Natalee Holloway Declared Dead, Father Says ‘I’ve been preparing for this day’

Peruvian teenager Natalee Holloway, who was missing for more than six years, was officially declared dead by an Alabama judge on Thursday after her father petitioned for the motion.

Dave Holloway, Natalee's father filed the petition to have her declared dead in June, CNN reported quoting his attorney.

I have been preparing myself for this day for the last 6½ years, Dave said after the brief hearing, adding, “We hope that today will bring some closure.

Natalee was 18 years old when she went missing in Aruba on May 30, 2005. She was last seen leaving an Oranjestad nightclub with three men including Joran van der Sloot.

Natalee was on a trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba with about 100 classmates to celebrate their graduation from Mountain Brook High School in suburban Birmingham.

Van der Sloot, the man with whom Natalee was last seen, was detained twice in relation with her disappearance but he was never charged.

On Wednesday, Van der Sloot pleaded guilty to all the charges in Peru including the 2010 murder of a Peruvian woman.

Dave told the judge in September that he believed Natalee had died. He also wanted to use her $2,000 college fund to help her younger brother.

However, Dave’s ex-wife and Natalee’s mother Beth says that she is still hoping for her daughter’s return, but will not continue legal procedure.

Solicitor General Taco Stein, an official with the prosecutor's office on the Dutch Caribbean island, told ABC News that there has been no new evidence in the case and the investigation remains open.

The team that was acting in that investigation still is functioning as a team and they get together whenever there is information or things are needed in the case or a new tip arrives, Stein told ABC News in a phone interview, Thursday.