Natalee Holloway: Death "Probably Not Murder"

New reports from Associated Press say Aruba's police chief has stated that Alabama teen Natalee Holloway, missing since the last night of a high school graduation trip to the tiny Caribbean isle in late May, 2005, likely died non-violently; according to FOX News, chief of police Gerald Dompig has now said that he believes Holloway overdosed and the three primary suspects in the case were involved in hiding her body, but that Holloway was probably not murdered, as has been speculated.

The honor student disappeared in May 2005 while visiting the island with a student travel group celebrating high school graduation. Holloway was last seen with a local Dutch youth, Johan Van der Sloot, and two local men; all remain under investigation.

Alcohol Involved

According to a CNN report, Dompig said in a recent press conference that witnesses did not see Holloway taking drugs, but that she did have them in her possession, and had been drinking heavily before her disappearance.

Dompig has stated definitively that he believes Hollway is dead and now says that her death was "non violent," according to CBS News; Dompig said, "We feel strongly that she probably went into shock or something happened to her system with all the alcohol -- maybe on top of that, other drugs, which either she took or they gave her -- and that she ... just collapsed," according to CNN.

Student Travel Group Safety Questioned

Scrutiny was focused on student travel agencies after Holloway went missing, causing parents and student travelers to look closely at student travel arrangements.

Parents and students need to understand which questions to ask a student travel agency or student travel tour company. All students should become a little travel safety savvy before heading abroad; female student travelers often need to take special care.

• Read the CNN story
• How to choose a safe student tour group
• Top tips for women's travel safety
• Spring break safety
• All about roofies and other date rape drugs