VA - Amy Bradley, 23, Petersburg, 24 March 1998 - #1

[otto]

I watched the two documentaries. Each mentions a guy from the band, but I'm left wondering what race the guy is because it is different in each documentary. I would have expected that this fact would remain the same between the documentaries.

I come away understanding that Amy was partying until after 4 in the morning, then went to her room and sat on the balcony with her brother. He went to bed. At 5:30, her father opened his eyes and thought he saw her legs on the balcony ... per one of the documentaries. The other says that he got up and checked on her. At 6 he did get up an check on her, but she wasn't there. If she walked past the bed between 5:30 and 6, and her father was partially awake, why didn't he notice?

She was afraid of the water and didn't want to get close to the railing. Still, she wanted to stay on the balcony after her brother went to bed because she wasn't feeling well ... perhaps too much to drink, but according to the brother ... a little sea sick after leaving Aruba. If she'd had too much to drink, was overtired and disoriented, I think she could have gone over the railing.

 

[FindAmy]

I watched the two documentaries. Each mentions a guy from the band, but I'm left wondering what race the guy is because it is different in each documentary. I would have expected that this fact would remain the same between the documentaries.

I come away understanding that Amy was partying until after 4 in the morning, then went to her room and sat on the balcony with her brother. He went to bed. At 5:30, her father opened his eyes and thought he saw her legs on the balcony ... per one of the documentaries. The other says that he got up and checked on her. At 6 he did get up an check on her, but she wasn't there. If she walked past the bed between 5:30 and 6, and her father was partially awake, why didn't he notice?

She was afraid of the water and didn't want to get close to the railing. Still, she wanted to stay on the balcony after her brother went to bed because she wasn't feeling well ... perhaps too much to drink, but according to the brother ... a little sea sick after leaving Aruba. If she'd had too much to drink, was overtired and disoriented, I think she could have gone over the railing.

Alister Douglas is from Grenada. I can't comment on the accuracy of a documentary.

Amy was with her brother in the disco. They were not drunk. They won a limbo contest, they were having fun in the disco, and they returned to the family suite.

Amy did have problems feeling seasick. She was not "afraid of water". She was a lifeguard and a swimming instructor.

There is a floor plan of the family suite below. I don't know why Ron didn't hear her leave.

If she had fallen overboard, it would be a little difficult for her to have been seen in various places over the years. The railings on the balconies are very high.

 

[JaimeSommers]

I personally don't believe that Amy was kidnapped for prostitution.

Asking this solely out of curiosity -- and if you can't answer, I understand: If you don't believe Amy was kidnapped for prostitution, for what do you believe she was kidnapped? Forcing her to be a drug mule? TIA and thanks for all you do for this family. Have been following Amy's story since it happened.

 

[FindAmy]

Asking this solely out of curiosity -- and if you can't answer, I understand: If you don't believe Amy was kidnapped for prostitution, for what do you believe she was kidnapped? Forcing her to be a drug mule? TIA and thanks for all you do for this family. Have been following Amy's story since it happened.

There's just no way for us to know for certain. I don't believe that she was kidnapped for prostitution because it just doesn't even make sense, especially after hearing statements from the witnesses who have seen her. There are so many different things that an American woman could be forced to do in a captive or servitude situation. I think we really have to think outside of the box and even then, we won't know for certain until Amy can tell us. I do believe that there is a lot more going on in the Caribbean than most Americans are aware of. I believe that Amy was chosen in advance and that her kidnapping was well planned.

 

[EXIA15145]

Has scientific analysis been done by experts to confirm that these new photos are indeed Amy?

Yes, it was done by the FBI.

What did the FBI say and would you link it please?

 

[EXIA15145]

Amy's website

http://www.amybradley.net/


Amy's reward poster

http://www.amybradley.net/reward.htm



FBI

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/amy-bradley



Amy's Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Help-Find-Amy-Bradley/225913974085653

Since the links at the beginning of the thread didn't work, it was great to see someone had added some here. I refer to posts #5 and #6.

