← The Final Hours with Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole
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- [00:01]
Sarah Turney
Hey, guys. Before we dive into today's episode of the Final Hours, we wanted to take a brief moment to tell you about a show from Crime House's sister studio, Rewind, that we think you'll love.
- [00:11]
Courtney Nicole
It's called Government that Doesn't Suck, hosted by professors Lindsay Cormack and Greg Jackson from History that Doesn't Suck.
- [00:18]
Sarah Turney
Ever wonder how the weather forecast on your phone is so accurate? Or how your mail still gets across the country for less than a dollar? Or who actually built the highway you drove on this morning?
- [00:29]
Courtney Nicole
Each episode tells the surprising story of an American institution that you'll never look at the same way again.
- [00:35]
Sarah Turney
Listen to and follow Government that Doesn't Suck every other Monday on Apple podcasts and Spotify. Or watch video episodes on YouTube.
- [00:51]
Tristan Hughes
This is Crime House Foreign
- [00:58]
Sarah Turney
it's just before 6am on March 24, 1998. The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the SEAS is about 15 minutes from docking in Curacao. Two passengers are hanging out on deck. The bars and clubs have closed, but they aren't ready for bed. From where they're sitting, they can see through the windows into the ship's atrium. They watch as one of the glass elevators starts to rise. Inside is a young woman holding a camera. Next to her, they recognize a member of the ship's house band. He's handing the woman a glass with dark liquid in it. The elevator climbs to the top floor. The doors open and the man and woman exit. About 15 minutes later, the man walks back toward the two passengers coming from the opposite direction of where the elevators are. And now he's alone. That's the last known sighting of the woman who was holding the camera. After that, 23 year old Amy Lynn Bradley goes missing.
- [02:04]
Courtney Nicole
Every year, over half a million people go missing, and that's just in the United States alone. Most of those stories barely get a headline. Some don't even get a tip line. And when cases do get media attention, we usually only get the broad strokes.
- [02:18]
Sarah Turney
But for those of us who have lived these true crime cases, we know the devil's in the details. This is the final hours. A Crime House original powered by Pave Studios. I'm Sarah Turney.
- [02:29]
Courtney Nicole
And I'm Courtney Nicole. Every Monday, Sarah and I will be looking at the final hours of someone's disappearance to see if there was anything hiding in plain sight.
- [02:37]
Sarah Turney
Each episode I'll offer insight on what those close to the victim might have experienced. Courtney will use her expertise to give more context into the investigation itself. Crime House exists because of listeners like you want even more. Join Crimehouse plus and get every episode of the Final Hours and the rest of the Crime House lineup ad free and early, plus at least two bonus episodes every month. To join, go to crimehouseplus.com or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap try free at the top of the Final Hour show page. As always, this show is made and recorded by humans, not AI.
- [03:13]
Courtney Nicole
This time we're discussing the disappearance of Amy lynn Bradley. In March 1998, 23 year old Amy went on a Caribbean cruise with her family. After dancing the night away into March 24, Amy and her brother returned to their cabin. He eventually called it a night, but Amy snuck off in the early morning hours before anyone else in her family woke up and they're still searching for her.
- [03:38]
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- [03:42]
Sarah Turney
It's March 1998. Amy Lynn Bradley has just moved into her own apartment in Chesterfield, Virginia, a quiet suburb of Richmond. The apartment is just down the street from the home she grew up in with her parents, Ron and Iba and her brother Brad, who's just two years younger than her. Amy went to Lloyd C. Bird High School just down the road from her house. Growing up, she was extremely athletic, a trained lifeguard and the star player on the school's basketball team. Amy was so good at basketball that she was recruited to play at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, about an hour away from Chesterfield. She got in on a basketball scholarship and was one of the first players in Longwood's history to be offered a full ride. Amy even got her first tattoo to honor the achievement, a baby Tasmanian devil spinning a basketball on her shoulder. Amy knew she wanted to make sports her career one way or another, so she decided to get a degree in physical education. At the same time, she remained serious about basketball, playing all four years, leading her team to multiple championships both on and off the court. Amy was known for being warm, funny and endearing. She befriended people who looked different than she did, who listened to different music, who studied different subjects, who prayed to different gods. She loved everyone in a fully non judgmental way and as a result, everyone loved her.
- [05:05]
Courtney Nicole
Back in college, Amy came out as bisexual, though her self identification was described in different ways by different people. For example, her best friend Sarah Luck remembers Amy pulling her into a dorm bathroom and telling her that she liked women. A few days after that, Sarah drove with Amy back to Chesterfield to support her, while Amy told her parents. By Sarah's account, Iva and Ron supported this, but it did worry them. They just wanted Amy to be happy and they were afraid that Life might be a little bit harder for her now.
