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Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley

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"Amy Bradley" redirects here. For the American educator, see Amy Morris Bradley. For the American politician, see Amy Bradley (politician).

Amy Lynn Bradley
Bradley in March 1998
Born(1974-05-12)May 12, 1974
Petersburg, Virginia, U.S.
DisappearedMarch 24, 1998 (aged 23)
While on board a Royal Caribbean cruiseliner, the Rhapsody of the Seas, she disappeared during the leg of the cruise while en route to Curaçao.
StatusMissing for 27 years, 2 months and 27 days
Parents
  • Ron Bradley (father)
  • Iva Bradley (mother)

Amy Lynn Bradley (born May 12, 1974) is an American woman who went missing during a Caribbean cruise on the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas in late March 1998 while en route to Curaçao. Her whereabouts remain unknown to this day. She was a 23-year-old Longwood University graduate at the time of her disappearance.

After midnight on March 23, 1998, Amy and her younger brother Brad headed to the ship's nightclub to go dancing. The ship's door lock records show that Brad had entered his cabin at around 3:35 a.m., and Amy soon followed five minutes later. Amy's father Ron awoke around 6:00 a.m. to check on his daughter only to find her missing from the balcony she had slept on earlier. When authorities were alerted that Amy was missing, the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a four-day search in the surrounding waters and along the cruise lines to no result. Authorities began to speculate that she may have fallen overboard and drowned.

There have been possible sightings of Amy in Curaçao. In August 1998, tourists saw a woman resembling Amy on a beach and in 1999 a member of the U.S. Navy claimed a woman in a brothel said she was Amy and asked him for help. In the years following her disappearance, some new evidence would arise leading to theories including Amy being sold into a human trafficking industry or potential remains. The case has been presented on Dr. Phil and America's Most Wanted.

Background

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Early life and education

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Amy Lynn Bradley was born on May 12, 1974, in Petersburg, Virginia, to Iva and Ronald "Ron" Bradley, an insurance executive.[1][2][3] She had a younger brother, Brad.[4][5] She was a resident of Chesterfield County, Virginia.[5] She attended a local college, Longwood University,[6] graduating with a degree in physical education.[1] She attended with a scholarship in basketball and was known for her strong swimming abilities as well as having previously worked as a lifeguard.[7][8]

Prior to the disappearance

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Rhapsody of the Seas, shown in 2018

Ron won an all-expenses-paid family cruise from his employer,[9] and as a celebratory event, Bradley decided to join her family on the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas en route for Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island under the Kingdom of the Netherlands.[10] Bradley was afraid of heights and was initially apprehensive about the cruise, due to the size of the ship and being out on the ocean, but was excited for the trip as Brad had returned home from college and would be joining the family on the cruise.[11] Bradley had a full-time job at Ruth's Chris Steak House, but was planning to start a new job at a computer consulting firm on her return from the family cruise.[1][12]

On March 21, 1998, Bradley and her family boarded the cruise ship towards Curaçao.[13][8][12] On March 23, Bradley and her brother Brad decided to stay up late dancing and drinking alcohol with the ship's band, Blue Orchid, at a disco party on the ninth-floor deck of the ship.[12][14][4] One of the band's members, Alister "Yellow" Douglas, was drinking with Bradley that night and claimed that he left the party at around 1:00 a.m.[14] At the time, videographer Chris Fenwick captured a moment when Bradley and Douglas were dancing.[14][15]

After a couple of hours, Brad decided to rest for the remainder of the night at the family cabin. The ship's computerized door lock system recorded that Brad returned to the cabin at 3:35 a.m. where Bradley followed five minutes later.[16][17] Brad reported that he and his sister sat on the suite's balcony and talked before he went to sleep while Bradley stayed awake for a while longer before she fell asleep shortly after.[12][18][19]

