In November 2006, an episode was broadcast in which he accused Joran van der Sloot, one of the prime suspects in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, of her disappearance in Aruba.

On 11 January 2008, Van der Sloot threw a glass of red wine into De Vries' face right after a live broadcast of the Dutch talk show "Pauw & Witteman" on which De Vries and Van der Sloot (with his parents) had been guests.
The wine got into De Vries' eyes and briefly it seemed to have caused him a considerable amount of pain.
During the tense but peaceful conversation during the broadcast, De Vries had on several accounts challenged Van der Sloot's integrity.

On 31 January 2008, De Vries said to the media that he knew what had happened in the case of Natalee Holloway.
He shared his findings with the police, stating that he would publicly show this new-found evidence in a special episode of his television program.
On February 3, 2008, the undercover video aired on Dutch television showing Van der Sloot purportedly smoking marijuana and admitting to being present during Holloway's death.
The show was watched by 7 million viewers in the Netherlands and was the most popular non-sports program in Dutch television history.
Patrick van der Eem, working undercover for the program, had befriended Van der Sloot, who was unaware that he was being taped when he said that Holloway had suffered some kind of seizure while having sex on the beach.
After failing to revive her, he said that he summoned a friend named Daury, who loaded her on a boat and dumped her body into the sea.
The prosecutor in Aruba determined the video was admissible, but the evidence was deemed insufficient to warrant re-arrest.
Although the taped confession appeared damning, Van der Sloot argued that he was lying to impress Van der Eem, who he believed was a drug dealer.
Van der Eem said that ABC paid US$830,000 to secure the rights to broadcast the program in the United States.

De Vries wrote the introduction to the June 2008 book Overboord: hoe ik Joran van der Sloot aan het praten kreeg (Overboard: how I got Joran van der Sloot to talk) in which Van der Eem recounts his experience with Van der Sloot with transcripts of the undercover video.
On September 22, 2008 in New York, De Vries accepted an International Emmy Award in Current Affairs for his coverage while accompanied by Natalee's mother Beth Holloway.
In November 2006, an episode was broadcast in which he accused Joran van der Sloot, one of the prime suspects in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, of her disappearance in Aruba.
On 11 January 2008, Van der Sloot threw a glass of red wine into De Vries' face right after a live broadcast of the Dutch talk show "Pauw & Witteman" on which De Vries and Van der Sloot (with his parents) had been guests. The wine got into De Vries' eyes and briefly it seemed to have caused him a considerable amount of pain. During the tense but peaceful conversation during the broadcast, De Vries had on several accounts challenged Van der Sloot's integrity.
On 31 January 2008, De Vries said to the media that he knew what had happened in the case of Natalee Holloway. He shared his findings with the police, stating that he would publicly show this new-found evidence in a special episode of his television program. On February 3, 2008, the undercover video aired on Dutch television showing Van der Sloot purportedly smoking marijuana and admitting to being present during Holloway's death. The show was watched by 7 million viewers in the Netherlands and was the most popular non-sports program in Dutch television history. Patrick van der Eem, working undercover for the program, had befriended Van der Sloot, who was unaware that he was being taped when he said that Holloway had suffered some kind of seizure while having sex on the beach. After failing to revive her, he said that he summoned a friend named Daury, who loaded her on a boat and dumped her body into the sea. The prosecutor in Aruba determined the video was admissible, but the evidence was deemed insufficient to warrant re-arrest. Although the taped confession appeared damning, Van der Sloot argued that he was lying to impress Van der Eem, who he believed was a drug dealer. Van der Eem said that ABC paid US$830,000 to secure the rights to broadcast the program in the United States.
De Vries wrote the introduction to the June 2008 book Overboord: hoe ik Joran van der Sloot aan het praten kreeg (Overboard: how I got Joran van der Sloot to talk) in which Van der Eem recounts his experience with Van der Sloot with transcripts of the undercover video. On September 22, 2008 in New York, De Vries accepted an International Emmy Award in Current Affairs for his coverage while accompanied by Natalee's mother Beth Holloway.
Peter R. de Vries: Crime Reporter