Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley

Amy Bradley’s brother ‘supports’ Netflix documentary – but issues one complaint

The brother of Amy Bradley, the missing person at the centre of a hit new Netflix documentary, supports the series, but wishes it was longer.Three-part docuseries Amy Bradley is Missing details the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman that occurred aboard a cruise ship in March 1998.Amy, who was on holiday with her family, was last seen resting on the balcony of the ship after a night of dancing in its nightclub – but when her father went to her cabin the next morning, she had vanished without a trace.The new documentary features interviews with the Bradley family as well as eyewitnesses who were also on the ship headed to – and explores the events leading up to her disappearance.Days after the release of the series, which is currently Netflix’s most-watched title, viewers have been sharing their reaction, branding it “heartbreaking” and “gobsmacking”.He shared a Gofundme to “raise funds to pursue credible leads, consult with experts, obtain legal support if needed, and travel wherever necessary to uncover the truth” behind Amy’s whereabouts.

Brad recently opened up about the last time he saw Amy, telling WWBT’s 12 On Your Side that after their night of partying, Amy decided to sleep on the balcony after feeling seasick.She said, ‘I’m going to stay out here on the chaise lounge and a lot of fresh air and wind. I don’t want to go in a closed room right now.’ So, I told her I loved her.”Brad revealed that his sister must have returned to the room at some stage as “a shirt she was wearing was laid across one of the chairs”.Amy Bradley is Missing is available to stream on Netflix now.Reward:The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of Amy Lynn Bradley and information that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.Remarks:
Bradley has the following tattoos: a Tasmanian Devil spinning a basketball on her shoulder; the sun on her lower back; a Chinese symbol on her right ankle; and a Gecko lizard on her navel. She also has a navel ring.

Details:
Amy Lynn Bradley, while on a family cruise to the Caribbean, went missing from the Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line’s ship Rhapsody of the Seas.  On Saturday, March 21, 1998, the vessel departed San Juan, Puerto Rico, and traveled to its first port of call, the island of Aruba.  On Monday, March 23, 1998, Rhapsody of the Seas departed Aruba and was traveling in international waters to its next island port of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.  During the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 24, 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley went missing.  The vessel later departed Curacao and continued on to the island of St. Martin (Sint Maarten) and further traveled to St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, before returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday, March 28, 1998.

What Happened to Amy Bradley: Unpacking the Disturbing Theories About Her Disappearance

Amy Bradley disappeared in the middle of a Caribbean cruise in 1998. The Netflix series Amy Bradley Is Missing dives into the theories about what happened and the family's ongoing search for answers.

Did Amy Bradley fall? Did she jump? Was she pushed? Or could she be alive somewhere?

These are among the questions her family still has, 27 years after Amy disappeared in the middle of a Royal Caribbean cruise.

The 23-year-old from Chesterfield, Va., was vacationing with her mother Iva Bradley, father Ron Bradley and brother Brad Bradley, then 21, aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas when she went missing on day four of their seven-night excursion.Ron recalled waking up early on the morning of March 24, 1998, and going to look for his daughter."I thought I’d find Amy in just a few minutes,” he said in the new Netflix docuseries Amy Bradley Is Missing, “and everything would be good."But he never saw her again.By the next day, the gripping mystery was international news.

FBI agents flew in to investigate, while the Marines, Navy and multiple branches of Coast Guard joined in what was ultimately a baffling search.


Why does Amy Bradley’s family hold out hope she’s still alive?

Alleged sightings of Amy have been reported over the years and the FBI’s investigation remains open.

David Carmichael saw the case on America’s Most Wanted and was “100 percent” sure he saw Amy on the beach in Curacao in August 1998, he said in the doc. She approached him, Carmichael said, but then a man came up, stared at Carmichael and motioned her away.“I think about this every day,” Carmichael said. “If I had 10 seconds more, what would I have done?”Navy veteran Bill Hefner was in a Curaçao bar in 1999 when, he said in the series, a young woman told him her name was Amy Bradley and she was “being held against her will.”He admittedly didn’t say anything at the time, but when he saw her on a magazine cover several years later, Hefner said, he contacted the FBI.In 2005, someone emailed Amy’s parents a photo of a woman who resembled their daughter that, according to the FBI, was found on a website advertising sex workers in Venezuela and the Caribbean. A forensic analyst examined the photo, Special Agent Sheridan said in the series, “and believed it was Amy Bradley.”

