News of: Tuesday, February 05 2008,
A record number of 7,000,000 million Dutch people watched the show about the Natalee Holloway case last night.
On a total population of 16 million, this is almost half the entire country. This spectacular number is normally only seen with very important soccer matches.
The Dutch press is full of updates on the story.
The public prosecutor on Aruba has said they want to reopen the case. It is yet unclear whether the judge on Aruba will start new proceedings.
After a rumour on tv that Joran van der Sloot was hiding in an apartment in the northern town of Drachten, the apartment complex was besieged by a crowd of the local population. A security agency was hired to protect the building, and the people checked all cars going out of the building. Later it became clear that the rumour was completely unfounded.
Although it was reported earlier that Peter R. de Vries (the Dutch crime reporter responsible for the tv show) would be interviewed by i.a. Larry King and Oprah Winfrey, later he said he was reconsidering this because the shows had too many demands.
The tv show with the undercover tapes will be broadcast in the US by ABC, one of the biggest tv networks in the US.
On the request of the Aruban authorities two apartments in Arnhem were searched by the Dutch police. One of the apartments is Van der Sloot's residence, the other the apartment of his grandmother.
Natalee Holloway