 

[FindAmy]

What did the FBI say and would you link it please?

The FBI did not give an official statement, so there is no link.

 

[Fukiyama]

FindAmy, you've mentioned that the family has information that leads them to believe Amy was to be abducted the night before when the ship was at Aruba and the waiters invited her to go ashore and visit Carlos&Charlie's. Given that place's importance in the Natalee Holloway case and the Bradleys' information, has there ever been to your knowledge a full investigation of the ownership of Carlos&Charlie's? Could the club's owners be in any way involved or is the club just a convenient place due to its popularity among tourists?

 

[FindAmy]

FindAmy, you've mentioned that the family has information that leads them to believe Amy was to be abducted the night before when the ship was at Aruba and the waiters invited her to go ashore and visit Carlos&Charlie's. Given that place's importance in the Natalee Holloway case and the Bradleys' information, has there ever been to your knowledge a full investigation of the ownership of Carlos&Charlie's? Could the club's owners be in any way involved or is the club just a convenient place due to its popularity among tourists?

Amy's family does believe that she was supposed to have disappeared the night before in Aruba. This is not an official position. The family's opinion is based on the sequence of events that occured and some unusual things that Iva and Ron experienced. It certainly would have been easier for the kidnappers if she had disappeared in Aruba, the night before.

I don't know if Carlos and Charlies has ever been investigated. I do know that the club has changed names, but the owners could still be the same. The name was changed to Senor Frogs after Natalee disappeared. The owners could be somehow involved or it could be convenient because of it's location in the center of that very busy area. Curacao and Aruba are not under any authority from the United States and their law enforcement does not have a very good reputation. I think they are pretty much useless. I doubt that the owners were ever investigated. Tourism is too important to Aruba and Curacao. Carlos and Charlies was never officially part of Amy's investigation because she didn't leave the ship and go to the club with the waiters. She disappeared from the cruise ship and not from the club.

 

[FindAmy]

Iva Bradley feels there are several things which make her feel that Amy's kidnapping was planned in advance. She thinks the behavior from the waiter was overly attentive and Ron felt that it was inappropriate for the waiter to ask Amy to go to the club in Aruba. Crew members aren't allowed to hang out with the passengers.

The day before Amy disappeared, the Bradley family had been part of a special dinner and the photographer was there to take pictures. When Amy and Iva went to see the photographs, everyone's photographs were there except Amy's. Someone had taken all of Amy's photographs off of the display. They had simply disappeared. The photographer had no idea what happened to the photographs and he assured Iva that he would make new ones. He gave Iva a receipt for the pictures. She still has the receipt.

Iva also recalls that she saw a man watching Amy prior to her disappearance. Iva recalled that she had looked up several times and she had seen a man staring at Amy. Iva has no idea if he was a passenger or a member of the crew.

 

[Wondergirl]

The Canadians did not immediately report the sighting of Amy with Alister Douglas. They delayed the reports until they were back in Canada. Our FBI has limited authority in these foreign countries and usually only by invitation. The FBI can't arrest someone because a Canadian reported seeing the person with Amy Bradley in Curacao, after the fact. Alister Douglas was questioned by the FBI when Amy disappeared from the cruise ship. He is the last person who was seen with Amy. His polygraph was not conclusive. There has never been any proof or evidence that Amy was actually kidnapped from Rhapsody of the Seas, so Alister Douglas has never been arrested for kidnapping or trafficking. Alister Douglas was fired from Royal Caribbean after Amy disappeared. It is so very important to make the report to the authorities, immediately.

There are a number of possible reasons why an American woman could be kidnapped in the Caribbean. I can't really discuss some of these reasons, at this point. Prostitution is legal in most of those Caribbean countries. Why would someone take the tremendous risk to kidnap an American woman? There are plenty of women available for prostitution in the Caribbean and Amy would have been useless as a prostitute after just a few years. Amy is a high profile kidnapping. Kidnapping Amy as a drug mule doesn't make a lot of sense. There is no shortage of people willing to be paid as a drug mule.


