VA - Amy Bradley - missing from cruise ship, Curacao - 1998

[IDK]

Here is a link to the most recently updated FBI Missing Person poster from 1998. It includes age progressed sketches of Amy. One thing I find interesting is that the poster no longer includes sketches of the mysterious men she was reportedly seen with in Curaçao and Barbados. I guess it means those sightings have been debunked?

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/amy-lynn-bradley/@@download.pdf

Disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Editing to add how horrible I feel for her family on the loss of their beautiful daughter, and the outrageous conduct of the scam artists who have conned them.

 

[avobo00]

Has anyone else noticed the website created by her family has been deleted? The one with her photos and story?

 

[IDK]

Has anyone else noticed the website created by her family has been deleted? The one with her photos and story?

I have noticed that too and am not sure why…..

 

[chipwhitley]

Is there a way to tell when it was deleted?

I'm glad to see discussion of Amy's case on here. I used to follow the threads and was sad when they were shut down. This is one of "those cases" i'd love to see solved in my lifetime, although I doubt it will.

 

[cenazoic]

One thing I find interesting is that the poster no longer includes sketches of the mysterious men she was reportedly seen with in Curaçao and Barbados. I guess it means those sightings have been debunked?

There’s a podcast out there with the FBI agent who got Amy relisted on the FBI’s site (I’ll see if I can dig it up).

Basically, she said she was a new agent when Amy disappeared and was only associated with the case a short time. Twenty years later, she was in a position to take another look. She had the new poster made and relisted. But, she said they were never able to confirm other sightings, and that the initial investigation DID find a butt-print on her balcony railing.

The interview was done by the Longwood University alumni office in 2018 (I think) and includes interviews with Amy’s brother and FBI agent Erin Sheridan.

You can see the episode about Amy referenced here:

Listen Up podcast - Longwood University

www.longwood.edu

An alumna reviews it here:

Revisiting the Disappearance of Amy Bradley ’96 review

As I was listening to Part 1 of Revisiting the Disappearance of Amy Bradley ’96, I was intrigued by the way sequence of events unfolded on the day of her disappearance.

www.longwood.edu

Unfortunately I can’t actually find the dang thing now - its not in itunes, etc, nor on their site.

If anyone could dig it up that’d be great!

 

[justbeachy]

There’s a podcast out there with the FBI agent who got Amy relisted on the FBI’s site (I’ll see if I can dig it up).

Basically, she said she was a new agent when Amy disappeared and was only associated with the case a short time. Twenty years later, she was in a position to take another look. She had the new poster made and relisted. But, she said they were never able to confirm other sightings, and that the initial investigation DID find a butt-print on her balcony railing.

The interview was done by the Longwood University alumni office in 2018 (I think) and includes interviews with Amy’s brother and FBI agent Erin Sheridan.

You can see the episode about Amy referenced here:

Listen Up podcast - Longwood University

www.longwood.edu

An alumna reviews it here:

Revisiting the Disappearance of Amy Bradley ’96 review

As I was listening to Part 1 of Revisiting the Disappearance of Amy Bradley ’96, I was intrigued by the way sequence of events unfolded on the day of her disappearance.

www.longwood.edu

Unfortunately I can’t actually find the dang thing now - its not in itunes, etc, nor on their site.

If anyone could dig it up that’d be great!

This is the first I've heard of a butt-print on her balcony railing. That would certainly give weight to the theory that she fell overboard. They were close to shore at that point, though, and she was a trained lifeguard. Also, if I remember correctly, her family said she was terrified of the balcony's edge and would have her father or brother stand with her if she was close to it. I have no link for that...I think I heard it most recently on a podcast (I believe it was an episode of the "From the Dark Side" podcast). In any case, if that is accurate, it seems very odd that she would sit on the balcony railing.

Ugh. I'd love for this to be solved. This is one of the cases that will always linger with me. Trenton Duckett is another.

 

[nannymo]

I followed this case years ago also. I have always believed she was kidnapped. Remember the navy officer that she supposedly talked to in thew bar? Also the woman in the bathroom? Those stories always convinced me she was alive and being handled. I always thought she was used to have babies to adopt out. Just my imagination running wild. I wish we could find the truth here.

I think bad things can happen on a cruise ship easily. They are in international waters and the only law is the law of the country whose flag the ship is flying under. No one is responsible or will do much about a crime committed.

