VA - Amy Bradley - missing from cruise ship, Curacao - 1998 #3

[crussell821]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1947029365445075300

Way too many pieces of information from the website and Amy’s life was cut from the documentary.

‘Alternating preferences’ seems like a pretty dismissive way of saying someone is bisexual. MOO

 

[DD Byrd]

As for the “she’s safe” comment, I took that to mean he had everyone in his family right there with him at that moment, so from his perspective, they were all “safe.” I think that comment was less about literal safety and more about the emotional peace of having your loved ones nearby.

I also think my parents would’ve reacted the same way if they woke up and I wasn’t in the room. It would’ve been completely out of character for me to leave without saying anything, so I imagine they believed the same about Am

I can see that about emotional peace in general, and it's probably true...but my impression is he said it all these years later more to set an impression that he was caring - likely to convince himself, not the cameras. Much the way the letter to the girlfriend was played off as no big deal when it seems like it was a huge deal. It would be tough to carry that burden with any missing person, and especially so if it could be a suicide. I think a lot of their pain is knowing a suicide is a definite possibility.

As for being alarmed to wake up to a missing family member, so much of that is personal to the people involved. "Out of character" is individual. Amy's portayal is somewhat fearless, or at least in no way timid, for me not the type of personality I'd worry about immediately. What made me pause is that he just saw her (feet) half an hour earlier, and admittedly was in and out of sleep himself. Wouldn't he first think "she left for coffee/a walk/to see the approaching port - and didn't want to wake us?" before "something's wrong!"? It's intimated he felt something was wrong right away. It would make more sense if he hadn't seen her since the evening before and not just a short time earlier.

 

[Chypre]

Amy was alone on the balcony after a 6 pm - 6 am night of drinking and partying. Her father woke up at 6 am to a sound that alarmed him. Amy was no longer on the balcony. The low table was pushed up against the glass railing. Her father ran around the ship looking for her, then reported her missing within the hour.

Does that sound like an abduction by a black man, two black women, or an arab man?

Respectfully, IMO in that time period some people in Virginia (and even now) going to the Caribbean with the history of diversity there would just see alot of people's skin in levels of darkness hard to describe or put nationality to. Simply a lack of experience more so than a let's blame it on trope.

 

[na19]

So if we are to believe the Scientology theory, do we have to disregard the sightings of Amy that have occurred over the years?

 

[TizerisT]

I've reserched Scientology extensively and a forced physical kidnap of a stranger would be pretty much unheard of, even by their low standards. Instead they pull their victims in by carrot-dangling, guilt tripping and brainwashing through extensive one-on-one sessions.

Thats not how they operate at all

 

[Chypre]

I've reserched Scientology extensively and a forced physical kidnap of a stranger would be pretty much unheard of, even by their low standards. Instead they pull their victims in by carrot-dangling, guilt tripping and brainwashing through extensive one-on-one sessions.

Thats not how they operate at all

Would the family Q&A count at all?

 

[TizerisT]

I don't know, but I do know that the human brain wanders farther and farther when someone is desperate for a solution and doesnt have one. I don't doubt that she talked to the mentioned women, but for distinctive fully Naval-uniformed women to bundle her away unnoticed I find a bit of a stretch.
And Scientology women, even lower chances still.

 

[DD Byrd]

I believe Amy did not have alternating preferences, she was a lesbian. If your father writes a multi-page letter to your love based on something not a choice, but your true self, not only is it identity crushing, but if it's also been a continuing unspoken vibe, what better reason to start a 'relationship' with a man. Squash the judgment, keep the peace, do whatever to shut everyone up until you...have a new apartment, the job, new dog, fresh start to live your own life. This sounds familiar.

Pure speculation because we will never know for certain: with so much togetherness/family time on this cruise, I'd bet on several 'deeper' conversations (potentially one-way at times), including the one with Brad on the balcony. They were undoubtedly close, so maybe she valued his opinion over others, or he said something triggering (not necessarily intentionally). Amy's life is changing, and it sounds like a reconciliation was happening with letter in a bottle gf. I'd like to see the rest of the letter, but it's for the gf. And "Save Me" seems compelling enough, even figuratively.

