ORANJESTAD, Aruba — Four strands of blond hair were being flown to Holland for DNA testing (
search), Aruban police confirmed to FOX News Sunday. The discovery could be a much-needed break in the search for missing Alabama high school student Natalee Holloway (
search).
The foot-long locks were attached to a piece of duct tape in a remote part of the island territory known as Boca Tortuga (
search). Police received an anonymous tip that led them to search the area. Sources on the scene said that the hair washed ashore and was found in a cave. Divers were reportedly dispatched the area to retrieve any other possible evidence.
The strands will be flown to Holland to see if they are a genetic match for the missing teen. Results could be available as early as Tuesday.
The possible break came a day after Dutch authorities took a teenager held in connection with the disappearance to retrace his steps at the beach where he says he last saw Holloway the morning she vanished.
Police took Joran van der Sloot (
search), 17, to a beach near the Marriott Hotel, where he has admitted he was alone with the 18-year-old in the early hours of May 30, said police superintendent Jan van der Straaten.
Van der Straaten declined to provide further details, saying only that it was "part of the investigation." Police have taken van der Sloot to the site before.
Van der Sloot's mother, Anita, has said her son told her he was alone with Holloway on the beach but did not harm her.
The beach is near the Holiday Inn where Holloway had been staying during a graduation trip with 124 classmates. She vanished hours before she was to catch her flight home.
Van der Sloot, the son of a judge in training in Aruba, faces no charges, and authorities can hold him until Sept. 4, when he must be charged or released. Six other men detained at various times during the investigation have been released