I have a friend whose beautiful 16 year old daughter "disappeared" from a teens party on a cruise ship. The kids were not allowed to leave except with parents. The girl did not drink, liquor was not allowed at the party. She was found later in the hallway of the employees only section of the ship, drugged and passed out. She could never tell her parents what happened. They never went on a cruise again. She was never a drinker or party girl after that either, which made one wonder what happened. I don't trust cruise lines. BTW-the captain and crew would not help look for her. She was missing for over 3 hours.

 

[neesaki]

This is the first I've heard of a butt-print on her balcony railing. That would certainly give weight to the theory that she fell overboard. They were close to shore at that point, though, and she was a trained lifeguard. Also, if I remember correctly, her family said she was terrified of the balcony's edge and would have her father or brother stand with her if she was close to it. I have no link for that...I think I heard it most recently on a podcast (I believe it was an episode of the "From the Dark Side" podcast). In any case, if that is accurate, it seems very odd that she would sit on the balcony railing.

Ugh. I'd love for this to be solved. This is one of the cases that will always linger with me. Trenton Duckett is another.

I don’t recall anything about a butt print either.

 

[cenazoic]

I first heard about the buttprint on the now (ironically) missing podcast mentioned above.

That said, it was Amy Bradley who brought me to WS to begin with. I came in full of thoughts about Yellow, Jas, trafficking, the sightings, and all the rest.

I spent my first week here reading through all of Amy’s threads. Towards the end, another user started a project where she tried to confirm all the various “facts” about the case, using only MSM reporting and/or interviews with Amy’s parents/brother and LEO.

It turned out that much of what is consistently reported by true crime podcasts/videos/TV shows can’t actually be substantiated via the above methods.

Another user provided a great deal of insight into trafficking and why Amy was a very unlikely candidate for such.

I ended up coming away from it a convert to the idea that the simplest explanation was the most likely: she fell overboard.

This annoyed me to no end because the overboard proponents were always so smug and dismissive about alternative theories!

I still maintain some space for those alternative theories, but in general the two sleuths above made a very convincing case.

When I get a minute, I’ll see if I can dig out the particular posts/user names, and maybe take another look around for the Longwood podcast. It really gave some additional insight into the FBI’s thinking circa 2018.

 

[neesaki]

This has a video with agent Sheridan speaking, though only briefly.

AMY LYNN BRADLEY | Federal Bureau of Investigation

March 24, 1998

www.fbi.gov

 

[neesaki]

This is the first I've heard of a butt-print on her balcony railing. That would certainly give weight to the theory that she fell overboard. They were close to shore at that point, though, and she was a trained lifeguard. Also, if I remember correctly, her family said she was terrified of the balcony's edge and would have her father or brother stand with her if she was close to it. I have no link for that...I think I heard it most recently on a podcast (I believe it was an episode of the "From the Dark Side" podcast). In any case, if that is accurate, it seems very odd that she would sit on the balcony railing.

Ugh. I'd love for this to be solved. This is one of the cases that will always linger with me. Trenton Duckett is another.

Also, a butt print… so she was nude? I highly doubt that, with her family right there! Even if, it could also have been from a previous passenger. I somewhat doubt they bother to wipe down those railings thoroughly or very often. Jmo

 

[cenazoic]

Not nude(?), just an indication someone had been sitting there.

For sure you can make a reasonable argument that it would difficult to prove who it belonged to! But it was suggestive, and would explain: missing cigs, no shoes, no one hearing her leave, her father being awakened by a ‘noise’.

 

[IDK]

IMO, I have never heard mention of a butt print on the railing in any MSM or FBI notifications. Even if it were mentioned in a podcast, I would not necessarily consider that solid evidence. Again, my opinion only.

 

[ArianeEmory]

This annoyed me to no end because the overboard proponents were always so smug and dismissive about alternative theories!

Haha, I’m probably one of those people. But whatever personality trait draws people to conspiracies and overly complicated explanations, I have the opposite trait (which still isn’t always correct).

