THE SEARCH FOR AMY LYNN BRADLEY: DISAPPEARED FROM FAMILY CRUISE

1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast

Jon Hagadorn

Society & Culture, History

4.4 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 April 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

1001 HEROES CONFIDENTIAL APRIL 20, 2025: THE SEARCH FOR AMY LYNN BRADLEY

Amy Lynn Bradley (born May 12, 1974) is an American woman who went missing during a Caribbean cruise on the Royal Caribbean International cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas in late March 1998 while en route to Curaçao. Her whereabouts remain unknown to this day. She was a 23-year-old Longwood University graduate at the time of her disappearance.

After midnight on Monday March 23, 1998, Amy and her younger brother Brad headed to the ship's nightclub to go dancing. Records show that Brad decided to return to his cabin earlier than Amy. The ship's door lock records show that Brad had entered his cabin at around 3:35 am, and Amy soon followed five minutes later. The two chatted before heading to bed. Amy's father Ron awoke around 6:00 a.m. to check on his daughter only to find her missing from the balcony she had slept on earlier.

When authorities were alerted that Amy was missing, the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a four-day search in the surrounding waters and along the cruise lines to no result. Authorities began to speculate that she may have fallen overboard and drowned. There have been possible sightings of Bradley in Curaçao. In August 1998, tourists saw a woman resembling Bradley on a beach and in 1999 a member of the U.S. Navy claimed a woman in a brothel said she was Bradley and asked him for help.

In the years following Amy's disappearance, some new evidence would arise leading to theories including Amy being sold into a human trafficking industry or potential remains. As well as this program, the case has been presented on Dr. Phil in a segment entitled The Search for Natalee: Amy Bradley, and also on America's Most Wanted.

Resources:
If you or someone you know is in danger of human trafficking or has information about potential trafficking activities, please reach out to these resources immediately:

National Human Trafficking Hotline (24/7): 1-888-373-7888 or text 233733

FBI Tipline: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)

INTERPOL Human Trafficking Unit: Contact your local law enforcement to reach INTERPOL

Cruise Line Security: Contact your ship's security office immediately or dial emergency extension

National Human Trafficking Hotline Website - Available for confidential reporting and support

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children - Resources for families and reporting

archive of cruise line incident reports

Submit a Tip:

If you have any information concerning the disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley, please contact your local FBI office, or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

Field Office: Washington D.C.

Clock Tick Sound Effect by https://pixabay.com/users/freesound_community

Music credit:
Song: Shattered Glass

Composer: Cjbeards

Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCarvKz1XSCON68oeSZ1mlkg

License: Free To Use YouTube license youtube-free

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Content Warning. The following content discusses human trafficking, kidnapping, and violence. Listener discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is in danger of human trafficking or has information about potential trafficking
0:38.5	activities. Please reach out to the resources we have linked in the show notes.
0:50.3	The dark underbelly of the cruise industry harbors a disturbing reality, the vulnerability of passengers to human trafficking, and mysterious disappearances.
1:01.8	While cruise ships promise dream vacations, they can become nightmarish scenarios for victims of crime.
1:11.2	We see a cruise ship as a floating paradise, a chance to escape everyday life and explore new places.
1:19.0	However, the very elements of a cruise that attracts us also attracts those with darker intentions.
1:26.4	The sense of freedom, the relaxed atmosphere,
1:29.7	the international waters that are not bound by laws we are familiar with, can all add up to tragedy.
1:36.8	In the early hours of March 24, 1998, a routine Caribbean cruise became the setting for one of the most perplexing missing persons cases
1:47.0	in maritime history. Amy Lynn Bradley vanished without a trace from the Royal Caribbean
1:54.2	cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. Decades later, her disappearance continues to raise questions,
2:05.5	spark theories, and haunt both investigators and her family alike,
2:09.9	shrouding them in rumor, conspiracy theories, and speculation.
2:14.3	What really happened to Amy Lynn Bradley?
2:21.8	Hello, and welcome to 1001 Heroes Confidential, with Giselle Erickson.
2:28.1	Every once in a while, John Haggardorn will be loaning me his mic to bring you true stories of mystery and intrigue.
2:30.6	I'm an investigative journalist with a fascination for unsolved mysteries and a love for 1001 heroes.
2:38.3	I invite you to dive headfirst with me into the research and get the full story,
2:44.5	seeing from all the perspectives so you can draw the conclusion.
2:49.2	And now our story vanished at sea, the mysterious disappearance
2:54.2	of Amy Lynn Bradley. According to the International Maritime Organization, IMO, approximately 200 people
3:05.3	have vanished from cruise ships since 2000.
	...

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