- [05:36]
Sarah Turney
One person that was always supportive of Amy was her younger brother, Brad. The two of them had grown closer since she left for college. Brad loved to visit her even after he started his own education at George Mason University, about two and a half hours away from Longwood. Amy graduated in December of 1996 and the 22 year old moved back home. She spent the next year looking for a teaching position. But the job market was tough and Amy had trouble finding work. So while she searched, she got a job as a server at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. During this time, Amy considered changing her plans and one day opening a sports bar. She also thought about going back to school for her master's in sports psychology. Ultimately, she chose immediate stability over those plans. In early March of 1998, she accepted a job as a marketing and office assistant at a computer consulting firm and moved into her own apartment. Life was looking up and she had a lot to celebrate, including the fact that her dad Ron, had just won an all expenses paid cruise as an insurance agent at Illinois Mutual Life. Ron had met his goals and was rewarded with a Caribbean vacation along with a few other employees. Rather than just taking iva, he chose to spend a little extra and make it a family vacation.
- [06:54]
Courtney Nicole
The Bradleys were booked on Royal Caribbean's newest ship, the Rhapsody of the Seas, which had only been in service for 10 months. It could carry over 2,000 passengers plus several hundred crew. By 1998 industry standards, it was state of the art. On Saturday, March 21, the family flies to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where the ship is set to depart that afternoon. Amy had been to the tanning salon in preparation for the trip. She'd also gotten her brown hair done and her nails painted. She was more than ready for a vacation. Before she boards the ship, Amy buys several rolls of film to make a collage for her coffee table as well as some postcards. She immediately sends the cards home to friends, writing about how excited she is. That first day on board, Amy and Brad spend the afternoon swimming in one of the ship's pools. Her tan, athletic build and her unique tattoos attract the attention of some other passengers as well as the crew. Since getting the baby Taz her senior year of high school, Amy's gotten a few other tattoos. A sun with the Chinese symbol for heaven on her lower back, the Chinese symbol for faith on her right ankle, and a gecko wrapped around her belly button.
- [07:59]
Sarah Turney
The trip's off to a great start. The second day, March 22, is spent at sea. The family sleeps in, they swim, then they go out for a formal dinner. On Monday, March 23, the ship docks in Oranja Daruba. The island is hot and dry with white sand beaches almost blinding against the sparkling blue ocean. The Bradleys rent an open air Jeep and explore that day on their own. After spending a hot, windy day driving around the island, Ron, Iva and Brad jump into the ocean for a swim. Even though they've been in the sun for hours, the water isn't warm enough for Amy. She's a super strong swimmer, but she isn't the biggest fan of the ocean. After badgering her to get in for a quick dip, which she does, the family heads back to the ship for dinner. They change into their formal attire for that night. They take pictures, eat a nice meal, and then Ron and Iva go to the bar for a nightcap while Amy and Brad go back to their cabin and change out of their dress clothes. Ron and Iva socialize with some of Ron's other co workers on the cruise. During that time, a waiter approaches them asking where Amy is. Ron and Iva aren't surprised by this question. They notice that the staff's been giving Amy special attention since they arrived. The family even had a joke saying that if they ever needed anything during the trip, they, they just make Amy go ask for it.
- [09:20]
Courtney Nicole
Honestly, Sarah, I think this is where hindsight bias can really trip us up. Amy was described as someone who was warm, outgoing and really easy to talk to. So staff paying extra attention to her on a cruise ship may not have been unusual, like at all. So to me personally, I feel like it makes total sense that, you know, the staff keeps coming up and asking where Amy is. Just given that she was really like a social person. I, and I do think that it's important not to assume that every friendly interaction was a red flag just because we know how the story ends.
- [09:48]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, this is such a popular case, right? We've both talked about it before. I think that we both know a lot about it and it is hard to take a view from taking a step back in this case when we just know what we know. But like on the surface, let's pretend we don't know anything else about this case. It seems like they're on a happy family vacation and Amy is young, she's beautiful, and if certain staff members are hitting on her, it's not something that I love, but it's not something that immediately alarms me either.
- [10:19]
Courtney Nicole
You know, especially as women too. I feel like that is, that happens a lot. Like, it's not something we're, like, not used to. So it doesn't really, like, bring up any red flags at this point.
- [10:28]
Sarah Turney
To me, yeah, that's kind of where I'm at with it. I mean, I think everything points to Amy having a good time. I mean, she gets there, she starts sending postcards home to friends. She seems excited. It seems like a nice, you know, adult family vacation, if you will. I think it's really sweet.
- [10:45]
Courtney Nicole
Well, at about 10pm, Amy and Brad make their way to the upper deck to a pool party. There's drinking, dancing and a limbo contest, which Brad wins. Around 1am as the party is winding down and the boat is leaving the port, Ron and Iva go up to the pool deck and find their kids to say goodnight. They tell Brad and Amy they're heading to bed. Ron gives his daughter a hug and Iva pulls her close. She says she loves her and Amy says it back. She also tells her mom that she'll see her in the morning. But that's the last conversation Iva ever has with her daughter.
