Dr. Phil says Natalee is alive

Natalee Holloway

TV's "Dr. Phil" told Jay Leno last night that there is reason to believe missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway is alive.

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Phillip McGraw, appearing on the "Tonight Show," said: "Without giving up too much information ... we believe Natalee Holloway is alive."

McGraw pointed to what he termed the "sex slave market" as the main point of focus in the ongoing investigation.

The missing teen's family today urged the removal of three Aruba law enforcement officials in the case, saying they ignored promising leads and did not take the case seriously in the crucial early stage of the investigation.

Natalee Holloway's family made the charges in a letter released as the missing teen's mother, Beth Holloway Twitty, left the Dutch Caribbean island after she said prosecutors and the police chief refused to meet with her to discuss the case.

The family says investigators may have mishandled evidence – including a bone found by a tourist on a beach in July – and that detectives, too, still believe that the missing American is alive.

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The honors student was last seen early on May 30 leaving a bar with Dutch national Joran van der Sloot and Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. They were arrested on June 9 but released after a court ruled there was not enough evidence to hold them.

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