the buzz log

Almost 11 months have passed since Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway disappeared while vacationing on the Dutch island of Aruba. Almost 11 months of leads that dwindle to nothing, arrested suspects who are later released, and searches that never turn up a body. In most news coverage, and certainly here in the Buzz, 11 months like that usually translates to a nosedive in public interest.

But this case is not like most. And though searches for Natalee Holloway have wavered since her story first gained national attention, it doesn't take much to boost her back into our top overall movers. On April 15, Aruban police brought a young man named Geoffrey van Cromvoirt in for questioning. By the next day, searches on "holloway" swept upwards 1,151%, and queries on van Cromvoirt leapt 487%. Van Cromvoirt was later released, but not before "holloway arrest," "holloway case," "aruba news," and "aruba police" all spiked off the chart.

Some blend of relentlessly dedicated parents, aggressive media coverage, and the heartbreaking image of a pretty, smiling blonde have kept the public eye fixed on this tragic tale.