Is Amy Bradley ALIVE? Explosive New Claims After 27 Years Missing | Private Detective Speaks

Summary

Podcast Summary:

Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Episode: Is Amy Bradley ALIVE? Explosive New Claims After 27 Years Missing | Private Detective Speaks
Date: November 15, 2025

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Overview

In this gripping episode, journalist Ashleigh Banfield dives deep into the mysterious 27-year disappearance of Amy Bradley, who vanished during a 1998 Caribbean cruise. Building on renewed public interest following a Netflix documentary, Banfield features private investigator Jim Carrey (not the actor) to unravel new evidence and explosive claims that challenge previous narratives. The conversation explores fresh leads, overlooked clues, and the persistent question: Could Amy Bradley still be alive — held captive by traffickers?

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Enigma of Amy Bradley’s Disappearance

• Amy Bradley disappeared in 1998 from a cruise ship near Curaçao, seemingly vanishing from her family’s cabin overnight ([00:05]).
• Multiple theories have circulated: falling overboard, suicide, voluntary disappearance, or abduction by traffickers ([00:05]-[01:53]).
  • Ashleigh Banfield: "She disappeared like what seemed like right out of her parents’ cabin. I know it sounds absolutely bonkers." ([00:15])
• Evidence casts doubt on the accident and suicide theories and suggests the possibility of nefarious involvement.

2. The Police Clerk and the $50,000 Ransom Plot

• A former Curaçao police clerk, Herman Goylo, claimed several times over decades to have seen Amy alive.
  • Claimed to recognize Amy by her Tasmanian Devil tattoo; described her as "fine, but different" and appearing drugged ([02:00]).
• In 1999, Goylo offered to arrange Amy’s return for $50,000, even signing a contract with Interpol—he later disappeared with no exchange made ([02:50]).
• In 2016, Goylo reaffirmed Amy was alive and being held by a trafficker, and that "they have her hooked on drugs" ([03:30]).
  • Banfield: "Just last year... the clerk said Amy is still alive... he said 'they have her hooked on drugs' and that she was with a very dangerous trafficker." ([03:30])

3. Private Investigator Jim Carrey’s Pursuit

• Jim Carrey and his son have been working pro bono with the Bradley family and shared recent findings for the first time ([04:24]).
• Carrey recounts tracking down Goylo and questioning him multiple times; Goylo maintained his story that Amy is alive ([04:44]):
  • Jim Carrey: "I asked him 20 times; he said, ‘she’s alive.’ So he continues to say that." ([05:15])
• Carrey believes Goylo’s consistency (and contradictory details) make at least part of his story credible, if convoluted ([05:50]).

4. Critique of Law Enforcement Involvement

• Communication with the FBI has reportedly been limited and sporadic ([06:37]).
• Tensions and frustration are evident, reflecting the family's decades-long wait and hope for closure.

5. New Theories of the Night Amy Vanished

• Last confirmed sighting: Amy dancing with Alistair "Yellow" Douglas of the cruise band, later reportedly given a brown drink by Douglas at 6:00am ([07:57]).
  • Carrey: "Three people actually saw Amy and Douglas going up the glass elevator... Douglas comes down alone, and there's no sight of Amy." ([09:01])
• Carrey hypothesizes Amy was drugged, then possibly removed from the ship concealed in a container or laundry bin and taken during the port stop ([09:52]):
  • "I think she was drugged... put her in a... huge box or container, brought it down the service elevator... and out the cargo area." ([09:52])
• Douglas, the band member, is suspected of knowing far more than he admits. Another band member allegedly told someone, “Yellow did something bad, very bad.” ([11:05])

6. Credible Sightings and Digital Clues

• Two notable post-disappearance sightings:
  • Canadian tourist/diver saw a woman matching Amy’s description (distinctive tattoo and watch) in Curaçao, August 1998. The woman appeared distressed and in the company of two men ([12:09]).
  • Another sighting in Barbados, 2005.
• The family's website has reportedly received pings from Barbados around the holidays, possibly from someone connected to Amy ([12:53]).
  • Carrey is hopeful that digital clues could still provide leads despite their accidental public exposure ([13:34]).

