VA - Amy Bradley, 23, Petersburg, 24 March 1998 - #3

[Hiandmighty]

Again, I question that those sketches are by Wesley Neville because if you search his sketches you will see his signature on all of them as part of the sketch on the bottom right hand part of the neck. These sketches don't have his signature. Just pointing out my observations.

 

[Murkywaters]

Again, I question that those sketches are by Wesley Neville because if you search his sketches you will see his signature on all of them as part of the sketch on the bottom right hand part of the neck. These sketches don't have his signature. Just pointing out my observations.

Who said the F.B.I sketch artist was Wesley Neville? and there has been sketches of his which hasn't included his signature.

 

[Hiandmighty]

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


FBI found evidence of someone having sat on her balcony, but no evidence she fell in or jumped. (Evidence would be blood like George smith or a witness,etc). It is possible she went overboard and there would be no evidence.)

Interesting because I have never see anyone bring that point up here that FBI (according to this article) found evidence (she?) someone sat on the balcony railing.

 

[Dushi]

. He told us that every nook and cranny of the ship had been searched for Amy.

The following day, while we were in a hotel in Curacao, the F.B.I. informed us that the search only included the common areas and restrooms.

Knowing the ship had not been entirely searched; we flew from Curacao, met the ship in St. Maarten and re-boarded on Thursday (March 26th).

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


What has changed since this statement that makes people believe the ship was thoroughly searched?

 

[Fukiyama]

A technical aside: Searching for user name FindAmy (the VI) doesn't work for me using Thread Search or Forum Search for some reason. But going to the profile for FindAmy, I was able to find all posts by that user.

In case anyone else is having this problem, I thought I'd share. Beats having to skim threads for posts if you're looking for info.

 

[Hiandmighty]

http://unsolved.com/archives/amy-bradley

"She said she hadn't been feeling too well because of the motion of the boat since we left Aruba that evening. So she said she was gonna just to stay out there and get some fresh air."

(Amy's family speaking of Amy on the balcony of the morning of 24 March 1998.)


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

"the FBI found marks on the ship's balcony railing consistent with someone having sat on it"

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/Senate2013.pdf

"Data also indicates there is sufficient number of cases of persons going overboard when they are intoxicated. In two known cases the person was bending over the railing while throwing-up over the side of the ship. This is further reason for raising railing height, but also reinforces the need for stringent rules for the responsible service of alcohol; not just training, but practice."


It appears Amy was intoxicated and nauseated/sea sick from the motion of the boat (which indicates seas were a little rough). FBI found evidence someone sat on the balcony. There are documented cases of people going overboard while throwing up from the balcony railing.

 

[88keys]

I wonder what kind of evidence supports someone "sitting" on a balcony?

 

[Hiandmighty]

I thought about salt spray. But I don't think that would pan out. When the seas are on the rough side and you have a balcony, you get a noticeable coat of sea salt on the balcony railing. So maybe there was a coat of salt except none in the shape of a butt?

But the quote is that they found "marks" so I don't think they are talking about salt.

 

[marie-chantal]

I wonder what kind of evidence supports someone "sitting" on a balcony?

That's a good question. I wonder if the balcony railing was a polished wood or other porous material? If so, they could have noticed smudge marks that would be consistent with clothing and pressure from legs/rear-end.

Regarding the article where Amy's mom says that Amy mentioned not feeling well it makes me wonder if Amy did ever actually leave the room? I know that when I have motion sickness, I stay put. I wouldn't go walking around on the boat.

 

[Hiandmighty]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19980327&id=azQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4ggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2506,4843224

The ship was ten miles off shore when Amy was reported missing.

"The ship was ten miles off Willemstad."

http://www.ctsi.net/amy/

"She was reported missing at 7 a.m., when the ship, the Rhapsody of the Seas, was 10 miles south of Willemstad, Curaco."


The ship was likely farther than ten miles away from shore when she fell in. But since ten miles is the point where she was known to be missing, let'a talk about ten miles offshore:

Ten miles is in open water; land would perhaps been seen in the distance, or maybe not. Ten miles offshore is a survival challenge if you fall in the water. "Trained lifeguard" means nothing at this point because you can't swim that far and Amy would have known it. If this would happen, you float, conserve energy, float and wait to be rescued. No one on the boat knew she went over and she had no whistle or flotation device. It appears the water was rough as Amy seemed to be seasick. It would also have been dark:

https://www.timezoneguide.com/sunrise-sunset-day-Netherlands_Antilles_Curacao-1-03-513xml.html

Sunrise in Curaso on March 1 (closest I could find to the 24th) is 6:55 a.m. So even by the time her dad discovered her missing (6:15 am ish), it was still dark.


