Natalee Holloway's Father Hopes for the Best

April 10, 2006— -- It has been almost a year since Natalee Holloway vanished from her spring break trip in Aruba. Since then, her parents, Beth Twitty and Dave Holloway, have struggled to keep her name in the news.

Holloway has released a book called "Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise."

He said that when he first arrived on the island, he stopped at two police stations to inquire about his daughter's disappearance and was asked for money.

"The detective in charge, the first question he asked me was how much money I had," he said. "I was in a state of shock. We finally gathered ourselves together and met with him and decided that we probably would be doing this search on our own."

Natalee Holloway was captured on video last May at an Aruban casino, sitting and drinking with a group of young people, including Joran van der Sloot. Van der Sloot, a Dutch teen, told ABC News he left the casino with Natalee that night and spent time alone with her on the beach.

When Natalee wasn't on the flight home, her mother flew to Aruba to search for her. In the next few months, Aruban police took a number of men into custody, including van der Sloot and his father, Paulus van der Sloot. All were eventually released because of a lack of evidence.

A Hopeful Parent

Last October, Dave Holloway journeyed to Aruba to search the waters offshore, but found nothing. He said that unraveling the mystery of his daughter's disappearance was like trying to figure out a crossword puzzle.

"I have a lot of information in this book. Hopefully someone will read it and get some answers," he said.

Holloway's ex-wife, Beth Twitty, has said that she has accepted the fact that her daughter has died, but Holloway has not been able to come to that place.

"As a parent, you hold out hope that maybe -- look at this investigation and you look how it has gone, maybe they are wrong," he said. "You really have to look at what the FBI has said. They told us about the 10th day in that Natalee was probably not with us."

Holloway said there had been no substantial developments in the case except that the police and Dutch authorities had cleared the sand dunes to look for new evidence. The FBI is also requestioning Natalee's classmates from Alabama.

The case has reverberated across the United States and the world. More schools and parents are taking more care when it comes to children on vacations.

"You have to stop and think you are leaving the United States and the protection of this government," he said. "I want more than just a plane ticket. What I want is more protection from the U.S. government."

Van der Sloot maintains that he did not harm Natalee or see her in distress. Holloway said that he was sure that van der Sloot, who has since moved to Holland, was lying about something.

"We have seen him lie over and over and over again," Holloway said. "So, you know, it is just another set of lies that we have seen all over again. I think he's guilty of something."

Natalee's disappearance will be featured on a Dutch television program, and Holloway hopes it will help shed light on what happened.

"Maybe it will give the Dutch people more confidence to call in for tips and leads whereas they have not in the past," he said.