Disappearance

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Between 5:15 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. on March 24, Ron awoke and got up to check on his children where he saw Bradley still sleeping on the lounge chair of their cabin's balcony. Ron told local newspapers—"I could see Amy's legs from her hips down. [...] I dozed back off to sleep. The balcony door was closed, because if it hadn't been closed, I would have gotten up and closed it."[20][21] When he got up at 6:00 a.m., however, she was missing along with her cigarettes and lighter. He later said, "I left to try and go up and find her. When I couldn't find her, I didn't really know what to think, because it was very much unlike Amy to leave and not tell us where she was going."[22] After Ron searched the common areas of the cruise ship, he woke up the rest of the family and told them Bradley was missing at 6:30 a.m.[12][14][19][20][21]

On the morning of the disappearance, three witnesses claimed to have seen Bradley on the upper deck with Alister Douglas between 5:30 a.m. and 5:45 a.m., in possession of a camera. They also testified to seeing Douglas hand Bradley a drink containing dark liquid. They claimed Bradley and Douglas arrived in the elevator at the same time, and that Douglas was then seen leaving the upper deck alone shortly after 6:00 a.m.[21][4]

Search and investigation

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Bradley's family immediately reported her disappearance to the onboard crew and pleaded with the crew members to keep the 2,000 passengers from disembarking the cruise and to make an announcement to assist in finding Bradley.[11][4] However, the team at the purser's office informed them that it was too early to make a ship-wide announcement.[9] The crew agreed to issue an announcement at 7:50 a.m., after a majority of the passengers had left the ship, announcing "Will Amy Bradley please come to the purser's desk?"[9] Between 12:15 p.m. and 1:00 p.m., the cruise staff searched through the ship but could not find Bradley.[9] The delay that the crew put on the search and investigation of the disappearance has been said to have led to lowering the chance of finding Bradley by ignoring the family's pleas and allowing the passengers to disembark.[15]

Brad recalled that Douglas came up to him shortly after Bradley disappeared and said, "Hey man, I'm sorry to hear about your sister."[9] No announcement had been made by that time and Brad said the timing of the conversation was "suspicious".[23] The FBI interviewed Douglas soon after and he submitted to a polygraph test, which he passed.[9] Ron said that Douglas "came out of the interview smiling, with his thumbs up to his band members, like [...] everything's cool. [...] I knew what was going on. I knew he had been with Amy."[23] Douglas denied knowing anything about Bradley's disappearance.[23]

The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard conducted a four-day search that ended on March 27, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines chartered a boat to continue looking for her.[2] The Coast Guard used three helicopters and a radar plane to assist in the search.[3]

Initially, the authorities suspected that Bradley had either fallen overboard or died by suicide.[20] However, investigators said that there is "no evidence that Amy, a trained lifeguard, fell overboard, was pushed or committed suicide."[3]

Possible sightings

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One month after Bradley's disappearance, her family travelled to Curaçao and were approached by a cab driver who claimed to have seen Bradley while the ship was docking on March 24.[11] He said Bradley was running through the parking lot in search of a phone.[4] He stated he remembered her green eyes which were clearly described in the reward poster.[11] The witness also claimed to have seen Bradley in other locations on the island. The witness, however, failed to mention Amy was without shoes. The cab driver's claims were never confirmed by authorities.[21]

In August 1998, two Canadian divers had a possible sighting of Bradley on a popular Curaçao diving beach known as Playa Porto Marie.[4] David Carmichael, the diver who testified for the Federal Grand Jury, claimed that a woman matching Bradley's description was in the presence of two "aggressive men", one reportedly fitting Douglas's description.[4][23] The witness yelled out to a friend, asking if he had a piece of his dive gear. The woman believed to be Bradley, upon hearing the man speak English, reportedly spun around and came back towards him.[11] The witness then claimed that the man resembling Douglas came into his field of vision and motioned the woman away to the beach's bar. Carmichael claims the woman would occasionally look at him and then look down,[4] appearing to try to subtly communicate with him. The witnesses accurately described Bradley's tattoos as well as a watch she had been given by her boyfriend.[4] Carmichael recognized Bradley after seeing her photo on America's Most Wanted and stated: "I am haunted by that encounter with Amy. I know it was her."[3] He later phoned Bradley's father and flew to Virginia to meet the Bradley family.[4][3] The FBI investigated the reported sighting but were unable to corroborate the claims.[23]

