty figures she can do that if she reaches just one student with her message of safe travel.
“What happened to Natalee could happen to anyone,” Twitty told the juniors and seniors who filled the gym at Wetumpka High School.
On the wall behind Twitty flashed pictures of her daughter and scenes of the search. Natalee, 18, went missing on the final night of a senior-class trip to Aruba in May 2005.
Last year, Twitty established the International Safe Travels Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to educating the 27 million Americans who travel abroad each year. She believes a safety plan could have prevented Natalee’s disappearance.
Even now, Twitty said her family knows little about her daughter’s disappearance. The family’s attorney plans to fly to Aruba within the next couple of weeks to meet with investigators and other officials.
Students Taylor Saint and Jennifer Stubbs took Twitty’s message to heart. Taylor is going on a class trip to Cancun in a couple of months and Jennifer is headed to Europe this summer.
Natalee’s disappearance is making everyone more cautious, Taylor said.
“It was scary, hearing about what happened to Natalee. And because it was a girl from Alabama, reality really set in,” Jennifer said. Twitty’s message to travel safely, but still travel, impresses Elmore County Superintendent Jeff Langham.
“But her devastating experience can be used to help all of us in the future,” he said.
Auburn University is working on a safety study and curriculum that can be used to educate young travelers and that pleases Twitty. Wrapping up her speech, Twitty looked out at her audience and said, “My name is Natalee’s mom. God bless you—and safe travels.”