Moving To Alabama

Natalee’s mom eventually remarried in 2000 to a wealthy Alabama businessman, and they ended up moving to Mountain Brook, Alabama. Natalee attended the Mountain Brook High School where she would go on to achieve excellent grades that made her a member of the National Honor Society, plus she also was part of the school dance squad. She graduated from high school not only with honors, but with a full scholarship to the University of Alabama, where she was set to attend pre-med. She had an amazing future ahead of her.

Taking A School Trip After Graduation

In May of 2005, Natalee and 124 ‘friends’ from Mountain Brook High School were allowed to go on a trip together to Aruba, with 7 chaperones to keep everyone in check. The trip was going to be 5 days long, allowing the students to enjoy the sun, sea and for sure, a lot of alcohol. Like its other tropical counterparts, the legal drinking age in Aruba is only 18, so the kids knew that they wouldn’t actually be breaking any rules with their excess partying… But there was so much more that was going to happen.