7. The Broader Significance and Final Thoughts

• Banfield draws parallels to other long-term abduction cases, such as Jaycee Dugard, emphasizing hope and the importance of persistence even decades later ([15:31]-[16:52]).
  • “You can be rescued after 20 plus years. And if that's the case with Amy Bradley, it deserves our attention.” ([16:52])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Goylo’s Claims:

  • "I asked him 20 times; he said, ‘she’s alive.’ So he continues to say that." — Jim Carrey ([05:15])
  • "He signed a contract with Interpol... But then when it came time to make the transfer, he backed out and he ghosted everybody." — Ashleigh Banfield ([02:35])

• On Evidence Coverup and Law Enforcement:

  • "The FBI—they’re a busy organization... they don’t have much communication with the family." — Jim Carrey ([06:37])

• On Theories of How Amy Was Taken Off the Ship:

  • "Parties go on all night on cruise ships... You just roll them off the outside of that ship... You go out those service exits." — Ashleigh Banfield ([15:15])
  • "I think she was drugged... put her in a, either a musical huge box or container, brought it down the service elevator... out the cargo area." — Jim Carrey ([09:52])

• On the Power of Persistence:

  • “We're a flock, right? And then these evil monsters come into our flock and steal one of us. And if we can't see it happen and we don't know the answer, typically, we won't let go.” — Ashleigh Banfield ([14:18])
  • "You can be rescued after 20 plus years. And if that's the case with Amy Bradley, it deserves our attention." — Ashleigh Banfield ([16:52])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:05 – Introduction to Amy Bradley’s case and key mysteries
• 02:00 – Details on police clerk’s claims and $50,000 ransom attempt
• 04:24 – Interview with Private Investigator Jim Carrey begins
• 05:50 – Carrey discusses Goylo’s credibility and FBI involvement
• 07:57 – Theories about Amy's last hours and the band member’s involvement
• 12:09 – Credible tourist/diver sightings of Amy post-disappearance
• 12:53 – Digital leads from the Bradley family’s website
• 15:15 – Banfield summarizes how trafficking operations could secretly remove victims
• 16:52 – Banfield’s broader reflections and calls for ongoing investigation

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Conclusion

Ashleigh Banfield and Jim Carrey present deeply compelling, fresh details in the ongoing investigation into Amy Bradley’s disappearance. The episode intertwines heartache and hope, as new evidence and persistent advocacy continue to challenge the narrative that Amy was lost at sea. Listeners are left with both the chilling possibility of decades-long captivity and a renewed belief in justice’s long reach. Banfield ends with a promise to keep this case alive in the public eye, invoking both empathy and urgency for Amy Bradley and her family.

Transcript

[A]

Foreign.

[B]

Hey everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield and this is drop dead serious. It could be a huge development in the search for Amy Bradley. If you saw the wildly popular Netflix documentary this summer, Amy Bradley is missing. Then you, like me, already know how mystifying this decades long case has been been. Amy disappeared off of a cruise ship, it was back in 1998. And she disappeared like what seemed like right out of her parents cabin. I know it sounds absolutely bonkers. But all throughout the Caribbean as theories have been floated and then dismissed year after year after year. Some people thought maybe she fell overboard just before the ship docked at Curacao. Other people thought maybe she took off. But she had a very loving family. In fact, they were all four on vacation together in the same cabin. And still other people suggested that Amy might have been kidnapped and secreted off that ship.

