Natalee Holloway: A Case That Captivated The Nation

Mary Katherine Finally Emerges From Her Bedroom

Around 4 a.m., Mary Katherine finally mustered up the courage to go into her parents’ bedroom and wake them. She told them that Elizabeth had been taken by a man, but they didn’t believe her. They thought she just had a bad dream.

To comfort his daughter, Ed smart walked from room to room to look for Elizabeth but only confirmed what Mary Katherine had said. She told him, “You’re not going to find her. A man came and took her. He had a knife.” Despite the fact they couldn’t find Elizabeth, her parents still believed that Mary Katherine must be mistaken until Lois Smart saw that the screen in the downstairs window had been cut with a knife.

The couple appeared on TV the next day begging for the kidnapper to return their daughter.