- [11:23]
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- [12:40]
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- [13:14]
Sarah Turney
It's a little after 1am on March 24, 1998. The Rhapsody of the Seas is crossing the water between Aruba and Curacao where it will dock for the next few hours. 23 year old Amy Lynn Bradley and her 21 year old brother Brad are making their way up to the ship's discothe Viking Lounge. On stage is the ship's house band called Blue Orchid. They're a Caribbean band based out of Curacao. They're regular entertainers on this stretch of the Royal Caribbean circuit. At the club, the line between the crew and the passengers blurs a bit. At some point in the night, everyone ends up on the dance floor together. So Amy and Brad spend the next few hours drinking and socializing with the band. Amy was known for being a wonderful dancer. She was really in her element that night.
- [14:00]
Courtney Nicole
One member of the Blue Orchid in particular keeps finding his way back to her. His name is Alistair Douglas, though everyone on the ship calls him by his nickname, Yellow. Yellow is the band's bassist. He's a Curacao local and he's older than Amy, somewhere in his late 20s or early 30s. He's had his eye on Amy and everyone can see it. By around 3.30am, the party is winding down. Brad signals to Amy, who's over at the DJ booth, that he's heading out. He leaves the club and heads down to the family's cabin on Deck 8. Amy stays a few minutes longer, then follows behind her brother. At 3:35am, Brad's keycard logs him into the family's cabin. Five minutes later, at 3:40am, Amy's keycard logs her in too. Ron and Iva are asleep inside, so Amy and Brad go out onto their private balcony where they can talk without waking their parents up. They sit out there for about a half hour, finishing their drinks. Amy tells Brad that Yellow had made a pass at her, but she doesn't go into too much detail. Her brother searches for any sign of discomfort, but Amy truly seems to be mentioning it in passing again. Sarah I feel like this is kind of like the reality for a lot of women. You know, we get unwanted comments, flirting, and sometimes when someone makes a pass at you, it's not really memorable because it happens all the time. So at least to me, what stood out to Brad may not have stood out to Amy at all.
- [15:21]
Sarah Turney
You know what stands out to me? And maybe this is like off. Right. But the training. Why are so many crew members hitting on her? Not even just yellow. Right. And we talked about it, blurring the lines between passengers and crew. I have to wonder what type of training, if any, they had on, like passenger crew etiquette. Because I feel like it's a different thing if you're at a restaurant, you know, your server makes a pass at you and then you just go home. But when you're stuck on a cruise ship with these people who are, you know, making these passes at you, I feel like that's different. That's a level of being uncomfortable that I just don't think is acceptable.
- [16:01]
Courtney Nicole
Especially going back to 1998 when this case took place. It really does make me question what kind of training these employees have. I feel like that's what makes this case so difficult. Like we're trying to judge an interaction after we already know the outcome. And that's just tough. That's really hard to do.
- [16:16]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, No, I agree. It's like playing Monday morning quarterback or whatever. Right. I'm not super into sports, but I believe that's the term. It's hard because again, I think what we always do in these episodes is micro analyze everything. And that's kind of what we're here to do. But at the same time, we have to acknowledge that bias. Right. Are we looking at it differently because we know the outcome? I mean, somewhat know the outcome. Right. But overall, I wouldn't want to be stuck in that situation. We might never know how Amy really felt about it. But we do know that around 4am, Brad decides to go to bed. He tells Amy he loves her, then enters the cabin, quietly sliding the balcony door closed behind him. Amy stays outside. She's been feeling a little seasick and the fresh air is helping. She settles into one of the lounge chairs on the balcony as Brad falls asleep inside. About an hour and a half later, around 5:30am, her dad Ron, wakes up. He glances over and sees that Brad is sound asleep. Then he looks out toward the sliding glass door and sees his daughter stretched out on the lounge chair, still outside. Or at least he sees a pair of legs on the chair that he's pretty sure belong to Amy. So feeling like she's safe, he goes back to sleep. Roughly 30 minutes later, a little before 6am Ron wakes up again. He looks out the window to the balcony again, and this time Amy's not there. Something else is off too. The balcony door is open, and the yellow shirt Amy was wearing is now on an armchair inside. Their room. He doesn't see Amy's cigarettes either. So Ron figures that Amy had gotten up, changed, and went to the deck to grab a coffee and a smoke. So at about 6am Ron leaves his wife and son sleeping in their cabin and goes to find his daughter.