[C]

You still have several scenarios. Many things could have occurred. Did she inadvertently fall off? Wasn't feeling well? Felt sick by mistake? Was on the balcony, Fell off into the water? Did she commit suicide? Was furniture moved? Did she step on something and did she jump overboard? The sliding door on the balcony was ajar. Did she walk back through? Did she go up to the deck to watch the sunrise? Did she go out to smoke? Did something occur when she was up on the deck? Did she meet somebody? You know, whether it was that night and the previous night, did she walk off the ship?

[B]

Never.

[C]

Did something nefarious occur where she smuggled off the ship? That puzzle is extremely difficult to put.

[B]

Together now tonight, for the first time, the private investigator who's been working with Amy's family for years is revealing clues. Clues that suggest Amy is indeed alive and that she may be still in the hands of a dangerous trafficker who apparently had help from local police. 27 years, he says. Something the Netflix documentary did not tell you was that a clerk at the Curacao Police department said that he'd seen Amy on the island several times and that he knew where she was. The clerk said he recognized her Tasmanian Devil tattoo on her shoulder and that she was, quote, fine, but different. He said she didn't smile and appeared to be drugged. Then he arranged for the sale of Amy back to her parents and to Interpol for $50,000. That was back in 1999. They actually even had a contract with him. Interpol drew up a contract. He signed a contract with Interpol. But then when it came time to make the transfer, he backed out and he ghosted everybody. Just last year, though, the private investigator hired by Amy's family tracked down that clerk. His name is Herman Goylo. And when questioned, the clerk said that Amy is still alive and that he'd seen her in 2016, but that, quote, they have her hooked on drugs and that she was with a, quote, very dangerous trafficker. So what, what happens next? And what is the FBI doing about this alarming new information? Earlier on my News Nation show, Banfield shout out. News Nation. I talked to that private investigator who's been working with Amy Bradley's family and is now speaking publicly about all of his recent findings. Real bombshells in the case. His name is Jim Carrey, and along with his son, they have been working pro bono with Amy's family. Jim notably also worked on the Natalee Holloway case. Here's our conversation.

[D]

I am so bewildered by this report that the clerk with the Curacao Police Department was talking to you and the family and Interpol and prepared to make a deal before ghosting you. But now you've sort of renamed, connected with him. Is he cooperating now? Is he talking now?

[A]

You know he's not. And when we went down there in November, he was tormenting the family. Back in 1999, he was having conversations with the Ivor and Ron and the whole family saying she was alive. And this went on for 28 years. So we finally tracked him down and I went to his house, but he wasn't there. So we waited for him at a. A meat area, and we talked to him, myself, another investigator, Earl Nance, and my son Brody. And we gave him the opportunity to tell us what he wants to tell us. And he said, she's alive. She. I seen her a couple years ago, and I, I gave him, I said, look, Herman, I'll give you the op. Tell. Tell me the truth. And I asked him 20 times, he said, she's alive. So he continues to say that.

[D]

So let me ask you. I mean, look, you're old hat at this. You worked on Natalee Holloway, which was one of the most vexing cases in my history of 38 years of doing crime reporting. What do you think was so convincing about Herman Goylo back in 1999 and then also again in 2024.

[A]

Well, I wasn't there in 99. But the convincing element I saw was reading back on those old reports in his conversations with the family. They haven't changed. A lot of them are really consistent. And I fact checked him and I checked with Cis, and some are truths and some are lies. He's that type of guy. He'll tell you a Lie. But he'll tell you a truth. It's almost like a game with him. So I believe him. I really. I mean, why would he. Why would he want to be involved? 28 years later, he's still implicated.

[D]

That's really what I think. Why would anybody want to embroil themselves in something so tragic? What would they get out of it? Although they listen, in our line of business, there are all types out there. What about the FBI? How helpful have they been? How interested in this information have they been?

[A]

Like I said, I wasn't back there when it originated. But the FBI, they're a busy organization. I understand that they don't have much communication with the family. I think they have a new agent was going to be attached to. But other than that, I don't know too much about him.