Judy Maurer saw the case on Dr. Phil and told the FBI that she saw Amy in Barbados in March 2005. She was using a souvenir shop bathroom, she recalled in the series, and there was a distraught woman at the sinks who said her name was Amy. There was also a man by the door, Maurer said, and she recalled telling her husband, “That girl is being forced to do something.”Where is Amy Bradley’s family now?While Amy’s mom called the FBI’s photo analysis a “stab in the heart,” she also took it as a potential sign of life.

“I never thought that she wasn’t out there and neither has her dad,” Iva, 71, said in the series. “Neither has her brother. We’ve got to get to her.”Brad, now 47, said they all had a “gut feeling” Amy was alive. Moreover, he added, “The lack of closure, or the not knowing, allows us to continue to hope, so I actually prefer it that way.”For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppIf the human jawbone that washed up on a beach in Aruba late last year wasn't Natalee Holloway's, whose was it?Authorities continue to investigate. They say the jawbone is human and likely was from a Caucasian. It held a single tooth.

Ten people have vanished while vacationing in the Caribbean in the last 15 years, according to the Aruba Missing Persons website. One of them was Amy Lynn Bradley, then 23, who disappeared 12 years ago while on a vacation cruise with her family.Bradley and her mother, father and younger brother were on board the cruise ship "Rhapsody of the Seas." The ship had just left Oranjestad, Aruba, and was heading to Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles, on the day she went missing -- March 24, 1998.Bradley left her cabin early that morning, barefoot and carrying her cigarettes and lighter. It appears that she vanished while the ship was docking in Curacao.The last person to see Bradley, according to her family, was her father, at about 5:30 a.m. Earlier, she had been with members of the cruise ship's band, "Blue Orchid."

Amy Bradley had a new job and a new dog, Daisy, waiting for her at home in Virginia, her family says.

Band member Alister Douglas, who goes by the moniker "Yellow," told CNN that Bradley joined band members for a drink at the ship's dance club after the band's performance. He said he parted with Bradley at about 1 a.m. and headed to the staff elevator. She went off in another direction, he said, but did not see where she went.

He recalled that he was awakened in his room at about 6 a.m. by a cruise line manager, who asked if Bradley was with him. Investigators searched his room, and those of his band mates later that day, but nothing was found, he said.Bradley's family insists she had no reason to run off. She was planning a life back in Virginia, with a new job and a new home. She has no history of running away and would never abandon her family or pet bulldog, Bailey, the Bradleys said.Did she fall overboard by accident? Could foul play be involved? Was she kidnapped by someone she encountered on the ship's deck? Did she get into a violent argument with someone?The Bradleys say they have received no answers from authorities in Curacao and Aruba.

Ron and Iva Bradley said in a statement to CNN: "We believe that our daughter is alive, but being held captive by someone." They say they had a sighting in 2005 they believe was credible, when a witness said he saw their daughter in a department store rest room in Barbados.Royal Caribbean International Cruise Lines, which owns "Rhapsody of the Seas," did not respond to CNN's request for comment, and authorities in Aruba and Curacao would say only that their investigations remain open.The Bradleys' complaint that that no one looked closely at their daughter's disappearance echoes the complaints during the early days of the Natalee Holloway investigation.Holloway's parents also complained of a lack of urgency by the authorities when she disappeared during a senior class trip to Aruba in May 2005. To this day, authorities have no resolution as to what happened to Holloway five years ago.

A local man, Joran van der Sloot, who was last seen with Holloway, was arrested and questioned several times. He was released and since has been arrested and charged with murdering a young woman in Peru.

At the time she disappeared, Bradley was 5'7" tall, weighed 120 pounds and had short brown hair and green eyes. She had a Tasmanian Devil tattoo on her left shoulder blade, a Chinese symbol tattooed on her right ankle, a green and blue gecko lizard tattoo around her navel, navel ring and multiple ear piercings.A $250,000 reward is offered to anyone who provides information leading to the safe return of Amy Lynn Bradley. A reward of $50,000 is offered for information leading to her verifiable location. Please contact 804-276-2204 with tips.

The disappearance of Amy Bradley has captivated the true crime world for decades and is now the subject of Netflix’s new docuseries, Amy Bradley Is Missing. From reported sightings of the missing woman to theories of sex trafficking and murder, many questions still remain unanswered.

Netflix’s Amy Bradley Is Missing dives into the theories surrounding what could have happened to Bradley, who was 23 years old when she vanished during a Caribbean cruise with her family 27 years ago. The documentary features exclusive interviews and newly surfaced evidence to shed light on a case that has long puzzled investigators.

