Natalee was excited for her Aruba adventure. She saw it as one last time to party with her pals from high school before heading off to college. No one had any idea that this would be her last trip.
When her friends and the school staff went to look for her, they found everything she had brought with her neatly packed. It seemed that she was ready to head home for her to start her next adventure at the University of Alabama.
No responsible organization would send 125 teenagers to an island in the Caribbean alone. They sent along seven adults to be chaperones for the recent high school graduates.
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The group of adults say that they met with the teenagers daily to keep everyone safe but even their best efforts were not able to prevent what happened to Natalee.
The trip was planned to help the students unwind after their final exams in high school. It was set up to give them a break from their hard work at the end of the semester and let them unwind before starting their college education. The students saw it as a way to really let loose and party.
The drinking began almost immediately upon their arrival. The local police suspected the students of doing some drugs as well. The chaperones had no idea this was going on.
The high school students’ wild behavior upset other people at the hotel. The group spend four nights at the Holiday Inn. According to Gerold Dompig, a police officer involved in the investigation into Natalee’s disappearance, the students were acting “recklessly” during their stay.
Other guests at the hotel had complained and the adults that accompanied the students were told they would not be allowed to stay there again if they brought students with them.
