By Alabama Public Radio
Mountain Brook, AL – A helicopter searching for Natalee Holloway Thursday failed to find the body of the missing Alabama teenager. The Mountain Brook graduate has been missing since May, and authorities refuse to say if they think the 18-year-old is dead. No one has been charged in the case. But investigators spent the day sifting through items seized from the island home of a justice official whose son was with Holloway the night she disappeared. A ruling is expected Friday on a petition from the justice official, Paul van der Sloot, to see his jailed 17-year-old son, Joran. Joran is being held in connection with Holloway's disappearance. Two Surinamese brothers are also in custody. The judge is also set to rule Friday on a request from lawyers defending the three to see any evidence authorities have gathered. Holloway vanished while on a five-day trip to the island with 124 classmates and seven chaperones.