Also remember the water temperature and hypothermia and alcohol vasodilation and dehydration.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19980327&id=azQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4ggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2506,4843224

"Bradley, a trained lifeguard, may have fallen from the balcony of the family's cabin on the ship's eighth deck, Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard Lt. Sjoerd Soethout said yesterday."


The Fall off the Balcony narrative is there in the historical record if you look for it.

 

[marie-chantal]

I wonder if the area the ship was in at the time she went missing was searched? I've read that the waters near the port were searched.

 

[Hiandmighty]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19980327&id=azQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4ggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2506,4843224

The ship was ten miles off shore when Amy was reported missing.

"The ship was ten miles off Willemstad."

http://www.ctsi.net/amy/

"She was reported missing at 7 a.m., when the ship, the Rhapsody of the Seas, was 10 miles south of Willemstad, Curaco."


The ship was likely farther than ten miles away from shore when she fell in. But since ten miles is the point where she was known to be missing, let'a talk about ten miles offshore:

Ten miles is in open water; land would perhaps been seen in the distance, or maybe not. Ten miles offshore is a survival challenge if you fall in the water. "Trained lifeguard" means nothing at this point because you can't swim that far and Amy would have known it. If this would happen, you float, conserve energy, float and wait to be rescued. No one on the boat knew she went over and she had no whistle or flotation device. It appears the water was rough as Amy seemed to be seasick. It would also have been dark:

https://www.timezoneguide.com/sunrise-sunset-day-Netherlands_Antilles_Curacao-1-03-513xml.html

Sunrise in Curaso on March 1 (closest I could find to the 24th) is 6:55 a.m. So even by the time her dad discovered her missing (6:15 am ish), it was still dark.


Also remember the water temperature and hypothermia and alcohol vasodilation and dehydration.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=19980327&id=azQzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4ggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2506,4843224

"Bradley, a trained lifeguard, may have fallen from the balcony of the family's cabin on the ship's eighth deck, Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard Lt. Sjoerd Soethout said yesterday."


The Fall off the Balcony narrative is there in the historical record if you look for it.

(Edited the above post to add the info about sunrise)

 

[88keys]

I've been browsing through the old threads and reading some of the info that was posted in the past. A couple of things give me pause with regards to the "overboard" theory.

This is a direct quote from Ron Bradley. I believe it came from the Unsolved Mysteries segment. The original link with the post was from the UM page, but it's not longer a good link.

On their third night at sea, Amy and her brother, Brad, partied long and hard. Neither returned to the family's cabin until 3:40 A.M. Amy's dad, Ron, said he woke up when she came in and said she was going to sleep on the balcony:

"She said she hadn't been feeling too well because of the motion of the boat since we left Aruba that evening. So she said she was gonna just to stay out there and get some fresh air."

The next time Ron woke up, Brad had gone to bed and Amy was asleep on the balcony:

"I could see Amy's legs from her hips down. She looks like she was resting comfortably. I dozed back off to sleep. The balcony door was closed, because if it hadn't been closed, I would have gotten up and closed it."

"About 6:00am, something awoke me again. I got up, looked out on the balcony and the balcony door was open about 14-16 inches and Amy wasn't on the deck. And I had a little funny feeling at that time, because it was unlike her to be up that early in the morning."

The Bradleys began to piece together Amy's last hours on board the ship. She left the balcony between 5:30 and 6 a.m. They know she changed her clothes. They know she took her cigarettes. But they don't know where she was going.

If she fell overboard, why would the door be open? She could have dropped the smokes, I guess. But why would she change clothes? And how did her family know she had changed clothes?

Also, I'm a little bothered by the eyewitness sightings. I know that eyewitness sightings are one of the least reliable pieces of evidence, and I usually discount them as such. But we have men on the beach who saw Amy and her distinctive tattoos. I mean, what are the odds that another woman with her basic description would have a gecko and a Taz tattoo? Also, two separate witnesses said Amy identified herself by name, and one said she told her she was from Virginia. Those are pretty specific sightings, and a little hard for me to dismiss outright.

