Amy Lynn Bradley

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Federal Bureau Of Investigation Washington Field Office (DC)

Missing From:

Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles

Summary:

Amy Lynn Bradley, a 23-year-old American woman, disappeared on March 24, 1998, from the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas while en route to Curaçao. She was declared legally dead in absentia on March 24, 2010. Multiple reported sightings have occurred in Curaçao, Barbados, and San Francisco, though none have been corroborated, and they have fueled speculation that she may have been abducted or trafficked.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Disappearance:

On March 21, 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley set off with her family aboard the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas, accompanied by her parents Ron and Iva Bradley and her younger brother Brad. Two nights later, after spending the evening dancing at the ship's nightclub, Amy was last seen resting on the balcony of her cabin. By the time her father went to check on her early the next morning, she had vanished, leaving no trace but a polo shirt and a pair of sandals. After dancing until the early hours of that morning, the ship's door lock system recorded Bradley returning to her cabin at 3:40 a.m. Her father, Ron, awoke around 5:30 a.m. and saw her asleep on a deck chair on the balcony. When she was no longer there at 6:00 a.m., the family alerted ship security and authorities. The Bradleys asked the staff to forbid passengers from disembarking, but they refused. FBI agents reportedly used search dogs on the ship, while the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a four-day search of the waters.

Additional Details:

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." Investigators said that there is "no evidence that Amy, a trained lifeguard, fell overboard, was pushed or committed suicide." One month after Bradley's disappearance, her family traveled to Curaçao and were approached by a cab driver who claimed to have seen Bradley while the ship was docking on March 24. He said Bradley was running through the parking lot in search of a phone. He stated he remembered her green eyes. The witness also claimed to have seen Bradley in other locations on the island. The cab driver's claims were never corroborated by authorities. In August 1998, two Canadian divers claimed to have seen a woman they believed to be Bradley on a popular Curaçao diving beach known as Playa Porto Marie. Witness David Carmichael claimed that a woman matching Bradley's description was in the presence of two "aggressive men", one reportedly fitting Douglas's description. U.S. Navy Petty Officer William Hefner claimed to have encountered a woman claiming to be Amy Bradley at a brothel in Curaçao in January 1999. In the fall of 1999, Bradley's parents received an email from a man named Frank Jones claiming to be a former U.S. Army Special Forces officer with a team of experienced soldiers who might be able to rescue Bradley. Jones claimed that his team had seen Bradley being held by heavily armed Colombian personnel. Over the next few months, Jones would feed news to the family and provided reports on sightings. When Jones told them they were going to attempt a rescue, the Bradleys sent Jones a total of $210,000 to fund the setup, but the promised rescue never occurred. In 2005, Judy Maurer approached authorities regarding a possible sighting in Barbados, claiming a woman said she was from West Virginia and softly said her name was Amy, leading authorities to create composite sketches. An image of a scantily clad woman resembling Bradley was emailed to her parents and shown on Dr. Phil on November 17, 2005, suggesting she could have been trafficked into sexual slavery. Two photographs were discovered online by a member of an organization that attempts to track victims on sites that feature sex workers. Alastair Douglas, a bass player that Amy was dancing with hours before she disappeared, was one of the first people the FBI questioned. A videographer on the cruise ship found footage that showed Amy dancing with him. The FBI found no evidence to charge him with Amy's disappearance, and his polygraph test was inconclusive. A female bar server onboard the cruise ship has reportedly approached authorities to recount that on the night Bradley went missing, she was heard exclaiming to passengers and crew, "Señorita kidnapped!" The server reportedly did not speak much English and was promptly taken to the back of the restaurant by a bartender. On July 16, 2025, a three-part documentary series titled Amy Bradley Is Missing was released on Netflix, revisiting the circumstances of her disappearance and the unresolved questions in the case.

Case Last Updated:

Apr 16, 2026