[D]

So I'll tell you. I listen. I was transfixed by the Netflix series this summer. And when I learned that there's this whole other piece of the puzzle. The $50,000, you know, offering to get Amy the contract that Interpol put together to pay out the 50 and get Amy from this guy, Herman Goylo.

[B]

I.

[D]

Couldn'T understand why the Netflix documentary didn't include that.

[B]

Do you know why?

[A]

I do not. But what happened was the family got the $50,000 from the PNC Bank. They had it in a check. He signed a contract, he actually signed it, that he would tell the family where she is. He didn't want the check because he wanted cash. But we explained to him, you can't bring cash on a plane. $50,000 to another island. So he broke into the Interpol agent's hotel room. He got in there and ransacked the room looking for the money. So the Interfol guys left the next day. That's the type of guy we're dealing with.

[D]

Which could mean anything. Could be telling the truth. Could be just a scammer extraordinaire. We've all seen them. Let me talk about the evidence on the ship. There's just so much information. It's hard sometimes to keep it all straight. But a witness saw a member of the house band. He went by the name Yellow because of the color of his hair. His name was Alistair Douglas. Alistair Douglas. Amy had been dancing with him earlier in the evening with her brother Brad. They'd all come back home eventually and everybody had gone to bed. Amy went out to the. You know, through the sliding glass door to the ship balcony and was seen sleeping on the lawn chair by her dad, who woke up and peeked out at 5:30 in the morning. But at 6, Amy, the witness says that she sees this guy, Alistair Douglas, I think he was the bass player for the band, giving Amy a brown drink at about six o' clock in the morning. So take me from that moment and what your theory is happened after that moment.

[A]

Actually there was three people that actually saw Amy and Douglas going up the glass elevator, which is crazy. Three people actually saw her. Two young girls and then an older girl, she happened to be sick, so she stayed in the disco during the day because she couldn't go out in the sun. So she, she saw him go up, she saw Douglas come back down and go to the bar and get a, a dark colored drink, bring it back up to Amy and turn the music up. She says he turned the music up really loud. Ten minutes later, Douglas comes down alone and there's no sight of Amy, nowhere to be found.

[D]

Do you think, well, tell me your theory about what you think would have happened next. If your theory is true and that if it's possible she was secreted off that ship, what do you think happened after the brown drink?

[A]

I think she was drugged and I think there was another person up there waiting and I actually thought he probably got on when they docked in Aruba the night before and he stayed on the ship. They didn't check. I think they drugged her, put her in a, either a musical huge box or container, brought it down the service elevator, which is right there. It goes right down the ship and out the cargo area. When they pull in the port, they get rid of all the clothing, new towels, new food, they unload trash. I think she was in one of those and they took her away.

[D]

And you think that Alister Douglas was involved in this? Other than the drugging, he was the.

[A]

Last person seen with her. And he's lying, he's constantly lying about his whereabouts that night. So I'm about 100% sure he knows something and he's not telling even his daughter.

[D]

Yeah, I've interviewed his daughter and she, you know, she wouldn't go so far as say that her father did something, but she had her suspicions. But is it true that a band member came to Alistair Douglas's home shortly after the, the voyage and said something along the lines of Yellow did something bad?

[A]

Yeah, it is he. When Yellow got back and this guy got back, Desmond, he went up to the, the girlfriend and said, look, Yellow did something bad, very bad. And then he left. And then the girlfriend had a conversation with Yellow and that's when they saw all the Photos in a big bag of all happening Caucasian girls. And they saw Amy's picture with her brother Brad. And that's coming right from the person who saw it.

[D]

Let's talk about two other tourist sightings that you believe are quite credible. One is a Canadian tourist who was on a diving trip who says, I saw Amy Bradley on a beach in Curacao. I think he was actually diving with someone and he believes it's Amy Bradley because she fits the description. I believe the tattoo may have come into play with that identification as well. And that the woman he saw was scared and with, I think, two other large guys and wasn't able to speak to them. Is that correct?

