What happened to Amy Bradley? A timeline of her disappearance and rumoured sightings

Cosmopolitan

5 days ago

A new Netflix documentary sets out to investigate the disappearance of Amy Bradley, who went missing from a cruise ship in 1998.
The three-part Netflix series, which arrives on the streaming platform on 16 July, speaks to those at the centre of the disappearance, examines evidence from the unsolved case, and digs into the many alleged sightings of Bradley since she went missing nearly three decades ago.
Ahead of the release of Amy Bradley Is Missing, here's a deep-dive into the case, including a timeline of Amy Bradley's disappearance and rumoured sightings of the missing woman.
Amy Bradley is an American woman who went missing in March 1998 at the age of 23. Amy and her family were on the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas, en route to Curaçao at the time of her disappearance. She had recently graduated from Longwood University, and was travelling with her parents, Ron and Iva Bradley, and her younger brother, Brad.
The Bradley family boarded the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship on 21 March 1998. Ron Bradley had won the all-expenses-paid trip from his employer and, despite her initial hesitation, Amy agreed to attend as a graduation celebration. She was known to have a fear of heights and expressed concerns over the size of the ship and being out on the ocean. Nevertheless, she joined her family aboard, intending to start a new job at a computer consulting firm upon her return.
On the second evening of the cruise, Amy and her brother attended a disco party on the ship's ninth deck. Several witnesses saw the pair drinking alcohol with the ship's band, Blue Orchid, and Amy was also spotted spending time with band member, Alister 'Yellow' Douglas. The pair were also recorded dancing together by videographer, Chris Fenwick.
Douglas claims he left the party at around 1am, while Amy's brother recalls leaving a few hours later. The ship's computerised lock system recorded that Brad returned to the family cabin at 3:35am, and Amy returned just five minutes later. Brad recalls sitting on the family's balcony with his sister, and the pair chatted until he went to bed.
In the very early hours of 24 March, Ron recalls waking up between 5:15 and 5:30am to check on his children. He says she saw his daughter sleeping on the lounge chair of the cabin's balcony, later telling a local newspaper: "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."
When Ron woke up again at 6am, he noticed Amy was missing along with her cigarettes and lighter. "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," he said at the time. Ron spent the next 30 minutes searching for his daughter in the common areas of the ship, he then went back to the family's cabin to inform them that he couldn't find her.
The Bradley family immediately reported her disappearance to the ship's crew and pleaded with them to make an announcement to the rest of the passengers. The crew agreed to make the announcement later, but by this point the ship had already docked in Curaçao and many passengers had disembarked to spend the day exploring.
After a four-day search, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard concluded its search for Amy, which had involved three helicopters, a radar plane, and a separate chartered boat. Upon conclusion of the search, authorities initially suspected that Amy had either fallen overboard or died by suicide. However, investigators said (per People) that there was "no evidence that Amy, a trained lifeguard, fell overboard, was pushed or committed suicide."
On the morning of Amy's disappearance, three witnesses claimed to have seen her on the upper deck between 5:30 and 5:45am with band member Douglas – contradicting his statement that he left the party at 1am. The witnesses claim to have seen the pair with a camera, and testified that he handed her a drink. They also allege that the pair arrived at one of the ship's elevators together, and that he was then seen leaving the upper deck alone, shortly after 6am.
In light of the witness statements and Amy's brothers claim that a conversation he had with the band member was "suspicious", Douglas was interviewed by the FBI and took a polygraph test, which he passed. Contrary to comments made by the Bradley family, Douglas has repeatedly and strongly denied knowing anything about Amy's disappearance.
In April 1998, the Bradley family returned to Curaçao where they were approached by a local taxi driver. The driver claimed to have seen Amy while the ship was docked there on 24 March, describing her as running through a parking lot in search of a phone. He stated her recognised her green eyes, which were described in the reward poster, and alleges to have seen her at several locations across the island. However, none of these claims have been confirmed by authorities investigating the case.
A few months after Amy's disappearance, two Canadian divers reported a possible sighting of her at a popular Curaçao diving beach known as Playa Porto Marie. One of the divers, who testified for the Federal Grand Jury, claimed that a woman matching Amy's description was in the presence of two "aggressive men". The diver – who accurately described Amy's tattoos as well as a watch she owned – said she tried to communicate with him, but was ushered away by the men she was with.
"I am haunted by that encounter with Amy. I know it was her," the diver is reported to have said at the time. The FBI investigated the reported sighting but, like that of the cab driver's, were unable to corroborate the claims.
In January 1999, Naval officer William Hefner claimed to have spoken to a woman who said she was Amy at a Curaçao brothel. According to Hefner, the woman approached him and said that her name was Amy Bradley. He claims she "begged" him for help, while explaining she was being held against her will and unable to leave.
At the time, Hefner did not report the incident for fear it would impact his Naval career, but in May 2002 following his retirement, he contacted the Bradley family. Hefner said he "has no doubt" that the woman he met in the brothel was Amy but, as the brothel had burnt down by the time the sighting was reported, the FBI was unable to find evidence to support the claim.
Another potential sighting of Amy was reported five years after her disappearance in San Francisco, California. Witnesses reported seeing a woman who matched Amy's description in the company of two men. The trio were alleged to have been watching a street musician at the time, and Amy is said to have given a "pleading" look to the witnesses who had clearly recognised her. According to the witnesses, upon noticing the interaction the men seized her and fled the scene. This prompted the FBI to release sketches of the men believed to be with Amy at the time, although nothing came of the alleged sighting.
In March 2005, there were several reported sightings of Amy in Barbados. Numerous witnesses claimed to have seen her in Bridgetown, accompanied by four men who were discussing what sounded like an illegal "deal". Once again, composite sketches were drawn up based on the sighting and those alleged to have been accompanying Amy.
Another potential sighting of Amy was reported in January 2007. Witnesses claim she was dining at a restaurant in Aruba with four men – although few details are known about this alleged sighting.
In 2010, a jawbone washed ashore in Aruba. It was initially thought to be the jawbone of another missing woman, Natalee Holloway, but this theory was cleared. Even though, at the time, there were nine other vacationers said to be missing in the Caribbean, authorities declined to carry out further DNA testing on the material, although they said that the bone was human and likely from someone of Caucasian origin.
Given the numerous alleged sightings of Amy since her disappearance, the most prominent theory is that she was kidnapped and sold into the illegal human trafficking industry in the Caribbean. Another alleged theory is that she was murdered and thrown overboard, however there is no evidence to confirm either theory.
The final theory is that Amy fell overboard or committed suicide, as initially suggested by the authorities. "We've pursued every angle, from whether there was foul play, a suicide, or an accident, and we have basically not gotten anywhere," FBI special agent James Weber stated in November 1998.
With no body found and no confirmed evidence to support a case, Amy was declared legally dead on 24 March 2010, twelve years after her disappearance.
Netflix's three-part series, Amy Bradley Is Missing, is available to stream from 16 July.