(NewsNation) — A recently released documentary series is shining a new light on the disappearance of a young woman from a Royal Caribbean cruise in 1998.
Amy Lynn Bradley was 23 when she disappeared from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship while on vacation with her family.
Bradley had recently graduated from college and was an athlete and trained lifeguard who was set to start a new job when she returned from the trip.
On the night she disappeared, Bradley and her brother were seen socializing and dancing with other passengers. Both returned to the family’s cabin afterward. Around 5:30 a.m., Bradley’s father woke up and saw her legs on the balcony lawn chair, but by 6 a.m., Bradley had disappeared.
In the years following her disappearance, there were unverified sightings of a woman who resembled Bradley Curaçao, including a Naval petty officer who said a woman in a brothel told him she was Bradley and begged for help.
A photograph from an adult website also included a woman who looked like Bradley. Her family believes it is her, and that she has been trafficked against her will.
The Netflix docuseries “Amy Bradley is Missing” takes a new look at the case and the events that followed Bradley’s disappearance.
The series recounts the family’s efforts to launch a search, including requests for ship-wide announcements and a plea to delay lowering the gangplank at Curaçao, fearing Bradley could be taken off the ship by someone. Filmmakers note that the FBI later found Royal Caribbean’s initial search of the ship was incomplete and did not cover crew and passenger quarters.
When it comes to Bradley’s case, the focus has been on two possibilities.
The first theory is an accident, where a drunk Bradley fell off the ship into the ocean. The Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a search of the water for four days, but found no sign of Bradley.
The second theory the family put forward is that Bradley was abducted, a possibility bolstered by official investigators stating there was no evidence that Bradley fell, was pushed or intentionally jumped overboard.
The series focuses on incidents that support the abduction theory, including reports that Bradley was seen with a bassist from the ship’s band sometime after 5:30 a.m. and that he handed her a glass of something.
Other strange things details are included, including the disappearance of photos of Bradley from the ship’s gallery and an unsettling comment the bassist made to Bradley’s brother.
The film also examines the toll Bradley’s disappearance took on the family, including their exploitation by a con man who convinced them he could rescue Bradley, taking $210,000 from them.
Bradley was legally declared dead in 2010, but the FBI investigation into her disappearance remains open.