[A]

Yeah, it was about six months after she was taped. It was in August of 98. They read Porter Marie. He's a diver from Canada, and he was with his friend. They were taking off doing their freshwater cleanup for their gear when the two males and exposure, the girl looked like Amy walked up. And they walk right. He walked right towards them. And remember, he didn't know about the missing girl at the time, but he thought it was odd. And he saw the tattoo. He saw a watch that no one would know because Amy's boyfriend had given it to her before they left. And then months later, he saw it on a newspaper, I think a People magazine. And he goes, I saw that girl. I know that girl. And then he reported, there's another one in.

[D]

Yeah, there's another one in Barbados in 2005 as well. I want to ask you about something very important. Netflix released information. I think you're upset about the fact that the family has a website and it's. It's a website where that you all have been tracking who comes in, what addresses come in, and that there's been a curious address in the Barbados, a place where she's been spotted that comes in every Christmas and Thanksgiving. And you're worried that because that information was put out there by Netflix, you may not be able to track that anymore. And we're coming up on Thanksgiving. Are you. Are you hopeful that you'll get a ping this Thanksgiving and Christmas?

[A]

Well, I will say that it wasn't Netflix's fault. We put it out there. We probably put. We probably shouldn't have put it out there, but we did. The old IP hits we get, those are the ones we are really looking at closer to middle 2000s. And we're working on that and we're working on getting exact areas. So we're okay with that, I think.

[D]

Well, listen, Jim Carrey, stay close to us on this. And I sure hope that you're able to get some traction on this man, because others, you know, a taxi driver in Curacao who seemingly was involved has now since died and taken his secrets, if he has them, to the grave. So let's hope that doesn't happen with this former clerk. Thank you for being on here tonight. Really appreciate it.

[B]

This case, understandably, is getting into the DNA of a lot of people, right? I am not unlike you. I watch these amazing docu series and sometimes docu dramas on streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. And then I'm invested. Then I need to know what comes next, right. I think we're all kind of in it together. We're a flock, right? And then these evil monsters come into our flock and steal one of us. And if we can't see it happen and we don't know the answer, typically, we won't let go. And that's how I feel about Amy Bradley's case. There were so many twists and turns and the whole notion that she could have been drugged, let just think about it for a minute. That she could have been drugged at 6 o' clock in the morning, right? Those parties go on all night on cruise ships, right? And then just loaded into one of those, like, laundry bins, those rolling laundry bins or equipment carts. So easy, isn't it? And then just rolled right off the outside of that ship. You don't go out with all the passengers. You go out those service exits, right? The ramps that take you to shore.

[D]

Where garbage and dirty laundry and supplies. That's like a, like a super highway.

[B]

Nobody would have seen a thing. The easiest way to take a drugged person, say, off of a cruise ship, and then you're shackled and then you're screwed, right? If, if this was the MO of sex traffickers. Keep her drugged for weeks, months, hell, years, until there's really no recollection. Fill them full of thoughts about lies, about their family. You know, it can happen with a cult. How unbelievable would it be if we could solve this case 27 years later? And I will remind you, I have covered cases that have gone over two decades. JC Dugard up in California. She was grabbed off the street as a young teenage girl. And she was held prisoner for almost three decades and forced to give birth to two of her rapist's children. And her rapist and his wife were a tandem team on this one. Held her in a shed for years and years until finally got to her and destroyed her reality till she thought this was her family. So, yeah, you can be rescued after 20 plus years. And if that's the case with Amy Bradley, it deserves our attention. It deserves the attention of the FBI, it deserves the attention of Interpol, and it deserves the bloody attention of local police detachments in these Caribbean islands. I promise you, we are watching every new lead on this story, and we are not letting this case go. We owe it to the Bradley family. And we owe it to Amy Bradley.

[D]

I'm Ashley Banfield.

[B]

Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for watching. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead seriously.