The information that I have discussed about sightings has been available to the public for years. Much of it was included on Vanished. The Barbados witness was interviewed on Vanished by Beth Holloway. Tim Buckholz described Alister Douglas on Vanished. The Porto Marie sighting was featured on Vanished. America's Most Wanted did a special on Amy several years ago. Dr. Phil did a special about Amy and included most of the sightings with information about the escort resort in Venezuela. Dr. Phil released the escort photographs on his program. The FBI has had the artist sketches posted on their website for at least nine or ten years. A number of the news and cable programs have done specials on Amy's disappearance and for several years her disappearance was featured in various magazines and newspapers. The Bradleys have been interviewed many times. The Porto Marie and Barbados witnesses have spoken on radio programs. These sightings aren't new information at all. Amy disappeared several years before the missing persons forums developed on the Internet, so she didn't get a lot of the coverage that missing persons get now. The Chief Petty Officer who saw Amy in the Curacao brothel has not spoken publicly because he is uncomfortable that he didn't make a report after Amy had told him who she was and asked for his help. He waited to make the report because the brothel was off limits and he was married at the time. He's the only witness who hasn't spoken publicly or hasn't been interviewed for some form of the media. Google Amy's name and read the articles.

These sightings of Amy were not mistaken identities. There have been very specific things that have validated Amy as the person who was seen. The Bradleys receive many reports that turn out to be mistaken identities. These sightings, however, were Amy.

Articles about Amy


http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/24/bp.00.html

http://tomflocco.com/fs/CaribSexTrafficking.htm

http://www.visionandpsych....net/Missing_Students.htm

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9402797/

http://www.amw.com/missin...persons/case.cfm?id=24282

http://sec-global.com/ser.../ctp/vsg/news/030626.html

http://www.amybradley.net/story.htm

http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/bradley…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Lynn_Bradley

http://chrisfenwick.com/home/2010/3/1/amy-bradley-is-missing.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=831761&page=2

http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/LatestMemberStories/Amy_Lynn_Bradley.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8143921/

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/cruiseship_030626.html

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=831761&page=1

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,628138,00.html

http://25missingpersons.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=amybradley&action=display&thread=65

www.amw.com.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10086587/

http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/623/

http://www.richmond.com/output.aspx?article_id=1667

http://www.richmond.com/output.aspx?article_id=1668

http://www.richmond.com/output.aspx?article_id=1669

http://stopsylvia.com/articles/email_facetoface.shtml

Amy Lynn Bradley-Missing from Cruise ship, 3/24/98 - Help Find The Missing

http://25missingpersons.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=amybradley&action=display&thread=65

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9402797/

http://www.internationalcruisevictims.or....nn_Bradley.html

http://www.blogtalkradio....arch/Amy Bradley case

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/...of-missing-chesterfield-woman-skep-ar-750815/

BBM: I understand that this information is not new, and has been out in the public for years and years, but, honestly, this is the first I have heard of it, this month, and that's why I was SO shocked when I came on Amy's thread last week!

I consider myself well read, and I didn't know ANY of these details.

I am sure there are others who do not know.

I always remembered the name "Amy", that she disappeared on a cruise ship, and her beautiful, wholesome, All-American photo.

Bumping these posts for Amy.

 

[danzn16]

Iva Bradley feels there are several things which make her feel that Amy's kidnapping was planned in advance. She thinks the behavior from the waiter was overly attentive and Ron felt that it was inappropriate for the waiter to ask Amy to go to the club in Aruba. Crew members aren't allowed to hang out with the passengers.

The day before Amy disappeared, the Bradley family had been part of a special dinner and the photographer was there to take pictures. When Amy and Iva went to see the photographs, everyone's photographs were there except Amy's. Someone had taken all of Amy's photographs off of the display. They had simply disappeared. The photographer had no idea what happened to the photographs and he assured Iva that he would make new ones. He gave Iva a receipt for the pictures. She still has the receipt.