U.S. Navy petty officer William Hefner claimed to have talked to a woman who said she was Bradley at a Curaçao brothel in January 1999.[4] He claimed he was sitting in the bar area and saw two women sitting at a table (one of Hispanic descent, and the other of Caucasian descent). He then claims the Caucasian woman approached him and told him that "her name was Amy Bradley and [she] begged him for help", explaining that she was held against her will and was not allowed to leave.[22][24] Hefner contacted Bradley's family in May 2002 after he had retired and had seen her picture in a magazine; he did not report the incident earlier as he feared for his career in the Navy having been in a brothel.[23] Hefner said that he "has no doubt the woman he saw in the brothel was Amy Bradley."[4] The FBI investigated the claims and found that the brothel had since burned down.[23] There was no evidence to support the witness's claim.

Later developments

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In the fall of 1999, Bradley's parents received an email from a self-proclaimed Navy Seal Soldier—Frank Jones.[25][4] Frank told the family that he was a former US Army Special officer with a team of experienced soldiers who might be able to rescue Bradley.[25] Jones had claimed that his team had seen Bradley being held by heavily armed Colombian personnel in a housing complex surrounded by barbed wire. The team also gave an accurate description of Bradley's tattoos and sang the lullaby that Bradley's mother used to sing for Bradley.[21] Over the next few months, Frank would feed news to the family and provided reports on sightings of their daughter. When Jones told them they were going to attempt a rescue, he added that more funds were needed. The Bradleys sent Jones a total of $210,000 to fund the set up for the search and had expected a call from Jones and his team for the results of the rescue mission that never came. Jones had made the story up and had tried to scam the Bradleys of money. In February 2002, federal prosecutors in Richmond charged him with defrauding the Bradleys of $24,444 and the National Missing Children's Organization of $186,416. Jones pleaded guilty in April of mail fraud and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.[25]

In April 2003, a potential sighting of Bradley occurred in San Francisco, California. Witnesses reported observing a woman who matched Bradley's description in the company of two men, allegedly watching a street musician. The witnesses asserted they immediately recognized the woman as Bradley. Upon realizing they had been identified, the two men reportedly seized her and fled the scene. The woman allegedly cast a "pleading" look to the witnesses as she was being taken away. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sketches were released of the men who were believed to be with Bradley at the time.[26][27]

There was a potential sighting of Bradley in March 2005, when a witness named Judy Maurer claimed to have seen Bradley in a department store restroom in Bridgetown, Barbados. She claimed a woman entered the restroom accompanied by four men who were discussing what sounded like an illegal "deal." Based on the conversation, it was speculated that the group arrived there by yacht at the nearby harbor. Maurer called authorities and they created composite sketches of men and the woman based on her account. After Maurer's account, two other witnesses reported that they believed they seen Bradley on the same day. One witness believed they saw Bradley and the men standing in the cash register line at a nearby store, and another believed they saw Bradley and the men walking on the sidewalk approximately a block from Broad Street.[13][11]

Bradley's parents appeared on the November 17, 2005, episode of Dr. Phil. An image of a young woman closely resembling Bradley that was emailed to her parents was shown on the program and it suggests that she might have been sold into sexual slavery.[28] Two photographs were discovered online by a member of an organization that attempts to track victims on sites that feature sex workers. The woman in the photo has been said to appear "distraught and despondent" and was a sex worker known as Jas.[29][30] The authenticity of the photographs could not be determined by the FBI; special agent Erin Sheridan stated: "We did follow that lead. The difficult part is back then information such as that or pictures such as that, you cannot tell when they're altered."[23] A man who later worked with the FBI performed facial comparisons and his opinion was that the photographs were of Bradley.[23]

