BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) – Joran Van der Sloot, the longtime suspect in the disappearance of missing Mountain Brook teenager Natalee Holloway, has been accused of asking for $250,000 in exchange for her whereabouts.

In a criminal complaint filed Thursday by the U.S. Attorney in Birmingham, Van der Sloot is accused of asking for $250,000 from a person in Birmingham in exchange for information about the whereabouts of her remains in Aruba. Holloway disappeared in Aruba in May 2005 during a senior trip to the island.

Joyce White Vance, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, has scheduled a news conference for 5 p.m. Thursday to discuss the criminal complaint, which was filed Thursday in federal court in Birmingham.

Van der Sloot was arrested earlier in the day in Chile on charges of murder in the death of a young woman in Peru. He’s accused of killing Stephany Flores, 21, in a hotel in Lima, Peru, on Sunday, five years to the day after Holloway disappeared.

Fernando Ovalle, deputy spokesman of Chile’s national investigative police, told the Associated Press Van der Sloot was arrested while traveling in a taxi, about halfway to the coast on Route 68. Ovalle said Van der Sloot did not resist arrest and has been calm under detention.

Flores was killed exactly five years after the May 30, 2005, disappearance of Holloway during a high school trip in Aruba, a Dutch Caribbean island where van der Sloot’s late father was a prominent judge.

Van der Sloot was twice arrested but later released for lack of evidence in the 2005 disappearance of Holloway in Aruba. Prosecutors said van der Sloot is still their main suspect in the case even though he was never charged.

No trace of her has been found and van der Sloot remains the main suspect in the case, Ann Angela, spokeswoman for the Aruba prosecutor’s office, said Wednesday.

Two years ago, a Dutch television crime reporter captured hidden-camera footage of van der Sloot saying he was with Holloway when she collapsed on a beach from being drunk. He said he believed she was dead and asked a friend to dump her body in the sea.

Judges subsequently refused to arrest van der Sloot on the basis of the tape.

A spokeswoman for Holloway’s mother, Beth Twitty of Mountain Brook, Alabama, told the AP the family was aware of the development in Peru but would have no comment.

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Her mother, Beth Holloway, who has worked tirelessly to keep attention on her daughter’s disappearance, will be in Washington in June to announce the opening of the Natalee Holloway Resource Center, a new nonprofit to assist families searching for missing relatives.

The center will be based at the National Museum of Crime & Punishment on Seventh Street NW near Chinatown and the Verizon Center. The museum features Holloway’s disappearance in its “Cold Case” exhibit.

The nonprofit plans to serve as a crisis clearinghouse for families of missing persons in the United States and abroad, according to a statement from the museum. The nonprofit plans to give family members a plan, contact information, a media liaison and other services. It also will offer guidelines for children and adults to travel safely, including creating a national network of college volunteers who will promote the group’s safe travel program to high school and college students.

The launch is scheduled for June 8. The museum will be open from 5 to 7 p.m. at no charge. More information can be found on the center’s Web site.

“In creating this organization, we hope to prevent as many missing person cases as possible.” Holloway said in a statement. “But if tragedy does strike and a person goes missing, we want to provide the families support and reduce the numerous challenges that I experienced, and hopefully lead to the rescue and recovery of many more missing persons across the globe.”

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On August 9, 1985, Clinton Devon Nelson came into this world screaming and bruised. I was young and it had been a very difficult pregnancy and delivery; but this was one of the happiest days of my life. I used to joke about my son being born with bumps and bruises and, as it turned out, he had perpetual bumps and bruises the rest of his life. Clinton was always accident prone and always taking risks His thrill-seeking side took him down many paths; some I would not have chosen for my son. He was not a follower…he was a trailblazer. He never took the easy route and the paths he chose usually led him to more bumps and bruises. At times, Clinton would struggle as he grew and felt he did not fit in with the family. I disagreed…as he was the energy and part of the heart of our family. He loved to make us laugh.

When Clinton was 20 years old, he moved to Louisiana to reconnect with his biological father and his family. His father had given up all custody rights when Clinton was a little boy. I was most concerned about this move, because his father had led a completely different lifestyle than the one I had provided for my son.. I had hoped that his father had changed and that he would work with me in keeping Clinton on a healthy path; hence enabling his growth and strength.

A few months after Clinton’s move to Louisiana, he was hired to work on an oil rig. He was so pleased and very proud. He loved the thrill of this new job (often times dangerous) and the money he earned. He had dreamed of eventually becoming a Driller and, had he lived, would have accomplished this dream.

On the evening of September 1, 2006, while visiting with a friend, I was suddenly overcome with a most sickening feeling. I immediately felt something was wrong and I knew it involved my son, Clinton. I debated about calling him, but decided not to bother my independent 21-year-old with unfounded worries of his mother. Two days later (September 3rd), I received a call from Clinton’s biological father, asking if I had spoken to my son. He told me Clinton was missing; that no one had seen him since Friday night. The local police, according to his father, refused to file a missing persons report in hopes he would eventually show up. After several attempts, a report was finally submitted only after Clinton did not show up for work. This was the beginning of a nightmare that will never end!

Approximately one week later, I received another call from Clinton’s biological father. He proceeded to tell me that law enforcement suspected foul play and that they had activated cadaver dogs in a search of the woods. I literally fell apart; I could not breathe. My son is missing and now presumed murdered! I immediately placed a call to the local police department and left a message for the detective to return my call. Within a short time, I received that return call. I repeated the information that I had received from Clinton’s father. The detective rebuked this information; indicating they did not suspect foul play and there were no searches being conducted. He further suggested that.. “Your son is a young man. He is probably shacked up with some girl and he will turn up.”