Iva also recalls that she saw a man watching Amy prior to her disappearance. Iva recalled that she had looked up several times and she had seen a man staring at Amy. Iva has no idea if he was a passenger or a member of the crew.

I remember reading that the Bradley's had won the cruise trip? Is this correct? If so, do you believe that it could have been planned even before Amy stepped on the cruise ship?

 

[Wondergirl]

Iva Bradley feels there are several things which make her feel that Amy's kidnapping was planned in advance. She thinks the behavior from the waiter was overly attentive and Ron felt that it was inappropriate for the waiter to ask Amy to go to the club in Aruba. Crew members aren't allowed to hang out with the passengers.

The day before Amy disappeared, the Bradley family had been part of a special dinner and the photographer was there to take pictures. When Amy and Iva went to see the photographs, everyone's photographs were there except Amy's. Someone had taken all of Amy's photographs off of the display. They had simply disappeared. The photographer had no idea what happened to the photographs and he assured Iva that he would make new ones. He gave Iva a receipt for the pictures. She still has the receipt.

Iva also recalls that she saw a man watching Amy prior to her disappearance. Iva recalled that she had looked up several times and she had seen a man staring at Amy. Iva has no idea if he was a passenger or a member of the crew.

BBM: Did Iva ever get the photos of Amy? Perhaps it wasn't just the pictures of Amy that were wanted, but, the pictures of those in the background?

Has there ever been a mass appeal for those passengers on Rhapsody of the Seas in 1998 to send pictures or video to the Bradley's? That is very common in today's cases, for requests of such a nature to be made to the public in the area of someone who has been taken.

 

[FindAmy]

I remember reading that the Bradley's had won the cruise trip? Is this correct? If so, do you believe that it could have been planned even before Amy stepped on the cruise ship?

Ron Bradley is an Insurance Agent. An Insurance Company had awarded this trip to Insurance Agents. The Bradleys were there with a group of other Insurance Agents.

I guess it's possible that the kidnapping was planned before the cruise, but I personally don't think so.

 

[FindAmy]

BBM: Did Iva ever get the photos of Amy? Perhaps it wasn't just the pictures of Amy that were wanted, but, the pictures of those in the background?

Has there ever been a mass appeal for those passengers on Rhapsody of the Seas in 1998 to send pictures or video to the Bradley's? That is very common in today's cases, for requests of such a nature to be made to the public in the area of someone who has been taken.

No, Iva never got the pictures of Amy, but she still has the receipt. I wouldn't be surprised if the FBI has them and of course, they will never admit it.

I'm not aware of any efforts to send videos or photos to the Bradleys.

 

[FindAmy]

Wondergirl said a few posts back that she had never heard of some of the sightings and the information about Amy's disappearance. Thank you, Wondergirl for bumping those links to articles, magazines, and programs. I hope the links still work.


I think the reason why so many people don't know the details of Amy's disappearance is because she disappeared in 1998. The Internet forums hadn't really started and missing persons weren't getting the coverage and discussion that they get today. Amy was featured in some major magazines like People and there were several special programs about her disappearance, but she just wasn't covered the way she would be today. Amy was part of America's Most Wanted, but it was years ago.

Most people have forgotten what Amy looks like, although most people do remember her name and that she disappeared from a cruise ship. A lot of the people who are traveling to the Caribbean now, were children when Amy disappeared. This is the reason why it's important to her family to have Amy's face familiar to everyone, again. I have no doubt that many, many people have seen Amy. They just don't recognize her.

 

[smile22]

new to this case so sad that the cruise ship refused to do anything i am supposed to go on a cruise in january out of la to mexico and reading this is making me very scared. i do have in place plans to be back on the ship an hr before dark, and to be aware of all my surroundings


has any more info surfaced since the last sighting i know you cant release much but maybe just a yes or a no. do the fbi belive she is still alive?