Anyway, the reason I think trafficking is a reach is mostly because I know a lot about cruise ships. People fall or jump overboard with distressing frequency. A few months ago, my favorite cruise line had a death because a passenger was climbing or leaning off her balcony to get a good selfie, and fell several floors down to a deck below. :/

 

[dotr]

''6 years ago
A reward of up to $25,000 is available for information leading to the resolution of the case of missing Virginia woman Amy Lynn Bradley, who was last seen while on a cruise in 1998''

 

[neesaki]

Not nude(?), just an indication someone had been sitting there.

For sure you can make a reasonable argument that it would difficult to prove who it belonged to! But it was suggestive, and would explain: missing cigs, no shoes, no one hearing her leave, her father being awakened by a ‘noise’.

Someone educate me… could there be a recognizable butt print if not skin surface against the rail? I mean as far as I know they can’t get finger prints if the hands are inside glove.

 

[cenazoic]

No, but they can still tell if a mark was left by a gloved hand.

Buttprints, to my knowledge, are not individual like fingerprints.

That word was probably a poor choice on my part; what agent Sheridan indicated was that there was evidence of someone sitting on the rail. You can see that in something like a bed - sit on it, and it likely leaves a trace, nude or no.

It’s a good question though - was there dust on the rail that made it apparent? I can also envision just sweating through shorts or whatever, leaving a residue behind. (If you ever spend a summer in Louisiana you’ll know how easy/often that happens!)

 

[IDK]

DBM

 

[fridaybaker]

I agree. There were too many hinky things that went on. But sadly also doubt she’s still alive after all this time. They may have decided she had become too much of a liability.
Do you recall the Couple who was arrested for trafficking… re the guy who looked just like the depiction on the FBI site on Amys case?

I've been off the thread for awhile, but I am going to go back and see if I can find that info. It will likely take awhile, since much of the threads and media are so old.

 

[branmuffin]

I've read this brief thread but haven't gone through the archived ones yet. I'm just trying to get a handle on the sleeping arrangements for the Bradley family. Did the whole family sleep in one cabin or did they have another one?

I've cruised quite a bit and met families that have more than one stateroom or cabin. Many times, the kids are in an inside cabin, meaning one without windows, portholes or balcony, that is directly across from the adults/parent's cabin that has a balcony. It's the best of both world since the kids can access the balcony when the parents are there to supervise. However, we're not talking about young teens or preteens, we're talking about two adult children, and big adults at that. I just can't see four big adults sharing a cabin for 10 days, even if you spend most of your time on deck or on land. It would be pretty tight for four adults.

Most cruise ships want to have happy passengers. Most of the rules onboard ship are related to the passenger's wellbeing and to protect the cruise lines for possible lawsuits. Some of those rules are not allowing passengers to bring their own alcohol onboard. That serves them in two ways; they make money off all the booze passengers buy on board and it's one less issue to be saddled with if a passenger drinks from a private stash over and above what they purchased on board. Drunk people can engage in the same dangerous and reckless behaviors on board as they do on land. Unfortunately there are websites devoted on how to bypass those rules and some people are still successful in bringing their own alcohol on board. And I have to say, back in 1998 I don't believe the regulations were as stringent as they are now. People regularly brought their own alcohol on board because it was easier to fool security.

Another rule is having railings on board high enough (legal height must be at least 1 metre but most ships are higher than that, usually around 45 or 48 inches. If you ever see pictures of passengers on board looking over the railings they are usually resting their elbows on the railing. Most railings above waist height deter any accidental falling. I've been on a ship where a guy jumped up on the railing, and briefly hung on to a huge steel riveted beam running diagonally up to the next deck. He jumped down right away but I think if any security saw him do that, he would have been escorted off the ship at the next port of call.

When people are referring to ship staff engaging with Amy are they talking about the bass player from the band or a bartender or steward, someone of that nature? Do we know whether the band was based in the US or were they based out of one of the ports of call? I've been on ships where some of the entertainers debark at one of the ports of call since that is where they are based or live.

Unfortunately some of the links have disappeared that posters refer to, so the info for new posters is sparse. Right now, I'm going to say I'm following Occam's Razor at the moment and go with the theory she fell/jumped/was pushed/or engaging in activity that resulted in her going overboard. Misadventure is very unfortunate but if she was engaging in an activity that included another person then I'd have to know why they never came forward.

Chris Fenwick's blog from 2010 raises some questions about the tape and individuals who were interested in it. It hasn't been updated since then as far as I can tell.