Suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance to be extradited to US

A suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway is set to finally be extradited to the United States from Peru.

Joran Van der Sloot, the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of the American woman who vanished while on a school trip in Aruba, will be handed back to the US.

Holloway's family confirmed the news yesterday (10 May).

Aruba Police Department

Holloway's mother Beth announced the news in a statement: "Almost exactly eighteen years later, her perpetrator, Joran Van der Sloot, has been extradited to Birmingham to answer for his crimes."

The perpetrator in question is currently 13 years into a serving 28-year prison sentence for the murder of 21-year-old Peruvian Stephany Flores back in 2010.

The Peruvian government has since allowed American authorities to take in the Dutch citizen 'for his prosecution in the United States for the alleged commission of the crimes of extortion and fraud, to the grievance of Elizabeth Ann Holloway', Peru Minister of Justice and Human Rights Daniel Maurate Romero said in a statement.

"This action will enable a process that will help to bring peace to Mrs. Holloway and to her family, who are grieving in the same way that the Flores family in Peru is grieving for the loss of their daughter," explained Peru's ambassador to the US Gustavo Meza-Cuadra.

The mystery of Holloway's disappearance remains one of the US's most chilling missing person cases after the cheerleader never showed up for her flight back home to Alabama.

Natalee Ann Holloway/Facebook

Just 18 years old at the time of her disappearance, her body was never found and she was declared legally dead some nine years later in 2014.

While the prime suspect was initially arrested - given he was one of the last people seen with Holloway - he was subsequently released over a lack of evidence.

A criminal defense attorney and Fox News contributor who covered the Holloway case on the field in Aruba at the time, Ted Williams, called the long-awaited extradition 'fantastic'.

He continued: "I am elated and I think that it is fantastic that Joran van der Sloot will be extradited to the United States and will be charged will some criminal acts associated with Natalee Holloway."

While it has not yet been confirmed what charges the Dutch citizen faces, Williams claimed that the following legal process could be 'long and drawn out'.

Speaking in her official statement, Beth Holloway reflected that her daughter would have been 36 years old if she had not disappeared all those years ago.

She said: "It has been a very long and painful journey, but the persistence of many is going to pay off.

"Together, we are finally getting justice for Natalee."