- [18:04]
Courtney Nicole
Ron looks in all the usual places, the decks, the dining rooms, the pools, but Amy is nowhere to be found. He knows that the ship is massive and there's no possible way he could search all of it alone. But he figures it's only been half an hour since he saw her on their balcony. She couldn't have gone that far. So Ron goes back to their cabin to wake Iva and Brad. The three of them start searching, but the more time that passes, the deeper their fear grows. Passengers are going to be let off the boat in about an hour. At this point, Amy must still be on the ship, but they know their chances of finding her will decrease once people disembark. So around 7am The Bradleys speak to the guest relations manager, a man named Brent Hunter. They ask Brent to make an announcement over the loudspeaker, but he tells them that it's too early. Most people are still sleeping at this point. Brent tells them to continue looking for Amy for another half hour and if they still can't find her, he'll take them to the security officer to escalate the situation. And that's exactly what happens. At around 7:50am they make an announcement over the ship's PA system, asking Amy Bradley to go to the guest services desk. IVA wants them to seal the ship and make sure every passenger and crew member are accounted for before anyone is allowed off. She's fearing the worst, but the staff has over 2,000 other paying customers to consider and they don't want to deny them their vacation. So at about 8am they allow everyone to disembark. The Bradleys stay put, though. At about 9am the crew performs what's called a Charlie drill, where the 800 or so staff members search every corner, every cabinet, every single inch of the ship. The drill is usually done in case there's a bomb on board, but this time they use the protocol to search for Amy. After about an hour, they still come up short.
- [19:49]
Sarah Turney
At about 10am after the Charlie drill is finished, the ship's captain comes into the Bradley family cabin and tells them they're confident Amy is not on board. By this point. The staff's working theory is that Amy either jumped or fell overboard shortly after Ron saw her on the balcony. But the Bradleys aren't convinced. Amy had to be pushed to get into the water for a swim in Aruba. They can't see a world where she voluntarily jumped into the ocean. As for Amy falling, they point out that she has a fear of heights. The Bradleys find it unlikely that Amy would have allowed herself to get close enough to the balcony to fall. But on the chance that she did end up in the water, the Coast Guard and local authorities in Curacao are alerted of the situation. They're instructed to be on the lookout for a body in the water, a body washing up on shore, or for Amy somewhere on land. But after a giant search, they don't find anything.
- [20:45]
Courtney Nicole
Around 5pm that evening, the passengers reboard the ship, and it pulls away from the dock in Curacao without Amy on board. Meanwhile, the other guests are in the dark about Amy's disappearance. So for them, the vacation continues on as usual, at least for the next few hours. But overnight, the news of Amy's disappearance hits the States. And the next day, March 25, 1998, the FBI comes aboard when the ship arrives at its next destination, the island of St. Martin. But by the time the FBI searches the Bradley's cabin, the cleaning crew has already been inside. The possibility of finding fingerprints or DNA has essentially been squandered. The FBI also can't be sure what items were moved around in the process of cleaning. A pair of Amy sandals are set neatly against the glass railing of the balcony. Does that mean she left them there to jump? Or had the cleaning crew put them there after wiping down the balcony? No one really gives any answers for this. So to me, Sarah, a crime scene isn't just about fingerprints or DNA. It's kind of like a snapshot of someone's last known actions. In Amy's case, we still have questions about things like her sandals, her clothing, and what exactly was left behind in that cabin Once it was cleaned, investigators lost the ability to know what was original and what may have been moved. Honestly, I find myself questioning if it would have solved the case. It could have. It could have not. But it definitely could have answered some important questions about what Amy was doing in those final moments.
- [22:14]
Sarah Turney
I'm gonna go back to training. I think I might just talk about training this whole episode, Courtney, because what are they doing? This is not the first crime that has ever happened on a cruise ship. What are they doing?
- [22:25]
Courtney Nicole
I really don't know, But I can't imagine how this family is feeling. Like this is, first of all, a massive ship. It's scary to have A loved one go missing on it, but then to let everybody disembark off the ship and then to le without finding your loved one, and then it just seems like they don't really care. I just can't imagine that alone. And then you're still stuck on this cruise ship while literally everyone else around you is continuing on their. Their vacation, like, nothing's wrong. That would drive me insane. And I feel horrible for them. Like, this is a. A nightmare situation.
- [22:53]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I. I feel like it's the disconnect between a cruise line feeling like this is a scenario that they're somewhat familiar with. Right. We know this happens. People do go missing on cruise ships. They're found. People unfortunately do go overboard. So this is a situation, you know, ideally prepared for. I'm assuming that they've dealt with this before, but for this family, this is brand new to them, and they don't know these procedures. Right. They don't. They don't know all the outcomes of when this happens on a cruise ship. This is an emergency for the Bradley family, and it seems like business as usual for the cruise line.
- [23:27]
Courtney Nicole
I think that's one of the main reasons why I don't want to say enjoy talking about true crime, but it's like one of my main passions when talking about true crime, because I feel like that is a detail that nobody really takes into consideration. We hear this stuff all the time. Investigators see this stuff all the time. Cruise ship people see the stuff all the time. But when you are the victim or the victim's family, like you said, that is your first time going through this experience. And for them to just be treated this way, it is just awful.
- [23:52]
Sarah Turney
Yeah. Let's reform the training for cruise ships. I will sign up. I will start that petition. Courtney, let's go. What I also found odd was that there aren't many security cameras on board. The FBI is given access to the footage the ship does have, but they don't find anything useful. At this point, all Amy's family can do is hope that someone comes forward with information. Amy didn't just disappear into thin air. Someone must have seen her.