It has been three (3) years since the disappearance of my son, Clinton. There have been so many conflicting stories/theories and so-called witnesses . But, one story stands out above all the others; that Clinton was the victim of a robbery and beating, which resulted in his death. The local law enforcement reports that even though there is no evidence of foul play, they speculate that foul play was involved and the case remains an open investigation. There have been three (3) searches conducted by Texas EquuSearch, but to no avail. My son is missing and I have no answers! I do believe my son is dead, foul play is involved and the people responsible are still out there…perpetuating constant agony and pain for my family.

If anyone has information regarding the disappearance of my son, Clinton Devon Nelson, please contact Detective Charles Owens, Bossier Parrish Sheriff’s Office at (318) 965-2203.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Johnson

On Thursday, more than four years after the Mountain Brook teen disappeared while on a senior trip in Aruba, Natalee Holloway was added to a list of missing children on the Alabama Department of Public Safety Web site.

Special Agent Judy Orihuela, a spokeswoman with the Miami office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said tonight that Holloway’s family requested that information be added to the site.

The notice describes her as an “endangered” missing person and lists her current age as 23. It asks that anyone with information call 1-800-228-7688.

Holloway disappeared on May 30, 2005 hours before she and classmates from Mountain Brook High School were to return home from their trip.

Orihuela said she did not know what prompted the family to request that her picture be posted alongside 13 other missing children and teens from across Alabama, some who have been missing for more than 10 years and others who disapperared as recently as a few months ago.

In March, an investigator hired by Holloway’s father, Dave Holloway, who has said many times that he would not give up until all options were exhausted, searched a pond in Aruba. Nothing was found. Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, has also continued to press for answers in the case and in April ”Loving Natalee,” a book about her family’s ordeal, was published.

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1. Show your children how to stay safe: We do tell our kids not to talk to strangers, but they do so anyway. Reiterate the importance of this point and tell your children not to trust anyone you don’t trust. You must tell them in ways that they understand why you ask them to stay away from strangers and to stay with their friends and teachers at all times, otherwise they will not take you seriously. When it comes to older children, talk to them about the dangers of going off with strange men and women and make sure you share an open and trusting relationship with them so that they come to you with their problems instead of drowning them in drink or doing other things that are not wise or safe.

2.  Don’t trust people without checking them out thoroughly: Very often, it’s people you know who are responsible for kidnapping or abducting your children, so when you hire babysitters and household help, do so only on strong recommendations. When it comes to the safety of your children, you must spare no effort or expense to ensure that they are protected in your absence.

3.  Take advantage of technology: Some parents put their minds at ease by using GPS and cellular phones to track their kids, especially those who are too small to take care of themselves. The older ones may object to this kind of surveillance, but when the kids are relatively small, they need to be safeguarded from both strangers and people who know them.

4.   Watch your children carefully: When at the mall or in other public places, don’t let go of your kids in your pursuit of other activities. Watch them carefully and keep them within your sight because they can so easily get lost in the span of a minute or less. Tell your children to stay close to you and also to inform you if they notice strangers who approach them and try to lure them away from the adults who offer them protection.

Unfortunately for us, we live in a world that is not safe for our children. And unless we ensure that they are protected, we risk them going missing. Prevention is certainly better than cure in this case, because when a child is missing, there’s no telling if there is a definite cure or not.

This guest article was written by Adrienne Carlson, who regularly writes on the topic of forensic science schools.  Adrienne welcomes your comments and questions at her email address:  adrienne.carlson83@yahoo.com

Updated: Monday, 11 May 2009, 10:36 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 11 May 2009, 10:36 PM EDT
Will Thomas

WASHINGTON, D.C. – It is a case that sparked a media sensation around the world. High school student Natalee Holloway vanished May 30, 2005 in Aruba during a graduation trip. Four years later there are no new leads in the case.

The National Museum of Crime and Punishment is helping to put the case back in the spotlight. Natalee’s case is the newest addition to the Unsolved Crimes exhibit, replacing the now solved Anthrax Murders.

Beth Holloway attended the unveiling Monday afternoon in Northwest Washington to honor her daughter.

“In some way I hope Natalee’s case can represent a lot of these young adults that are missing and are most likely murdered,” Holloway told Fox 5.

John Walsh, the host of Fox’s America’s Most Wanted, stood by her side at the museum. Police determined a deceased drifter decapitated Walsh’s 6-year-old son. The announcement last December, brought to close a case that has haunted the Walsh family for more than two decades.

“Finding him murdered so horribly was unbearable but at least that ended that chapter of our lives. Beth Holloway doesn’t have that closure,” Walsh said.

Natalee’s mother and John Walsh are also working to bring attention to a missing component in the search for victims.

The Center for Missing and Exploited Children works to find children under the age of 18-years-old. There is no specialized center for missing adults like Natalee, who was 18-years-old at the time of her disappearance.

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ORANJESTAD, Aruba —

Aruba prosecutors say Natalee Holloway’s father has flown a search dog and a handler to the island to look for the missing teenager’s body.

A spokeswoman for the Prosecutors’ Office says the dog is searching a reservoir that witnesses have previously identified as a possible location where Holloway’s remains might be found.

But Ann Angela says neither police nor prosecutors have received any new leads in the case.

She said Friday in a statement that Dave Holloway took the initiative because he will not rest until he finds his daughter.

Natalee Holloway, from Mountain Brook, Ala., was last seen in May 2005 leaving a bar in the Aruban capital Oranjestad. She was 18 at the time.

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