Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Amy Bradley, Documentaries, True Crime, Crime
Anish Vij
Topics: Netflix, Amy Bradley, Documentaries, True Crime, Crime
A former detective has addressed the various theories surrounding what might have happened to Amy Bradley.
The college graduate, 23, was on board the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship with her parents Ron and Iva Bradley, and her younger brother Brad, when she went missing.
Just three days after setting off on 21 March, 1998, she was seen by her father sleeping on the balcony of their cabin at around 5.30am. 30 minutes later, she disappeared without a trace.
No alarms were triggered, and despite extensive searches on the ship, and in the surrounding waters, Amy was never found.
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Only her sandals were left behind in the cabin and this puzzling disappearance has sparked numerous theories over the past two decades, such as sex trafficking, a fall or push overboard, or suspicious details surrounding her footwear.
Netflix's three-part documentary series Amy Bradley is Missing revisits the case and everything that came with it. The doc has since generated new leads, with director Ari Mark telling the US Sun 'they have had a few leads come in' but 'they're not verified yet, so they may very likely be false leads'.
Amy’s family have long believed she was abducted and sex trafficked.
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Throughout the years, there has been multiple reported sightings of women thought to be Amy from various Caribbean locations.
In 1999, a US Navy officer claimed he saw a woman in a Curaçao brothel who told him she was 'Amy Bradley' and begged for help.
Then years later, a photo showing a woman resembling Amy surfaced on a sex worker website, causing more speculation.
Former Connecticut State Police detective Peter Valentin told Fox News Digital that, in his experience, eyewitnesses tend to convince themselves that they've seen someone.
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"Our memories are not perfect recorders of events that happen to us or around us but a bit more malleable than I think we are willing to recognise," he explained.
"This case, I think, will hinge on someone remembering that they know something because of this remerging in the public eye."
Another theory is that Amy may have fallen or been pushed overboard.
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However, the 23-year-old was a trained lifeguard and a strong swimmer, making the accidental fall theory less persuasive to her family and investigators.
"There is decidedly little evidence of a fall or push, nor would there be," Valentin said. "There would be next to no evidence unless there would be a struggle prior to the push."
"The room was cleaned before the FBI agents had access," he added. "Whether they realised it or not, they de-emphasised the value of physical evidence in that room."
An FBI spokesperson previously said authorities had 'no evidence of foul play'.
Valentin said he would be interested to know if any clothing items or extra shoes were not accounted for.
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If everything in her possession was accounted for then it would be less likely Amy left on her own accord.
Whether or not investigators took note of her stock was not mentioned in the documentary.
To open up a cold case like this, the former detective says the evidence has to be resubmitted.