There was another potential sighting of Bradley in January 2007 at a restaurant in Aruba. The witnesses claimed they saw a woman matching Bradley's description having dinner in the company of four men. No additional details are known about this sighting.[citation needed]

Another incident involved the finding of a jawbone that washed ashore in Aruba in 2010.[13][31] Initially, it was thought to be the jawbone of another missing person's case—Natalee Holloway—but once the jawbone was cleared of Holloway,[29] authorities ceased any further testing despite the fact that there were nine other Caribbean vacationers that were said to be missing. No DNA testing was done on the material. They say that the bone is human and was likely from a Caucasian origin.[13][29]

Bradley was declared legally dead on March 24, 2010, twelve years after the disappearance with no witnesses and no body found.[32]

Theories and speculation

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There are several theories in regard to the disappearance of Bradley, including one that she was kidnapped and sold into the illegal human trafficking industry in the Caribbean.[21] This theory is supported by various sources of evidence including a key witness from the U.S. Navy[8][12][32] claiming that he heard a worker at a brothel in the Caribbean claiming to be Bradley and a 2005 photo that was emailed to Bradley's family. Another piece of evidence would include the inconsistencies of the witnesses on the night of the disappearance. In an interview with People magazine, Bradley's mother stated, "I remember watching people watch her admiringly" and later goes on to say "Amy would have been a trophy."[20]

This theory also includes suspicions of the staff/band members on the cruise on the night of the disappearance; one of these suspicions being the inconsistent story that the band member Douglas presented to the authorities as opposed to what CCTV has captured that night.[14][21] Many people suspected that a waiter was also involved with the disappearance. Throughout the night, Bradley's family was approached by the same waiter asking to pass on a note to Bradley for him involving an invitation for her to go drinking with him once they reached shore.[21] In addition, the professional photographer had printed out all photos taken throughout the cruise to sell at a stall, but the family could not find any of Bradley's photos, making them believe that the photos had been removed by somebody.[21]

Another theory authorities considered was that Bradley was murdered on the ship and thrown overboard. However, the only evidence supporting this is the discovery of a jawbone which washed ashore on a beach in Aruba.[13] The final theory includes Bradley falling overboard or committing suicide as initially suggested by the authorities.[8][12]

In November 1998, FBI special agent James Weber stated: "We've pursued every angle, from whether there was foul play, a suicide or an accident, and we have basically not gotten anywhere."[17]

Aftermath and rewards

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Amy Lynn Bradley Wanted Poster. FBI

The FBI is currently offering a reward of up to $25,000 for any information that could potentially lead to the recovery of Bradley or leads to an arrest or conviction of the person(s) responsible for Bradley's disappearance.[33][34] The family is awarding $250,000 for information leading to her safe return and the family also has a reward of $50,000 for information leading to her current location.[13][25]

Bradley's case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, America's Most Wanted[34] and the television show Disappeared.[35] Her case was also the subject of episode 59 of the Casefile podcast and the podcasts Crime Junkie[36] and The Casual Criminalist.[37]

