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Missing for 25 years: FBI searching for woman who disappeared on family vacation in 1998

amy missing cruise ship

Bradley’s family begged the ship’s crew not to let anyone disembark at the next port, Curaçao, until they’d carried out a thorough search, but they were ignored. If someone had kidnapped Bradley — as her parents believe — they had ample opportunity to sneak her off the boat and into a foreign country, never to be seen again. Amy’s family members say that the FBI interviewed them all separately and talked to many of the ship’s 2,900 passengers. Several people remembered seeing Amy with Alaistair Douglas, a band member known as “Yellow,” in the ship’s disco and then in the early hours of the morning. During the fall of 1999, the Bradley family received an email from Frank Jones, an alleged Navy Seal. He told the family that he'd seen Amy held hostage by Colombian personnel in a housing complex, and, as a former US Army Special Officer, he and his team could launch a rescue.

Can I get a refund or credit for the missed cruise?

A Canadian tourist said that he saw Amy with two other men on the beach in Curacao in August 1998. He mentioned that when she was about to say something, one of the men gestured her away. But, there have been numerous people who came forward stating that they had seen Amy at different locations. In addition, people that were investigated during the interview provided a better idea of her last known movements. Two of the cruise’s passengers stated that they saw her on one of the elevators and further mentioned that she was with a musician who played on the cruise. Yellow, as the musician called himself, stated that Amy had a drink with the band but that he was with her only till 1 AM.

Investigation

But Bradley’s parents say she had a new apartment and a new job waiting for her back in her home state of Virginia, not to mention her beloved bulldog, Daisy. In 2005, a photo emerged of a scantily clad young woman who was advertising for sexual services on a prostitution website in the Caribbean. Agents pursued the lead that Amy could have been a victim of sex trafficking — but was unable to confirm the identity of the woman in the photo.

Mystery Remains After 13-Year-Old Girl Vanished From A Minnesota Gas Station In 1989

Amy had recently graduated, making it the perfect time for the family to get together for a holiday. In spite of her reservations, on 21 March 1998, Amy boarded Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the Seas with her parents and brother, Brad. Amy Lynn Bradley was 23 years old and was from Chesterfield County, Virginia. Her family included her parents, Ron and Iva, and her brother, Brad. The four of them were vacationing on a Royal Caribbean cruise called the Rhapsody of the Seas when the unfortunate incident occurred.

Amy Bradley Vanished From A Cruise Ship In 1998 - Investigation Discovery

Amy Bradley Vanished From A Cruise Ship In 1998.

Posted: Sat, 15 Dec 2018 02:47:24 GMT [source]

amy missing cruise ship

Jones and his team verified their claims by describing Amy's tattoos and singing the lullaby her mother used to sing for her. Over the next couple of months, they fed news and reports to the family, all while asking them for a total of $210,000 in funds. The dramatic tale had all been a scam, and in 2002 Jones was sentenced to prison for fraud. Later in 1998, a cab driver said that a woman matching Amy's description approached him with an urgent request to use a phone, but this sighting was never verified by the authorities. In August of that year, a Canadian tourist claimed to see a Amy—a woman with identical tattoos that made him certain in was her—walking with two men on a Curaçao beach, desperate to get his attention. Additionally, a sinister photograph, purportedly of Amy, surfaced on a maturely themed website in 2005 and added fuel to the theory that the missing woman was forced to sell her body.

Amy Lynn Bradley: What Really Happened To The 23-Year-Old Who Vanished On A Family Cruise Ship? - Oxygen

Amy Lynn Bradley: What Really Happened To The 23-Year-Old Who Vanished On A Family Cruise Ship?.

Posted: Thu, 10 Aug 2017 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Within just 24 hours of Amy's disappearance, a taxi driver came forward, claiming he was approached by a frantic woman matching Amy's description, who asked him where she could find a pay phone before running off. The young American vanished from the balcony of a cruise ship — but investigators don’t believe she fell overboard. Ron then started to look for her and alerted the cruise’s security about an hour later. The ship was about to dock at Curacao at the time, and the family’s request to not let people disembark fell on deaf ears. A search of the cruise didn’t reveal any clues, and investigators stated that there was no evidence that she was pushed overboard or had committed suicide. On the night of March 23, Bradley and her brother reportedly spent most of the night dancing in the ship’s club.

Case Searches

LaBarre said she had urged the family to fly to the port a day early and buy travel insurance. There are plenty of travelers these days who pooh-pooh the notion of booking through a travel agent. But in the case of a missed cruise departure, travel agents can be a big help. That said, "some travel insurance plans will provide trip cancellation coverage if the insured is involved in a documented traffic accident on the way to their departure point," he added. Some lines also will occasionally allow waylaid passengers to join a ship at a forbidden port if they agree to pay the penalty themselves.

FBI Releases New Video Regarding Amy Lynn Bradley Who Disappeared From Rhapsody of the Seas

On the night of March 23rd — the night before Amy Lynn Bradley vanished — the ship was docked just off the shore of Curacao. Amy chatted with a few of the band members and danced with the bass player, Yellow (aka Alister Douglas). It's not going to be easy to salvage your trip if you are late for your cruise departure.

The woman even had the same tattoos as Bradley, including a lizard on her navel and the Tasmanian Devil spinning a basketball on her shoulder. However, they reportedly didn’t know she was a missing person until they saw her case on a television show after the fact. The search officially ended on March 29, and although her body has never been found, Amy was legally declared dead 12 years later. Many people feel there's more to the story, however, and there have been numerous reported sightings over the years.

According to the witness, the woman she met introduced herself as “Amy from Virginia” and was fighting with two or three men. The Bradley family also heard from witnesses who had seen Amy early the morning she had disappeared — with Alister Douglas, aka Yellow, in the vicinity of the ship’s dance club around 6 am. A few hours later, Ron Bradley saw his daughter on the deck of their family’s stateroom. The Bradleys were emailed photos of a lingerie-clad woman named "Jas", which had been posted on a defunct website advertising "all-inclusive Erotic Vacations" in the Caribbean. The woman bore a striking resemblance to Amy, and gave her family fresh hope that she could still be alive. Amy was also a strong swimmer and trained lifeguard, but despite this, she had a strange quirk — she was terrified of the ocean.

amy missing cruise ship

Many of the big travel agency groups do many millions of dollars of business with each of the major cruise lines, giving them clout they can deploy to your advantage. They also have agents with personal relationships with problem solvers at various lines who can jump into action on your behalf. In August 1999, the Bradley family began working with private investigator Frank Jones. Army Special Forces officer with a team of ex-Army Rangers and ex-Navy Seals who might be able to rescue Amy.

Navy claimed a woman in a brothel said she was Bradley and asked him for help. They didn’t want to announce her disappearance or hang photos of her around the vessel because it might upset other passengers. Although the ship was searched, the crew only searched common areas — not staff or passenger cabins.

Amy Lynn Bradley had a new job and a new apartment back in Virginia, not to mention her beloved pet bulldog, Daisy. Ron went to his daughter’s bedroom to see if she’d gone back to sleep. Aside from cigarettes and a lighter, it didn’t seem like Amy Lynn Bradley had taken anything with her.

She allegedly told him she was being held against her will, but the petty officer didn't report the incident as he feared for his career. He only came forward after he retired, but provided no evidence to support his claim. After the official authorities were notified of Amy's disappearance, the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard launched a four-day search, concluding on March 27th. Their initial instinct was to assume that Amy had either committed suicide or had fallen overboard. However, it was well-known that Amy was a strong swimmer, and there was no evidence in the area of foul play.

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