Amy Bradley’s disappearance took place 27 years ago when, at 23 years of age, she disappeared off a cruise ship travelling through the Caribbean.
Her case has been discussed ever since, however, the release of a new Netflix documentary, AMY BRADLEY IS MISSING, has seen a whole new generation of eyes on the case.
And now those who have long followed her disappearance from aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship have noted a major detail revealed in the documentary.
For many true crime aficionados that have closely watched the Amy Bradley case for years, the documentary revealed a detail that they did not know.
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This is no minor detail either, with true crime fans saying that they believe it completely reframes the case of her disappearance.
Bradley went missing off the cruise ship in the early hours of March 24, 1998.
Several theories have been proposed in the years since, with the main two remaining that she either fell off (intentionally or otherwise) or was kidnapped off the boat to be trafficked.
Whichever theory you feel is most likely to be true, the Netflix documentary touches on one key aspect of Amy’s personality and life that many feel has been omitted from previous coverage of the case.
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The documentary is the first major one about Amy Bradley to touch on the fact that she identified as a queer woman.
While the detail that she was a lesbian was partially known by some due to an interview with Buster ‘Yellow’ Douglas, a cruise ship musician who was interviewed by the FBI for being one of the last to see her.
Yellow stated that Amy had told him she was gay, and that her family did not approve of this.
Her family do not agree, saying they were aware she was ‘bisexual’ for years, though they claim she had a boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. This clashes with claims from her friends and ex-girlfriends who say she was a lesbian.
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One of her ex-girlfriends, Mollie McClure, received a message in a bottle from Amy sent before they embarked on the cruise. The pair had fallen out not long prior after Amy had kissed someone else, with McClure insisting she needed some time apart.
McClure recounted the heartbreaking message out in the documentary’s final episode, saying it read: “I feel like there is an ocean between us. Like I am on a desert island waiting for you to rescue me.
"A message in a bottle, my only hope. I miss you, Mollie. Save me please.”
While her sexuality does not have a direct link to her disappearance, many viewers noted their shock that such a key part of her personality was left out of major coverage for 27 years.
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One viewer took to a Reddit thread about the doc, saying: “I found it strange that after following this case for decades (meaning I watched every doc and podcast I could find on the case) we are just now learning Amy is gay and all the emotion and factors around it at the time of the cruise.”
A second viewer commented, saying: “I have been wondering the exact same thing. I've watched every documentary on Amy that has been made so far and in every one they denied her true sexuality, in some her family even said she had a boyfriend!”
Another commented: “Yes, as a queer woman watching the doco, I was maybe 5 minutes in when I thought "are they going to talk about the fact she's gay?" I do feel like it adds something very meaningful to the story.”
AMY BRADLEY IS MISSING is available to watch on Netflix now.
Topics: Amy Bradley, Netflix, True Crime, Royal Caribbean, TV and Film, TV, Documentaries
Michael Slavin