Natalee Holloway's Dad Seeks Declaration of Death

[Jeff Dunsavage]

The father of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway is asking a court to declare his daughter dead, six years after she vanished during a graduation trip to Aruba, according to this Associated Press article. Mississippi insurance agent Dave Holloway filed the request in probate court earlier this summer, but court officials said Wednesday it could be months before any decision is reached.

Seeking a declaration or a finding of presumptive death is one of the most painful things the family of a missing person can do -- pain that is worsened by policies and procedures that, in effect, presume the missing person guilty of fraud or deception until proven otherwise.  We wish Dave and the rest of Natalee's family the very best of luck.