Why Amy Bradley was declared dead in 2010 despite no body being found and signs she is still alive

Amy Bradley continues to be the focus of speculation into the circumstances surrounding her disappearance 27 years ago.

While her Royal Caribbean Cruise disappearance still holds the headlines, she was actually declared dead 15 years ago in 2010.

Despite this, the FBI still maintain a missing persons page including simulations of what she could look like now, the family maintain she is alive, and no body has ever been found.

Her disappearance has become a major headline once again due to a brand new Netflix documentary interviewing people close to the case.

Amy Bradley is Missing debuted at number four worldwide on Netflix, and features interviews with her family, who are the last people to see her alive, as well as investigators and cruise personnel.

The documentary is the number one show in the UK on the streamer and has had fans gripped with the bizarre story.

Bradley went missing in 1998 when she was just 23, vanishing after a night out at the ship's nightclub with her brothers and members of the ship’s band.

The family points to a number of signs that they say prove that she is not dead.

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship they were travelling on docked in Curaçao just hours after she went missing, leading Bradley’s family to believe that she had been trafficked or kidnapped.

Other signs she may still be alive include sightings of a woman matching her description and tattoos from tourists who claim to not have known anything about her prior.

As well as this, a US Navy officer contacted the family’s tip line after speaking to a sex worker in Curaçao who claimed her name was Amy Bradley and she needed help.

She was declared dead in 2010, despite her family continuing to insist that she is alive.

This was due in part to US law around missing persons.

Amy Bradley and her father Ron (Netflix)

The Social Security Administration of America state they declare someone dead when they have been missing from home and have not been heard from for seven years.

Whilst this varies by state, at times her home state of Virginia also go off seven years as the standard for death by In absentia.

This can be reversed, however, if concrete proof is found that the person in question is alive.

The directors of the Netflix documentary also believe that this is something that has a realistic prospect, having stated their belief that she is still alive in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Ari Mark, a co-director on the project, revealed that Bradley’s mother was calling him every day saying that ‘all their eggs were in his basket’.

He went on to say: “That’s quite a responsibility. So the hope is that having this be on a platform like Netflix brings them one step closer. And I really believe it will.”

When asked whether he believes she’s alive, he said: “I’ve kind of gotten to the point where I have to believe she’s alive.”

Amy Bradley is Missing is available to watch on Netflix now.