The long-standing enigma of Amy Lynn Bradley’s disappearance remains unresolved as her brother shares previously undisclosed details about the incident.
The 23-year-old from Virginia vanished during a Caribbean cruise in March 1998.
Amy was last seen by her father on the balcony of their cabin, disappearing shortly after in a case that has fascinated true crime enthusiasts for years.
The Netflix docuseries Amy Bradley Is Missing, released this summer, has renewed interest in the unsolved case, suggesting potential new leads that imply the now 51-year-old might still be alive.
The Bradley family, including mother Iva, father Ron, and brother Brad, have never given up, tirelessly seeking clues with the belief that Amy remains somewhere out there.
Recently, Brad has shared some insights into aspects of the case not covered in the compelling series.
In an interview with WTVR CBS 6, he first mentioned that Amy was ‘not a fan of the ocean,’ despite her background as a swimmer and lifeguard.
Brad recounted the initial days of their vacation, describing how they got ‘lost’ in an SUV while exploring Aruba, barely making it back to the cruise ship on time.
“You’ll see the clip of me passed out like a zombie,” Brad remarked about the Netflix footage. “That was right after that.”
He also recalled a dinner where the family noticed Amy receiving ‘special attention’ from staff.
After the meal, they took professional photos which ‘disappeared mysteriously’ when they attempted to retrieve them later.
After Iva and Ron retired to their room, Brad continued to party with his sister into the early hours. During this time, he noticed Amy with a bass guitarist known as Yellow, as noted in the TV series.
“I was distracted, doing my 21-year-old thing, talking to girls. So I wasn’t unfortunately in a protective mode,” Brad continued. “Amy was my big, bad sister who didn’t need anybody to help her with anything.”
Once the club closed, he went to the balcony of their room, with records confirming Amy joined him shortly through the door.
Brad recounted, “We’re out there talking, having a normal conversation. She does mention that Yellow made an advance and touched her chest or tried to grab her boob or something like that.
“I don’t remember exactly what she said but she kind of laughed it off. She didn’t make a big deal of it.”
Brad mentioned he left Amy on the balcony, where she was enjoying the breeze, and they exchanged ‘I love you’ before he went to bed.
Ron later recalled seeing Amy’s legs on the balcony while he slept, but when he awoke, she was gone, along with her cigarettes and lighter. Her sandals remained on the balcony, and her shirt was ‘draped over the chair’ inside.
The Bradleys went into a state of panic, which they claim was not taken seriously by the cruise staff, who allegedly delayed any announcements and allowed passengers to disembark at Curacao.
Brad claims that Yellow approached him.
“He walks up and says, ‘Hey man, I’m sorry to hear about your sister.’ And I say, ‘Yeah, thank you.’ Not thinking, how the heck did he know that fast that something bad had happened?”
Brad added: “[The] captain comes to our ship later and assured us that they had done a complete search of the boat, ‘anything bigger than a bread box we searched.’
“We later found not to be true. They searched restrooms and public areas and electrical closets and things like that but not all the crew’s cabins or the passengers cabins to that degree.”
Regarding the theory that Amy might have jumped to end her life, possibly due to struggles with her sexuality or family issues, Brad firmly refuted the speculation.
He stated the only way she might have ended up in the water was ‘if someone threw her off’.
“She 100 percent didn’t jump off the boat, not only because she wasn’t a distraught person, I know some parts of the Netflix documentary and sentiments online was that she was gay and struggling with it – Amy wasn’t struggling in my opinion, it was well known for years.”
Brad emphasized his sister was content, having just acquired a new apartment and her dream puppy. She was making plans and sending postcards to friends, he continued. Amy had ‘come out’ to the family in 1995, ‘so it had all been water under the bridge’.
“We were one of the tightest families and closest families you will ever know. Amy and I’s relationship were like best friends. All that stuff about her having any type of contentious relationship with my parents in regard to that is total BS.”
Brad is also skeptical that she fell over the high railing or climbed onto a table.
“Didn’t happen,” he said confidently. Moreover, he mentioned that if she had somehow ended up in the water, rescue services would likely have found her body since the ship was near an island, not in the open ocean.
The Netflix series, however, explored other possibilities, including witnesses claiming to have seen Amy over the years or the theory that she was abducted and became a victim of human trafficking.
The show also speculated that Amy might have had a child, possibly under duress from being forced into sex work.
The FBI has reiterated the case remains open, urging those with information to contact 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov.
A $260,000 reward is still being offered for information that could lead to Amy’s return.