For two months now the family and friends of Natalee Holloway have awaited word of her fate with a mixture of hope and apprehension. Understandably, her mother and stepfather, Beth and Jug Twitty, have been eager to keep alive any flicker of optimism. Indeed, on July 25 the Twittys raised the reward for Natalee's safe return from $200,000 to $1 million, thanks to pledges from anonymous donors. "It could generate that golden tip," says Beth, "and that's all you need."

But even before that announcement the case was beginning to pick up momentum again. Three days earlier a new witness emerged and told police of spotting three young men he believed to be Joran van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe—-the last people known to have seen Holloway alive—ducking down in a car sometime between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on May 31, not far from the Marriott hotel. If true, that account contradicts previous statements by the three suspects, who contend that they split up at least an hour earlier near the hotel—-leaving Natalee alive and well. To be sure, the credibility of this new witness, a gardener who has not been named, is an open question. Meanwhile, on July 26 authorities were to begin draining a pond near the Marriott, the same area where another new witness has reportedly told investigators she saw the three men on the night in question. What does seem clear is that van der Sloot, 17, the lone suspect still in jail for questioning, and the Kalpoes are increasingly uneasy about the direction of the investigation. Lawyers for the three have filed a court motion to stop the FBI from reviewing tapes and other material from the probe. The decision to share that material has kindled hope with the Twittys that Aruban authorities are serious about getting to the bottom of the investigation. "That tells me they're trying to find the answers," says Jug. "Before, they weren't willing to do that."