10 important details Netflix's new Natalee Holloway documentary left out

Netflix has revisited one of America's most notorious missing-person cases in its latest true-crime documentary, Taken: The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

The three-part series travels back more than two decades to May 2005, when 18-year-old Natalee vanished during a school graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba.

A celebratory holiday quickly turned into an international investigation, leaving Natalee's family and friends devastated when authorities failed to find her.

A Dutch national by the name of Joran van der Sloot found himself at the center of the investigation after he was last seen with Natalee, alongside brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe on the night she disappeared.

Despite extensive searches, multiple arrests and years of unanswered questions, Natalee's remains were never found. However, nearly 18 years after she went missing, van der Sloot finally admitted to killing her as part of a plea deal connected to an extortion case involving her family.

Despite the Netflix docuseries' popularity, internet sleuths and true crime fanatics have been quick to point out there are a number of important details omitted from the series.

Several other people were arrested

The Netflix docuseries understandably focuses on van der Sloot, given his recent admission of guilt. However, a number of other people were arrested as part of the investigations.

Nick John and Abraham Jones, two hotel security guards, were arrested on suspicion of murder and kidnapping, while DJ Steve Gregory Cruz was also arrested. Meanwhile, Joran's father, Paulus van der Sloot was also arrested, along with several others in Aruba and the Netherlands, however, none were charged.

Natalee prematurely announced as deceased

In a shocking turn of events, just weeks after Natalee vanished on June 11, 2005, a spokesman for Aruba's Justice Ministry, David Cruz, announced she was dead.

Not only did he state that Natalee had died, he also told reporters that authorities knew where her body was, which was incorrect.

Cruz later retracted the statement, claiming he had been misled by misinformation after the news understandably caused enormous distress for Natalee's family, who were still desperately hoping to find her alive.

Natalee declared dead in 2012

Six years after she first disappeared, Natalee's father Dave Holloway petitioned an Alabama court to have her legally declared dead, in a move which was initially opposed by her mother, Beth Holloway.

Despite still desperately wanting to preserve the idea she was still alive, it ultimately came down to being a practical decision relating to Natalee's insurance and college fund.

She was officially declared dead on January 12, 2012.

Natalee Holloway was legally declared dead in 2012 (Netflix)

Military efforts to search for Natalee

The Netflix docuseries didn't detail just how extensive search efforts to locate Natalee were, after the Royal Netherlands Air Force sent three F-16 fighter jets equipped with infrared sensors to Aruba in July 2005.

Investigators also examined satellite photographs in 2006, comparing images taken at different times to identify changes in the ground that might indicate a potential burial site.

Neither effort produced any evidence of Natalee's whereabouts.

Attention diverted by Hurricane Katrina

Unfortunately, another tragedy began unfolding following the disappearance of Natalee, after Hurricane Katrina completely devastated the US Gulf Coast in August 2005.

This meant that American media coverage of Natalee's disappearance was significantly overshadowed during a particularly important point in the investigation.

Joran and the Kalpoe brothers were released from custody on 3 September 2005, after months of intense scrutiny.

Natalee's family subsequently argued that the shift in media attention reduced the pressure on authorities to keep investigating.

Dr Phil's covert recording

Broadcaster Dr Phil sparked huge controversy when his show aired a secretly recorded conversation involving Deepak Kalpoe.

The recording appeared to suggest that Natalee had engaged in sexual activity with Deepak, his brother Satish and Joran. However, Aruban police later provided a longer version in which Deepak appeared to deny the suggestion.

The Kalpoe brothers subsequently sued Dr Phil, CBS and the private investigator responsible for the recording, alleging it had been altered.

Natalee Holloway's disappearance was also made into a dramatised Lifetime movie (Netflix)

American official interference

Two years after Natalee went missing, allegations emerged claiming that American officials had interfered with Aruba's investigation.

Former Aruban deputy police chief Gerold Dompig and journalist Julia Renfro reportedly raised questions about an unauthorised medical aircraft arriving shortly after Natalee disappeared.

There were also allegations involving an unknown woman who supposedly offered information about Natalee's whereabouts in exchange for money.

Deep-sea search for Natalee

In addition to the international investigations, Natalee's father Dave Holloway continued his own independent search for his daughter.

In late 2007, he helped organise a deep-sea search using a vessel called Persistence. The operation explored areas deeper than those covered by earlier searches, hoping to locate Natalee's remains.

Sadly, it found nothing significant and was abandoned in February 2008 after the team ran out of funding.

Lifetime film about Natalee

Prior to the Netflix docuseries, another film had been made regarding Natalee's disappearance.

In 2009, Lifetime released a film called Natalee Holloway, based partly on Beth Holloway's book Loving Natalee. The film dramatised Natalee's disappearance and the subsequent investigation.

Natalee's mother sued documentary producers

In addition to the Lifetime movie, a documentary called The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway was released by Oxygen in 2017. It followed Dave Holloway and private investigator TJ Ward as they investigated a potential lead involving a man connected to Joran.

The investigation uncovered bone fragments, but mitochondrial DNA testing showed they did not match Beth Holloway.

Beth subsequently sued the documentary's producers in 2018, alleging that she had been misled about the investigation and the reasons for providing her DNA.

Taken: The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway is available to stream on Netflix now.