Keep reading to learn more about what could have happened to Bradley, including the numerous theories surrounding her disappearance and whether authorities have ever been able to locate her, despite people coming forward with sightings and anonymous tips that could point to something more sinister.

n March 1998, Amy Bradley went on a Royal Caribbean International cruise with her family. She had just graduated and was preparing to pursue a master’s degree in sports psychology. Before heading out on the seven-day cruise, she had also adopted a dog and moved into a new apartment, according to the docuseries.

On March 23, 1998, Bradley was partying at the Rhapsody of the Seas nightclub with her brother Brad. Later, she and her siblings returned to the family suite. Amy’s father, Ron, recalled seeing his daughter sleeping on the cabin’s balcony.

After about an hour, the captain told the family that Amy was not on the ship. While Curaçao officials said that they expected Amy’s body to turn up in the sea, it never did. “It was the biggest search that we ever had,” Curaçao Coast Guard’s Henry Vrutaal said in the show. “But she was nowhere to be found. Not even a piece

of clothing, nothing.”

Many theories have circulated about what happened to Bradley, ranging from falling overboard to being murdered or left behind at one of the stops. Some believe she walked off the ship to start a new life, while others, like her family, think she was taken against her will. According to Tudum, the balcony, which was the last place Bradley was seen, was scrubbed clean before investigators could search for evidence.

One of the most prominent theories is that Amy jumped or fell overboard. Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard Lt. Sjoerd Soethout told reporters at the time that she could have fallen from the balcony, while an FBI spokeswoman said the agency had “no evidence of foul play,” according to The Associated Press. The cruise director who worked on the ship also supported this theory in the doc; however, a body has never been recovered.

Another theory is that Alister “Yellow” Douglas, an entertainer on the Rhapsody of the Seas during the Bradleys’ trip, was somehow involved. Lori Thompson, who is interviewed in the docuseries, said she saw Amy and Douglas together earlier that night. There is also video footage of them dancing together.

FBI agents investigated the allegations and questioned Douglas, but his polygraph test results were inconclusive. Douglas continues to maintain his innocence, and there is no evidence connecting him to Amy’s disappearance. However, his daughter, Amica Douglas, appears in the docuseries and says she is not convinced her father had no involvement.

She pointed to her father’s concerning behavior after he returned from the cruise ship Amy was on. Not only did he and her mother grow more distant, but Amica claimed that her dad had a bag of photos of white women, per Time.com.

In the docuseries, Amica actually calls her father to confront him about the allegations. “I didn’t do anything wrong. What am I supposed to do?” he said in a defensive tone, adding that all he did was dance with Amy. When asked if he was walking with Amy on a Curaçao beach, he answered no.

Filmmaker Ari Mark told Fox News Digital that Amica was initially hesitant to go on camera at first, but change her mind after realizing “that this tragedy had impacted her family in a way that feels almost irreparable.”

He continued, “She has been harassed, and her family name has been thrown all around the internet. She wants to get to the bottom of this as much as anyone else. And she has real empathy for the Bradley family.”

While Amy Bradley has never been officially found, multiple people have come forward over the years claiming to have seen her following her disappearance.

Retired U.S. Navy seaman Bill Hefner said in the Netflix docuseries that he might have encountered Amy 10 months after she went missing, at a bar after his ship docked in Curaçao in January 1999. She allegedly said her name was Amy Bradley, that she had left the ship to get drugs and that she was being held against her will.

David Carmichael recalled walking along a beach in Curaçao when he saw a woman with a tattoo of the Tasmanian devil walking towards him. He said it looked like she was about to say something to him, but then she kept walking alongside two men. Carmichael said that he believes one of the men was Douglas, the ship’s band member.

In 2005, Judy Maurer said she was in a restroom in Barbados when she overheard a group of men ambushing a woman and telling her that a deal was imminent and that she needed to be on time. When Maurer came out of the stall, she asked the distraught woman her name, and the woman replied, “Amy.”

That same year, an anonymous tipster sent the Bradley family a link to a website featuring sex workers for hire. An FBI forensic analysis determined that one of the women closely resembled Amy. She had long hair, wore heavy makeup and was posed in a way that concealed any identifying tattoos.

"Just imagine getting a photo like that of your kid," Mark told Fox News Digital. "I know that it devastated the Bradley family, but at the same time, it offered a little glimmer of possibility that Amy’s alive. I think there is that bittersweet reaction there.

Posted on 2025/07/21 04:06 PM