- [24:19]
Courtney Nicole
Well, by Thursday, March 26, two days after Amy went missing, passengers are starting to whisper about a disappearance on board. And that day, Royal Caribbean confirms those rumors by posting flyers on the cabin doors. They hope someone will remember seeing amy sometime after 5:30am on Tuesday morning. And as luck would have it, someone does.
- [24:49]
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- [25:21]
Sarah Turney
It's Thursday, March 26, 1998. Two days have passed since Amy Bradley vanished. That morning, the crew of the Rhapsody of the Seas post flyers on the cabin doors showing Amy's photograph. They ask anyone who saw her after 5:30am on the 24th to come forward. One of the passengers, an 18 year old woman named Laurie Thompson, recognizes the face on the flyer. Laurie had met Amy in the wee hours of the 24th when they were both dancing at the Biking Lounge. Amy stood out to Laurie because there weren't that many young people on the ship. When the Viking Lounge closed sometime around 4am, Lori and the friend she was traveling with weren't ready to go to bed yet. Their mothers were asleep in their cabin. So they decided to go to the upper deck to keep hanging out, which they did for the next two hours. From where they were sitting, Lori and her friend could see through the windows into the ship's atrium. And just before 6am the women watched as one of the glass elevators in the atrium began to climb. There were two people inside of it. One was a young woman holding a camera that Laurie recognized as Amy. The other was the bassist of the ship's house band, Yellow. He was handing Amy a glass with a dark liquid in it as the elevator rose to the top floor and they exited about 15 minutes later, Laurie saw Yellow walking back towards her on the deck, coming from the opposite direction. Now he was alone, and even though they were the only two people on the deck, he didn't even acknowledge them as he passed by. Laurie found it odd, so after seeing the flyer, she reports what she'd seen.
- [26:54]
Courtney Nicole
Laurie's sighting forces the crew's working theory to change. They'd assume that Amy either fell or jumped overboard not long after, Ron saw her on their balcony at 5.30am But Laurie's account places Amy still inside the ship just before 6am so the FBI questions Yellow that day. Not only was he now the last person to be seen with Amy, but but Brad told them Yellow had been giving Amy special attention. All night. He danced with her and Amy even said he made A pass at her. Yello confirms that he had been hanging out with Amy at the disco, but he denies any interaction with her after that. Yello also voluntarily takes a polygraph test. The results are inconclusive. But because they're in international waters, the FBI's jurisdiction is murky. And since there's not enough evidence to keep yellow, the FBI is forced to release him. I think this is one of the biggest challenges in cases like this. When a crime happens on a cruise ship, it's not always clear who's actually in charge of the investigation. It's not like, you know, when a crime happens down the road from us or in, you know, in a state, you have the country where the ship is registered, the country whose waters it's in, and sometimes the country the victim is from, all involved at once. The problem is that when responsibilities spread across that many agencies, things can fall through the cracks. Everyone owns a piece of the case, but sometimes it can really feel like no one fully owns it. And honestly, things can, like I said, fall through the cracks and people might not pay attention to them.
- [28:21]
Sarah Turney
I mean, I totally agree. I think that it makes it so much more difficult. I mean, look at what we just said, right? The FBI is administering a polygraph test, but their jurisdiction is murky. It feels like even the authorities don't know what the right answer is. And I think that's terrifying on the family front.
- [28:39]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah. To have, like, all of these agencies involved, but not one person has, like, a good solution or good answer for them. I feel like that is frustrating. And this is not the first case that this has happened in. There's another really high profile case that this happened in as well. It's the case of George Smith. That will also send you down a rabbit hole. It's very similar to this one.
- [28:59]
Sarah Turney
I know. Can't we just come to a consensus? If you're on a cruise ship in, you know, this part of the world, this is who owns it. But I feel like we even see that in America. You know what I mean? We see that between counties and districts and states and cities. It unfortunately happens all the time. And I wish law enforcement could just communicate and figure it out.
- [29:18]
Courtney Nicole
And it's like 10 times worse when you're on a cruise ship. People describe it as, like a lawless area. You get on these cruises and anything can happen.
- [29:26]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I mean, sometimes they're, like, fighting off, like, pirates or whatever, smugglers, whatever we call them these days. I'm not even sure, but they're fighting off criminals in the Water. So, yeah, I think. I think, unfortunately, it's not always safe. On Friday, March 27, 1998, one day before the cruise was supposed to end, a friend from home gets in touch with the Bradleys. She tells them that the press conference about Amy's disappearance is rampant. If they get off the boat in Puerto Rico on Saturday with everyone else, he's worried they'll be hounded the minute they get to the port. He suggests they disembark early. Ron, Iva and Brad take his advice. They get off in St. Thomas on Friday and fly back to Virginia. They're terrified to leave the site of Amy's disappearance, but they know they can do more and have more resources back at home. So the Bradley family sets up a command center at their house. They start contacting more media outlets, US Embassies, and any other authority they can think of. At this point, the Coast Guard has already suspended their search, stating that if Amy did go overboard, she would have washed ashore by now. Which means she must be out there somewhere. On Tuesday, March 31, her family offers a reward of $100,000 for Amy's safe return. By Thursday, April 2, with help from family and friends, they increase that reward to $220,000. Still, nothing serious comes of it.