I don't know about flat-out disowning, but maybe Amy realized her life would never be considered 'ok' with her family, and because they were close cutting off ties was not likely and even more heartbreak if she did it anyway. An outright come to Jesus talk would be a very dark cherry on top, but it's also possible this was just in her head and tormenting her none the less. She's sad, confused, and potentially not seeing an enjoyable future while sitting on a balcony with some heavy existential thoughts. We know she used alcohol to self-medicate, maybe she had more or other pharmaceuticals with her. It very well could have been an impulsive, fogged decision to jump, it just happened to also be final.

 

[Sarahlou]

I believe Amy did not have alternating preferences, she was a lesbian. If your father writes a multi-page letter to your love based on something not a choice, but your true self, not only is it identity crushing, but if it's also been a continuing unspoken vibe, what better reason to start a 'relationship' with a man. Squash the judgment, keep the peace, do whatever to shut everyone up until you...have a new apartment, the job, new dog, fresh start to live your own life. This sounds familiar.

Pure speculation because we will never know for certain: with so much togetherness/family time on this cruise, I'd bet on several 'deeper' conversations (potentially one-way at times), including the one with Brad on the balcony. They were undoubtedly close, so maybe she valued his opinion over others, or he said something triggering (not necessarily intentionally). Amy's life is changing, and it sounds like a reconciliation was happening with letter in a bottle gf. I'd like to see the rest of the letter, but it's for the gf. And "Save Me" seems compelling enough, even figuratively.

I don't know about flat-out disowning, but maybe Amy realized her life would never be considered 'ok' with her family, and because they were close cutting off ties was not in the caards. An outright come to Jesus talk would be a very dark cherry on top, but it's also possible this was just in her head and tormenting her none the less. She's sad, confused, and potentially not seeing an enjoyable future while sitting on a balcony with some heavy existential thoughts. We know she used alcohol to self-medicate, maybe she had more or other pharmaceuticals with her. It very well could have been an impulsive, fogged decision to jump, it just happened to also be final.

Exactly what I think too. I think deep down the family know this is possibly the case and that's why they push the other more unrealistic theories so much.

 

[Quill]

Exactly what I think too. I think deep down the family know this is possibly the case and that's why they push the other more unrealistic theories so much.

Why would they do that? Why wouldn’t they just let it fade away and get on with their lives?
They seem to me like people who loved their daughter and will never give up searching for her.

 

[GreyPhantom]

Can anyone clarify if Yellow was working or terminated during the Porto Marie beach incident?

Back in the day, it was accepted wisdom that Yellow was terminated after the Amy Bradley fiasco because of all the heat it brought. So it was accepted that he could be working for that trafficking ring afterwards.

But now it's said he worked for Royal Caribbean for two years afterwards.

 

[DD Byrd]

Furthermore, if there was such resistance to her sexuality, I'd logically question their beliefs on suicide. If they also believe suicide victims go to a hell, I can understand trying to make just about any other narrative fit.

And no blame there, I've seen people go the ends of the Earth in denial to make things right in their minds, some ending in madness. This family was ruined and even those with nary a dramatic circumstance in life can be set in their ways. Trauma+Denial+Belief is an equation with no answer.

 

[DD Byrd]

Why would they do that? Why wouldn’t they just let it fade away and get on with their lives?
They seem to me like people who loved their daughter and will never give up searching for her.

I don't think it's black and white. Grief and denial can actual change reality for victims. If they are subconciously guilty and obviously traumatized, they may have woven a true belief she is alive. They did/do love her, and they are still searching for her in the real sense, there was no body.

 

[Quill]

Can anyone clarify if Yellow was working or terminated during the Porto Marie beach incident?

