An American couple believe an underwater photo they took off the coast of Aruba reveals human remains that could be those of Natalee Holloway. So far there’s nothing to confirm the claim, but the photo has been handed to the FBI for further investigation.

The US teenager went missing in 2005 and no trace of her has been found, despite a massive search by both the authorities and the girl’s family. John and Patti Muldowney were diving off the Aruban coast late last year and noticed later that one of the photos they’d taken shows what could be a human skeleton. Mr Muldowney says he turned the photo over to the FBI because he had a gut feeling it could be the missing teenager.

The chief suspect in the case is Dutchman Joran van der Sloot who was seen with Ms Holloway just before her disappearance. Since then he has given various accounts of what happened her, but none of them have ever been verified. Prosecutors say they lack evidence to charge Van der Sloot and the Aruban authorities officially closed the case in December 2007.

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