Renewed attention was paid to her case after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005.[28][38][39][40]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Missing Person Amy Bradley". FBI. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  2. ^ a b Hawley, Chris (March 31, 1998). "Search ends for missing cruise passenger". The Miami Herald. Associated Press. p. 7A. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  3. ^ a b c d e "Amy Bradley, 23". People. July 13, 2001. Archived from the original on September 8, 2017. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Campbell, Tom (April 29, 2002). "Is Amy still alive?". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. A1, A6. Retrieved April 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  5. ^ a b Perella, Dominic (March 31, 1998). "Family turns to Internet in search for daughter". The Roanoke Times. Associated Press. pp. A1, A2. Retrieved April 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  6. ^ Serphos, Norman (March 27, 1998). "Overboard or overlooked?". The Free Lance-Star. Associated Press. p. A1. Retrieved April 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  7. ^ Foster, Richard (April 27, 1999). "Amy Interrupted". Style Weekly. Archived from the original on August 14, 2006. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Serena, Katie (December 3, 2021). "The Mysterious Case Of Amy Lynn Bradley, The 23-Year-Old Who Vanished From A Cruise Ship". All That's Interesting. Archived from the original on March 13, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Foster, Richard (April 27, 1999). "Amy Interrupted Part II". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on August 14, 2006. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  10. ^ Zaken, Ministerie van Buitenlandse (May 10, 2017). "About Curaçao - United States - Netherlandsandyou.nl". www.netherlandsandyou.nl. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f "Amy Bradley". Vanished with Beth Holloway. Season 1. Episode 3. A&E Television Networks. May 23, 2011.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Disappeared (September 29, 2021). "Amy Lynn Bradley". Disappeared. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Mikkilineni, Rupa (January 3, 2011). "Jawbone rekindles cruise ship mystery". CNN. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  14. ^ a b c d e Fenwick, Chris (March 1, 2001). "Amy Bradley Is Missing". One on One. Archived from the original on December 1, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Suzzane, Victoria (September 1, 2021). "Vanished: What Happened to Amy Lynn Bradley?". Medium. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  16. ^ Foster, Richard (April 27, 1999). "Amy Interrupted Part III". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 2, 2005. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
  17. ^ a b Frantz, Douglas (November 16, 1998). "Dream cruise is nightmare for family of missing woman". The Flint Journal. p. C4. Retrieved April 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  18. ^ Grande, Todd (October 21, 2021). "Amy Lynn Bradley Disappearance Analysis | Complex Conspiracy or Simple Explanation?". YouTube. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
  19. ^ a b The Charley Project (October 24, 2008). "Amy Lynn Bradley". The Charley Project. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c d Mysteries, Unsolved (May 10, 2017). "AMY BRADLEY". Unsolved Mysteries. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Howe, Callum (October 5, 2021). "The Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley". The Casual Criminalist. Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "The Search for Natalee: Amy Bradley". Dr. Phil. November 17, 2005. Archived from the original on March 2, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Troubled Waters". Disappeared. Season 9. Episode 3. April 15, 2018. Investigation Discovery.
  24. ^ Van Zandt, Clint (June 20, 2005). "Who's taken our daughter?". The Abrams Report. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  25. ^ a b c d "Con Man Dupes Family in Hunt for Daughter". ABC News. June 26, 2003. Archived from the original on January 13, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  26. ^ "Unknown Male #1". America's Most Wanted. Archived from the original on December 11, 2003. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  27. ^ "FBI Missing Person Investigation". FBI. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  28. ^ a b "The Search for Natalee and Amy". Dr. Phil (TV series). November 17, 2005. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  29. ^ a b c Gibbons, Phil (September 23, 2021). "Shocking Facts About Amy Lynn Bradley, The Woman Who Disappeared At Sea". Ranker. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  30. ^ Moran, Michael (November 27, 2021). "Family fear daughter was sold as sex slave after disappearing from cruise ship". Mirror. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  31. ^ Bowes, Mark (January 4, 2011). "Parents doubt bone is their daughter's". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. B2. Retrieved April 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
  32. ^ a b Shelton, Jacob. "The Disappearance Of Amy Lynn Bradley: Everything We Know". History Daily. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  33. ^ "Wanted by the FBI: Missing Woman Amy Lynn Bradley". FBI. March 22, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  34. ^ a b "Amy Lynn Bradley". America's Most Wanted. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  35. ^ "Amy Lynn Bradley". amybradley.net. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  36. ^ "MISSING: AMY LYNN BRADLEY". Crime Junkie Podcast. March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  37. ^ "The Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  38. ^ "Striking Similarities in Two Disappearances". ABC News. January 7, 2006. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  39. ^ Van Zandt, Clint (November 17, 2005). "Why some say Natalee may still be alive". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
  40. ^ Campbell, Tom (June 12, 2005). "Nightclub linked to case of missing local woman". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. A1, A7. Retrieved April 25, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Free access icon
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