- [30:54]
Courtney Nicole
About a month after Amy disappeared in late April of 1998, Ron and Iva fly back to Curacao to hold a press conference. They ask the locals to be on the lookout for Amy. Afterwards, a taxi driver approaches Ron and tells him he's certain that Amy is still alive and probably on the island. The driver says that he saw a young woman matching Amy's description. On the morning of March 24, the day she disappeared, she approached his cab in of front, frantically asked him if she could make a call. He pointed toward the payphone nearby, but Amy walked away in the opposite direction. It's the first real indication that Amy made it off the ship alive. Months later, In December of 1998, the Bradley family gets Amy's case featured on the TV show America's Most Wanted. As a man named David Carmichael watches, he's shocked to realize that he recognizes the missing woman being featured. Back In August of 1998, David was in Curacao for a scuba diving trip, and he'd seen a woman on a beach there who looked exactly like Amy. She even had a tattoo of a Tasmanian devil just like Amy did. According to David, Amy was with two men who appeared angry and possessive of her. David could even identify one of those men because he was featured in the Episode as well. Any guesses? Yellow Douglas. Whether the FBI ever followed up with Yellow a second time about the sighting is unclear. But by this point, the Bradleys have developed a working theory that Amy was forcibly taken from the ship and sold into a sex trafficking ring. I think it's important to remember that trafficking didn't suddenly appear in 2000. The law did. But before that, investigators and the public often weren't looking at cases through that lens, you know, especially in 1998. Today, some common trafficking signs include someone being controlled by another person, being unable to come and go freely, appearing fearful, or even being isolated from friends and family. As for Amy, abducting an adult woman from a cruise ship with her family so close I think would have been incredibly risky, which is one reason some investigators have been skeptical of this theory. But at the same time, some of those reported sightings over the years are kind of hard to completely ignore, at least in my personal opinion.
- [33:06]
Sarah Turney
I was looking up how many people travel on cruises alone, and according to AARP, it's only about 5 to 10% of people that travel on cruises alone. So I have a hard time with this. We know that the Trafficking Victims Protection act didn't pass until 2000, right. Two years after Amy went missing. But of course, that doesn't mean that sex trafficking didn't exist, like you said. And in terms of like, waiting for that perfect person, somebody traveling alone, I don't think that that's how sex traffickers work. Of course. Like, I don't have any special insight into it, but I think the dependence is more reliant on the cruise ship industry's response to people going missing versus finding the perfect victim. I think, unfortunately, what they're often looking for is someone they can sell, someone who is beautiful, like Amy, somebody that they think could make them a lot of money. And unfortunately, I think all those fuzzy jurisdiction laws, you know, the training within these cruise ships, and really the pressure to ensure that the tourism industry in the countries and in the cruise ship industry stays appealing and not scary through cases like this, I think all of that really contributes to it. So do I think sex traffickers are going to take a step back if someone's on vacation with their family and not approach them? I don't know. I think that it's too easy for them to get away with stuff like this. I think they're just going to go for whoever they think they can sell.
- [34:40]
Courtney Nicole
Yeah, that's a really good point. And it also makes me kind of like, go back to what that one other Passenger on the cruise ship Lori, what she said, she said she really recognized Amy in that last sighting of her because she was one of the only other few young people on this specific cruise. So it makes me wonder, were there that many young people there? Was she a prime target? And like you said, it's just so easy. It seems to get away with stuff like this on a cruise ship because the laws are so murky.
- [35:07]
Sarah Turney
I think it goes back to what we were talking about really early on and all that attention from the crew. Right. And how sometimes that can feel scary, you know, especially on a cruise ship. Am I getting all this attention because I'm truly, like, a cool person they want to talk to, or I'm so beautiful they want to take me out on a date, or am I a target? I think that's a scary reality that we have to live within.
- [35:29]
Courtney Nicole
Also. I said this all the way, I think, in our very first episode. I used to work for a hotel in downtown Seattle, and one of the first things we were trained on, working at the front desk, like the first line of contact was signs of human trafficking. Because sadly, you know, you might not think about it on an everyday basis, but it really does happen. And sometimes it's really hard to tell. And it could be right in front of your face. In today's time, it's really easy to kind of, like, look down, stare at your phone, and, like, not pay attention to, like, some sketchy signs. But I just urge everyone to look up every once in a while and pay attention to your surroundings because, I don't know, you can never be too safe.
- [36:01]
Sarah Turney
Yeah. So you're telling me once again, we need more training. That's what I'm hearing.
- [36:05]
Courtney Nicole
That's the theme of today's show, is
- [36:07]
Sarah Turney
more training, more training, please.