 

[Hiandmighty]

http://missingpersonsnetwork.org/20...y-of-missing-woman-amy-lynn-bradley-part-two/

"Jones sent them a picture of a young woman on a beach accompanied by the ‘mysterious’ man with long blond hair and tattoos. The woman was wearing a long-brimmed hat, making it difficult to see her face but the tattoos, one of a baby Tasmanian devil and a symbol on her ankle, jumped out of the picture at Amy’s family."

"Meanwhile, in Curacao, one of Jones team, Timothy Buckholz, a former Army Special Forces sniper, began to wonder if Jones was telling Amy’s parents the truth. Buckholz had been assigned to head up surveillance at the location where Jones had said Amy was under armed guard however, Buckholz had only observed what appeared to be an ordinary family living at the location. While at a bar, Buckholz overheard Jones on the phone telling the Bradleys that the location was under constant surveillance and ‘his men’ were watching the house at that very moment. Buckholz then suspected Jones was conning Amy’s family and immediately contacted the Bradleys to expose Jones."

"Utter devastation followed when the Bradleys were informed by Buckholz, that Jones had never served in the Special Forces and had fabricated the entire story, even the photograph of the woman they thought was their daughter was deceptive."

"Later, Jono Senk, who had been working with Jones, told authorities he wore a blond wig, posing as the kidnapper. According to Senk they staged the photograph on a Pensacola beach with a young woman who resembled Amy and was an acquaintance of Jones. They even went to the extent of having two temporary tattoos matching Amy’s painted on the woman’s back and ankle to fool the Bradley’s into thinking it was their missing daughter."

"In February 2002, federal prosecutors in Richmond charged Jones with defrauding the Bradleys of $24,444 and the Nation’s Missing Children Organization of $186,416.00. In April 2002, Jones pleaded guilty to mail fraud, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to repay the money. Judge Richard L. Williams imposed an enhanced sentence on Joes, twice the maximum called for by federal guidelines."

 

[Hiandmighty]

I don't know about the door issue because every suite or balcony I have had has heavy automatically shutting doors. The door can't be open by itself, can't be open at all unless someone is holding it open or a Bungee cord is used I keep it open. I have no reference point about their door.

 

[Hiandmighty]

I wonder if the area the ship was in at the time she went missing was searched? I've read that the waters near the port were searched.

I have read that too about the area near the port searched. The thing is.... 10-15 miles out is not in that area and depending on the wind and currents, she could have been dragged with a current (I'm assuming she is alive at this point) even more miles away. If they only searched in the vicinity of the port, it is entirely possible they didn't even look in the correct area (which is really sad).

It took search and rescuers 4 days to find JFK jrs plane in the Atlantic, and they basically knew where to look and it was a well-sourced search and rescue effort.

 

[88keys]

That's the scammer guy. But there were two guys walking on the beach together who supposedly saw Amy and recognized her tattoos. I'll see if I can find it.

OK, apparently it was two Canadian women, not men. It's in the Wikipedia article, and I believe it was also in the Disappeared special.

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

There were possible sightings of Bradley in Curaçao in 1998 and 1999. Two Canadian tourists reported seeing a woman resembling Amy on a beach in Curaçao in 1998. The woman's tattoos were reportedly identical to Bradley's. She has a Tasmanian Devil spinning a basketball tattoo 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.[1]

 

[Hiandmighty]

Oh, so those are two different events? Hum. Wow, so much to go through with this case. Well, that link at the Wikipedia page links to the now non-existent FBI page, so not sure where to follow up on that.

Please post any links if you run across them... Thanks. I'd like to research more on this angle.

 

[dotr]

Bad things do happen sometimes on cruises, recent news..

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...ts-beating-raping-passenger-article-1.1959024

"Ex-cruise ship worker admits to beating and raping passenger on Valentine’s Day
Ketut Pujayasa, an Indonesian national, could get life in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to brutal Valentine’s Day attack on 31-year-old female passenger aboard Holland America cruise."

 

[Hiandmighty]

I found this about the brothel sighting from a former FBI profiler:

Http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8289068/ns/msnbc-the_abrams_report/t/whos-taken-our-daughter/

"The sailor's report has never been substantiated, and the reward of $260,000 remains unclaimed."