Back in the day, it was accepted wisdom that Yellow was terminated after the Amy Bradley fiasco because of all the heat it brought. So it was accepted that he could be working for that trafficking ring afterwards.

But now it's said he worked for Royal Caribbean for two years afterwards.

I’m glad you asked this. I came across this discrepancy, also.

 

[lebvidox]

I just looked at Amy's brother tweets with more attention. About Amy having a boyfriend and all.

Okay... The only way I can see this being true is if Amy TOLD THEM she had a boyfriend, after the reaction she got from her family with her previous girlfriend (her father writing a 3-page disrespectful letter to the girl). The ex-girlfriend even mentions Amy's family got in their way. The most recent girlfriend (the one who got the letter in the bottle) also seems to point something in these lines.

If Netflix didn't use this guy's statement, it would be because it didn't serve their narrative: they didn't want to suggest Amy's family was anything but perfect, loving, and accepting, or feed any other theories that pointed to the most obvious resolutions (either an accidental or premeditated fall).

Her brother should REALLY just drop this: they got a documentary that was completely favorable to them and to their goal to keep the case in the public eye. This guy's attitude sounds more like he thinks Amy's "reputation" must be preserved, as if the world seeing her as a lesbian is some sort of offense to her character. That tell us what we need to know about the family's real stance on this matter.

 

[lebvidox]

Why would they do that? Why wouldn’t they just let it fade away and get on with their lives?
They seem to me like people who loved their daughter and will never give up searching for her.

'Loving their daughter' and holding 'homophobic beliefs' (and in the context of the 1990s) aren't opposites. I grew up around the time. I was closeted. My mother loves me more than anything, but she could see me for who I was, and her idea of a 'gay lifestyle' was that of something that would harm me.

She would make homophobic comments when a gay couple was shown on TV. She would say stuff like 'look at that girl, she's all over you' (now that I've seen the Amy Bradley doc, I could see my mother in Iva's testimonies about her mentions to Amy that the waiter was flirting with her, that guy couldn't stop staring etc).

Not saying it was the case with Amy, but in the case of lots of LGBT youth who commit suicide, the parents' process to come to terms with their own grief is very complex. There's guilt for the role they might have played in their child's state of mind. An overall feeling of "I could have done more for them". If there's not a confirmation of suicide - they don't even know if that's the case - they can hang on to hope by focusing on the hypothetical scenarios of a 'do over'.

If she's found, if she comes home, this won't matter anymore. We will welcome her with open arms, etc. Unless they were covering up for a murder inside their cabin (which seems absurd in their case), they would have more than legitimate, emotional reasons to keep searching for her.

 

[TizerisT]

Amy admitted to being gay / bisexual in 1995
The cruise was in 1998
I doubt if it was even mentioned anymore. According to Brad, it had become a non-issue and all had come to terms with it at that point.

 

[TizerisT]

The only way I can see this being true is if Amy TOLD THEM she had a boyfriend

Brad said the boyfriend "can be seen sitting in the couch during that press conference with us"

 

[lebvidox]

Amy admitted to being gay / bisexual in 1995
The cruise was in 1998
I doubt if it was even mentioned anymore. According to Brad, it had become a non-issue and all had come to terms with it at that point.

Coming out as gay or bisexual are completely different things. We don't know how her coming out actually went. This is perhaps the biggest flaw in the documentary: failing to dive deeper into Amy's personality. We don't know if her parents caught her kissing a girl, or writing to a girl, and she first said she was bisexual to 'ease things' up before she was 'confident' enough to label herself as a lesbian to them. Some seem to see this through today's lenses: the current context of 'sexual fluidity'. Back in the 1990s, asserting yourself as a gay man or a lesbian woman was a really affirmative action for most people.

 

[GreyPhantom]

Amy admitted to being gay / bisexual in 1995
The cruise was in 1998
I doubt if it was even mentioned anymore. According to Brad, it had become a non-issue and all had come to terms with it at that point.

They key is if you can believe Brad's spin on this. Every statement seems geared to minimize this part of her life.