- [36:12]
Courtney Nicole
So the FBI looks into the family's theory on trafficking, but finds no credible evidence to back it up. Which leaves the Bradleys incredibly frustrated. The FBI has gotten nowhere with their investigation into Amy's disappearance. The family figures that a stalled investigation will eventually become a forgotten one. So the Bradleys push it further themselves. They want someone to be held accountable. In March of 1999, the family files two lawsuits against Royal Caribbean. They allege negligence that the cruise line had failed to keep Amy safe and had failed to act quickly enough when she went missing. But Royal Caribbean rejects all of it. The company claims it had acted appropriately and responsibly at all times. When the case moves into discovery, where each side can demand records and question witnesses under oath, Royal Caribbean's lawyers find something interesting. Apparently the Bradley family had received over a hundred tips from people who said they had seen Amy alive around the Caribbean and beyond and apparently free. And they said the family had not turned those tips over to the court. They suggested that Amy had left her family on her own volition, which directly contradicted the Bradleys argument that Amy had been taken from the ship by force. Sarah?
- [37:26]
Sarah Turney
I don't know.
- [37:27]
Courtney Nicole
I mean, I think it's possible that she left on her own free will, but based on what we know, at least to me, it doesn't really seem that likely. Going back over all the evidence we have, Amy seemed really excited about her future and was super close with her family. And if she did choose to leave voluntarily, I think the most painful part for her family would be just the never knowing why.
- [37:47]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, I mean, is it possible that she decided to leave everything she worked for behind, everyone she loved behind, that she left literally her shoes behind to start a new life in this country that she, you know, docked to? Yeah, it's possible. But is it plausible? I don't think so.
- [38:05]
Courtney Nicole
To go completely like, radio silence? I feel like that is incredibly hard to do and I don't think someone can keep up with it for very long. Like you said, especially in like, a different country where you don't have any resources, like you don't know. It's.
- [38:17]
Sarah Turney
Yeah, like anything is possible in true crime, and I fully believe that. But we have to look at like, what's most likely here. And I don't think her leaving to start a brand new life is even on the table for me.
- [38:31]
Courtney Nicole
In October of 2000, a judge dismisses both of the Bradley's lawsuits. He rules that the family perpetrated a fraud on the court by failing to disclose these witnesses. He also finds that they had given full false or misleading answers under oath during their depositions. In addition to what he calls numerous
- [38:49]
Sarah Turney
exaggerated claims, the Bradleys say they acted out of fear. They believe that making every lead public would tip off whoever had her and cost their daughter her one chance at coming home. Unfortunately, that fear brought them trouble in other ways too.
- [39:04]
Courtney Nicole
In the midst of their lawsuit against Royal Caribbean, the Bradleys started working with a man named Frank Jones. He'd written to them in 1999 and promised to help them find Amy. Frank said he was a former US Army Special Forces officer who commanded a team of ex Army Rangers and ex Navy SEALs. For a fee, his men would go into Curacao, confirm Amy was alive, and bring her home. What made Frank Believable was the information that he provided. One of his sources. In Curacao, a woman named Judith, told the Bradleys that Amy was being held in a guarded compound. Judith described Amy's tattoos and repeated a lullaby Iva had once sung to her as a baby. The Bradleys were convinced Amy had been found and continued to pay for every update from Frank and his team. When Frank said the rescue mission was about ready to go, he sent proof. A photograph of a young woman on a beach, accompanied by a mysterious looking man with long blonde hair. The woman was in a wide brimmed hat, so her face wasn't visible, but she had a baby Tasmanian devil and an ankle tattoo just like Amy's. But one of Frank's own men was having suspicions about his boss, and he reported this to the Bradley family. Frank had hired him to watch the guarded compound, and he hadn't seen any nefarious activity there. So when he overheard Frank on the phone feeding the Bradleys another lie, he decided to call them himself and expose Frank. Frank's scam. As it turned out, the woman in the photograph was a stranger on a beach in Florida. Her tattoos were all fake. The man with her was another one of Frank's hires, wearing a wig. Even Judith, the source from Curacao, had been paid to tell the Bradleys she'd seen Amy. By the time this scheme collapsed, Frank had taken roughly 24,000 of the Bradley savings and more than $180,000 from the fund meant to bring Amy home. Sarah, with your experience with this, has this ever happened to you? Like someone coming to you claiming they have information on your sister and they're just trying to scam?
- [41:03]
Sarah Turney
I mean, I've never been asked for money, but I have certainly had people who I feel like were just outright lying. One time a gentleman came to me and said that he had an audio recording of, like, my dad confessing to murdering my sister. After going back and forth with the police, the police reaching out, we determined that he was just lying. But I know that it's happened to other families, and whenever I see stuff like this, it's, like, always disappointing, never surprising. And I think that's because families in true crime are really kind of like the perfect victim for scammers.
- [41:40]
Courtney Nicole
These families are already vulnerable and grieving and going through the worst times of their lives. I truly will just never understand what goes through a person's head to make them do this.
