Woman Missing at Sea for 26 Years

In March 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley had every reason to celebrate. A college graduate with a degree in physical education, 23-year-old Bradley anticipated the start of a new career with a computer consulting firm. But a family vacation turned into a heartbreaking mystery, and 26 years later, more questions remain than answers. What happened to Amy Lynn Bradley?

The Cruise

When Amy stepped onto the Rhapsody of the Seas^® with her family on March 21, 1998, luxurious days of sun and relaxation stretched out before her. But her family’s world turned upside-down three days later. The evening of March 23, Amy and her brother, Brad, stayed up late drinking and dancing. Brad turned in for the night at 3:35 a.m., when the computerized door lock recorded his entrance to the cabin. His sister entered the same door five minutes later. Amy and Brad sat on the cabin balcony and talked before Brad went to sleep. Amy stayed awake a while longer.

Between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m., Amy’s father Ron awoke to see Amy still sleeping on a balcony lounge chair. When he got up at 6 a.m., Amy was gone, and so were her cigarettes and lighter.

The Search

Amy never left without telling someone, so Ron sprang into action. He searched common areas of the ship until 6:30 a.m., when he told the rest of the family Amy was missing. The Bradleys reported Amy’s disappearance to the ship’s crew, but the purser’s office thought a ship-wide announcement was unnecessary at that point. Instead, crew members allowed the majority of the 2,000 passengers to disembark that morning before finally making an announcement at 7:50 a.m. The crew conducted a search throughout the ship, turning up nothing.

For the next four days, the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard searched for Amy, using three helicopters and a radar plane. Meanwhile, the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines chartered a boat to join in the search. No trace of Amy was found.

Possible Sightings

The morning Amy disappeared, two passengers on the ship saw a woman with cigarettes and a lighter taking an elevator to the deck.

A cab driver later reported that a woman matching Amy’s description had told him she needed to use a telephone.

In August 1998, five months after Amy’s disappearance, a man reported seeing Amy walking with two men in Curacao. The man got close enough to see the woman’s tattoos and was convinced of her identity. He also said the woman frantically tried to get his attention until he lost sight of her in a cafe.

In January 1999, a woman claiming to be Amy Bradley approached a U.S. Navy petty officer in a Curacao brothel and pleaded for his help. The officer failed to report the incident at the time out of concern for his military career.

In March 2005, witness Judy Maurer reported seeing a woman in a department store restroom in Barbados with three men who appeared to be threatening her. The men left, and the woman told Maurer she was Amy from Virginia. Before she disappeared, Amy lived in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The men reappeared and took Amy with them. Maurer described the three men and the woman to authorities, who created composite sketches.

Theories

The most heavily circulated theories about Amy’s disappearance include her abduction into human trafficking, her murder on the ship before being thrown overboard, and her accidentally falling overboard. Twelve years after her disappearance with no body discovered, authorities declared Amy legally dead on March 24, 2010.

Amy’s family and the FBI are offering a combined $325,000 for information leading to her safe return or the arrests of those responsible for her disappearance. Her ears are pierced multiple times and her navel is pierced. She has a baby Tasmanian devil tattoo on the back of her left shoulder, a green and blue gecko lizard around her navel, a Japanese symbol on her right ankle and a primitive Japanese sun tattooed on her lower back.

References: Amy Lynn Bradley | Amy Bradley | The Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley: Everything We Know | Amy Lynn Bradley