Netflix reopens shocking mystery of missing cruise passenger Amy Lynn Bradley after 27 years

United States: 23-year-old Amy Lynn Bradley disappearance case draws fresh interest from the public and law enforcement officers after 27 years of her missing. 

The 27 year old disappearance case now documented by Netflix has drawn fresh public attention after its premier on July 16.  The director of the Netflix documentary ‘Amy Bradley is Missing’ has confirmed that new leads have turned up in the cold case with people having come forward with leads to help uncover Amy’s whereabouts. 

The 23-year-old reportedly disappeared without a trace in March 1998 while onboard the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship with her family including her parents Ron and Iva, and her 21-year-old brother Brad. 

However the family trip took a devastating turn on the morning of March 24, as the 23-year-old went missing around 6 a.m. leaving behind all her belongings except her cigarettes and lighter. 

Reportedly, on March 23, Amy along with her brother attended a party at the onboard nightclub that included guests such as the musician performer Alister 'Yellow' Douglas. Her father recalls that on March 24, Amy had returned to her cabin around 3:35 a.m. as he had seen her on the balcony around 5:30 a.m. but by 6:15 there was no trace of Amy in the ship. 

Her family immediately sought help from the cruise's staff and asked them to prevent anyone from leaving the ship as it had already docked in Curacao, but the staff did not act swiftly and some passengers disembarked from the ship. 

Despite an extensive search effort involving helicopters and radar, no trace of Amy was found, sparking various theories about her disappearance, including kidnapping, human trafficking, accidental drowning, and suicide.

Amy's brother, Brad records that on the previous night before Amy’s disappearance, they had a formal dinner with their parents on the ship where Amy received special attention from their personal waiting staff and afterwards they took pictures that later mysteriously disappeared.

As the night wore on, the parents bid farewell to the two, and they headed to the nightclub party. As the party wound down, he recalls leaving while Amy was chatting with Alister 'Yellow' Douglas and others. Later, Amy returned to their room, telling her brother that Alister Douglas had made unwanted advances, touching her chest.

She didn't raise a fuss, so the brother went to bed. But he was awoken by his parents' panicked faces, telling him they couldn't find her. He emphasized that it's crucial to note she disappeared near the island of Curaçao. The parents asked that no one be allowed to leave the ship until they found their daughter or made a public announcement, but the ship's security personnel denied their request.

About 36 to 48 hours later, the ship made the announcement for her to come to the purser’s desk in order to not alarm the other passengers. The captain later came and assured them that they had searched everywhere in anything bigger than a breadbox but they later found out that that wasn't true and they had only searched the public areas and restrooms. 

Suicide theory 

Now, filmmaker Ari Mark, behind the Netflix documentary about Amy's story, reveals that Amy, a Virginia native, had left a heartfelt 'message in a bottle' for her then-girlfriend Mollie, confessing to being unfaithful after kissing another woman.

The third episode of the documentary notes that Amy had written the confession exactly a month before her disappearance on March 24, 1998. With her apologising to Mollie and asking her if she could find it in her heart to forgive her for what she had done.

“Save me, please. Stranded, Amy." Amy referenced in her letter that she felt like there was an ocean between them and she was like a desert island waiting for Mollie to save her Parts of the letter read 

Molie while examining the letter recorded that the letter could be misread suggesting a  suicide but she doesn’t interpret it that way as Amy was speaking in metaphors when she said to it that was as Amy used the metaphor 'stranded,'ocean between us'.

Kidnapping and Human Trafficking theory

Amy’s family have discredited the ‘she might have drowned’ theories as Amy was a proficient swimmer, and had previously worked as a swim coach and lifeguard.

The parents believed that the fresh college graduate might have been abducted and trafficked as a sex worker as multiple people have reported to have seen a woman with similar tattoos as those of Amy in Curaçao and Barbados being held against her will. 

A U.S. Navy sailor claimed that he met a woman in a Barbados brothel called Amy who begged for help, but he didn’t report it as he had never seen reports of Amy missing and he was not legally supposed to be there.

A ton of evidence suggesting that Amy may still be alive has surfaced since her disappearance including accounts of multiple people saying they had seen her in parts of the Caribbean and a photo resembling her appearances has surfaced in a sex worker website 

FBI issue rewards

The FBI have offered a reward of up to $25,000 for anyone that will come forward with relevant information that may lead to uncovering Amy’s whereabouts and ultimately leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.

On their official website the FBI have described Amy as a female, who has green eyes and short brown hair,  with the height of 5-feet-6-inches, and weighing 120 pounds. They have also posted photos of the then 23-year-old and what she may look like now. 

The FBI have also disclosed that Amy had a navel ring and a list of tattoos on her body, including: 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.

SKIMS founder and reality TV personality Kim Kardashian also posted a photo of her TV having finished the series noting that the documentary is scary and  mind blowing  and everyone must see the ‘Amy Bradley is Missing.’ documentary on Netflix. 

Ari Mark the filmmaker has expressed that they are very pleased with the attention that the series has received and that they got a chance to tell Amy's story. He expressed that they have received a few leads that they cannot share but they are working closely with the authorities to uncover the mystery.