- [41:51]
Sarah Turney
Especially this. It wasn't like we might be able to find her. Pay us some money and we'll go out there. It was like, no, I have these Navy SEALs. We're gonna go in, confirm that she's there, and we're gonna get her out for a fee. That is so cruel. To put that level of hope into a family's mind, knowing that you're absolutely lying to them. That's why the scams work, right? How much would you pay to have your child back? There is no limit for most people, and that's how they scam people and make. Put that level of hope into a family's mind, knowing that you're absolutely lying to them is so cruel.
- [42:26]
Courtney Nicole
In February 2002, federal prosecutors charge Frank Jones. That April, he pleads guilty to mail fraud, one of the only charges that could definitively be proven. The judge gives him five years and orders him to pay all of the money back to the Bradley family. Although the Bradley Bradleys gain a renewed sense of skepticism, they also never lose hope. In 2005, the family receives an anonymous message pointing them to an escort website. On it are photographs of a woman advertised under the name Jazz who bears a striking resemblance to Amy. The Bradleys send the tip to the FBI, who get a forensic analyst to examine the image. After careful scrutiny, the analyst concludes that the dimensions of Jazz's face match Amy's. Now the family is not sure what to believe. The FBI does everything they can to locate Jazz or to find where the pictures were taken. They try to trace the website to find who had posted the pictures and where the woman in them was. But the trail leads nowhere. After the Jazz photographs, the leads stop. And for years, nothing surfaces that the Bradleys can chase. But they don't stop looking.
- [43:34]
Sarah Turney
Then, in 2023, the family's website, amybradleyismissing.com receives a visit from a public computer inside of a casino in the Caribbean. When the family's private investigator follows up, the casino's general manager tells him he recognizes Amy and that he believes she's been there. But when the investigator calls to get his account on the record, the manager clams up.
- [43:57]
Courtney Nicole
In July of 2025, a three part Netflix documentary about Amy's disappearance is released and the case reaches a new order audience. It also helped us with a lot of our research into this case. Millions of people suddenly hear Amy's story. For the very first time since its release, the FBI has reportedly identified two new persons of interest people. It is connected to a human trafficking network in the Caribbean. Until this point, the only publicly named person of interest has been Yellow Douglas. Yellow was repeatedly cleared of any wrongdoing by the FBI. But theories still float around about his involvement. His own daughter even questions whether he could have been a part of Amy's disappearance. But Yellow staunchly denies any connection. And there isn't evidence to prove that he's lying. In April of 2026, the FBI quadrupled its reward for information leading to Amy from $25,000 to $100,000. The FBI clearly has not given up on finding Amy Amy Lynn Bradley either.
- [44:58]
Sarah Turney
28 years later, Amy Bradley's case is overwhelmed with more theories, sightings and leads than ever. Strip all that down and what's actually known comes down to the last few hours of a single morning. On March 24, 1998, Amy Bradley and her brother Brad left the ship's nightclub and went down to the family's cabin on deck eight. Brad's keycard recorded him entering at 3:35am Amy's recorded her five minutes later at 3:40amIt's the last time her key card is ever logged. They sat out on the cabin's balcony and talked. A little after 4am Brad went inside to sleep. Amy stayed on the balcony. At about 5:30am Their father Ron woke up, looked out through the sliding glass door and saw a pair of legs stretched out on the lounge chair. He went back to sleep. Several floors above him, the Lori Thompson and her friend were hanging out on the upper deck. A little before 6am they watched a glass elevator rise through the ship and saw Amy inside of it with Yellow Douglas. They exited the elevator on the top floor. Fifteen minutes later, Yellow walked by Laurie without Amy. At that same time, Ron was exiting his cabin. He was intent on finding his daughter who had disappeared from the balcony in the span of about 2:20 minutes. He expected to find her drinking a coffee or snapping a picture of the sunrise. Instead, his search for amy continued another 28 years and counting.
- [46:27]
Courtney Nicole
If Amy Bradley is alive today, she will be about 52 years old. As of this recording. She is Caucasian with brown hair, green eyes and a distinctive tattoo of a Tasmanian devil playing basketball on her left shoulder. Her last known height and weight were about 5 foot 6 and 120 pounds. If you have any information about what happened to Amy, please contact your local FBI office. You can also visit the family's website amybradleyismissing.com or call their tip line at 804-789-4269.
- [47:09]
Sarah Turney
Thank you for listening to the Final Hours. If you have any other details about Amy's case, please share it with us on social media. We want to hear from you. Your thoughts, condolences and feedback are what make this community so special.
- [47:22]
Courtney Nicole
At Crime House, we value your support. Share your thoughts on social media and remember to rate, review and follow the Final Hours to help others discover the
- [47:30]
Sarah Turney
show and to enhance your listening experience. Don't forget to join crime house plus at crimehouse plus.com or if you listen on Apple Podcasts, tap try free at the top of the Final Hours show page.
- [47:42]
Courtney Nicole
The Final Hours is hosted by Sarah Turney and me, Courtney Nicole, and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Final Hours team Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pratovsky, Sarah Camp, Alyssa Fox, Ellie Reed and Russell Nash. Thank you for listening.