San Juan, Puerto Rico ? Aruba’s chief prosecutor said he will close the case of missing American teenager Natalee Holloway by the end of the month unless his office finds that there is enough evidence to charge someone with a major crime.

The prosecutor, Hans Mos, said he would not comment about the kind of evidence his office is reviewing but that he does not anticipate finding Holloway’s remains and prosecuting a case without them would be “very hard.”

“We promised the suspects that after Dec. 31, we will not pursue the case,” Mos told The Associated Press on Friday. “This investigation should end at a certain point.”

Holloway’s parents did not return multiple messages left at their homes and on their cell phones.

No one has been formally charged in the investigation, which critics have said was botched in its early stages by Aruban authorities.

The probe has revolved around three suspects: Joran van der Sloot, a 20-year-old Dutch citizen, and brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 24, and Satish Kalpoe, 21, from Surinam.

They were the last people known to see Holloway before she vanished on the night of May 30, 2005. All three, who have denied any role in her disappearance, have been arrested several times – the latest arrests coming last month – but released after different judges ruled there was not enough evidence to keep holding them.

Mos told the AP he will drop the case unless prosecutors in his office agree before the New Year that they have strong enough evidence to go to court.

He said he imposed the deadline himself earlier this year because he feels two years is a reasonable amount of time for bringing charges against someone.