 

[FindAmy]

new to this case so sad that the cruise ship refused to do anything i am supposed to go on a cruise in january out of la to mexico and reading this is making me very scared. i do have in place plans to be back on the ship an hr before dark, and to be aware of all my surroundings


has any more info surfaced since the last sighting i know you cant release much but maybe just a yes or a no. do the fbi belive she is still alive?

The Bradleys absolutely believe Amy is alive, as do I. Amy's case is not a cold case. It is current and active.







Enjoy your cruise. Cruises can be so much fun. Just please be very careful. Be aware of your surroundings and be careful not to do anything reckless. Let someone know where you will be at all times and I do hope you aren't traveling alone.


There hasn't been any information released about sightings since the Barbados sighting in 2005. It's really important to keep newer information confidential because it can effect Amy's safety and the integrity of the case. Details from older sightings and sometimes other information hasn't been released, either.

I'm sorry that I can't give you a better answer, but we have to keep Amy safe.

 

[~n/t~]

It's so important to remember this sketch and the photograph.

I am just now reading up on Amy's story. Can you tell us where that sketch comes from? Why is it important? Is it because of the hairstyle? Also, you mentioned you don't think she was taken for prostitution but yet the family believes she was targeted in advance. On the Dr. Phil show they had a photo of a woman alleged to be Amy and it appears the woman is posing in a sexual position (don't know what other phrase to use). It would appear that if it is Amy, then prostitution or sex slavery is a real possibilty (??)

I looked up crimes in Curacao and this is what was on the US Government site:

CRIME: The crime threat in Curaçao is generally considered low although travelers should always take normal precautions when in unfamiliar surroundings. Drug smuggling and trafficking in persons continue to be issues in Curaçao. Drug smuggling, in particular, has been significantly reduced through intensive cooperation among U.S., Dutch, Curaçao and international law enforcement authorities.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_5430.html

Drug smuggling and human trafficking seem to be the crimes. I understand "out of the box" thinking but if Amy was a young child then kidnapping for illegal adoption would make sense but Amy was 23 (??)

*advertiser censored*, maybe?

 

[rosesfromangels]

Royal Caribbean has not been helpful at all to the Bradleys.

That's the blasted cruise I just took - the Oasis of the Seas ship. This is very coincidental that I came across your thread having just taken this ship. My husband admonished me several times to not go get a snack in the middle of the night or wander about in isolated areas. I did notice a fairly visible security force on each deck, so maybe they have improved. That said, as I mentioned in a previous post, these cruise ships are not held to U.S. laws? That is what I have been told. I have also been told that they don't properly screen their help and that they jump on and off at ports. Again, I don't know if this info is correct, but I wouldn't doubt it. I would have to say that after just being on one of their cruises, the whole thing kinda gave me the creeps. Too many sketchy people working on the ship, and the majority are men. (Nothing against men, but it's always healthier to have a balance).

Thank you for setting me straight on Amy and her status that evening, and overall. She apparently was an exceptional young lady with a very bright future. I'm so sorry her family has had to deal with all the scam artists, but it doesn't surprise me. Perhaps they can hire some old hard boiled retired police detective to help them get closure. I haven't watched all the clips or read through all the thread, but I know that in missing persons cases people tend to start stretching their imaginations when no answers are forthcoming. From following cases on Websleuths, it seems like the reality is usually alot less fantastic than our imaginations.

One thing in common with most of these cases is that it's very difficult to find human remains, and certainly that is compounded at sea. If you think about it, these cruise ships are perfect hunting grounds for Predators; and they have easy disposal for their spoils. Sorry to be so direct, but it's the truth.

Has the family appealed to whoever the Captain of that ship was at the time of sailing? (If he is still allive). I suspect he knows what happened that night, or what they have ruled out.

Sending love, prayers, and strength to Amy's family. Never, ever give up.
God Bless