Family of woman who went missing on cruise convinced photo is their daughter
The family of a woman who went missing from a cruise ship 27 years ago are convinced they've found photographs of their missing daughter.
On 21 March 1998, 23-year-old Amy Lynn Bradley, from Petersburg, Virginia in the US, boarded a Royal Caribbean International cruise from Puerto Rico to Curaçao with her mum, dad and brother.
But, just three days into their holiday onboard the Rhapsody of the Seas ship, things took a sinister turn.
In the early hours of 24 March, Amy and her brother Brad headed to the ship's nightclub to go dancing.
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Records show that Brad returned to their cabin at around 3:35 am, with Amy joining him five minutes later. The siblings spoke for a short while then headed off to bed.
At 5:30 am, their father Ron checked in on his children and saw Amy sleeping on a lounge chair on the cabin's private balcony.
But half an hour later, she was gone.
The Royal Caribbean crew searched every inch of the vessel and the Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a four-day search in the surrounding waters, but Amy was never found.
Initially, authorities suspected that the 23-year-old had fallen overboard and drowned. But this was soon discredited as Amy was known to be a strong swimmer.
And, in the months that followed her disappearance, there were multiple possible sightings of Amy in Curaçao.
In August 1998, a tourist claimed to have seen Amy walking along a beach with two men. They said she was constantly trying to get their attention until they lost sight of her at a nearby café.
And, in January 1999, a member of the US Navy claimed a woman in a brothel said she was Amy and asked him for help.
Seven years later in 2005, the Bradleys received chilling images that indicated she may have been sex trafficked.
The images - which were publicly revealed on Dr. Phil after being provided to authorities as a 'tip-off' - showed a woman strongly resembling Amy, looking uncomfortable as she posed in just her underwear.
Unfortunately, the tip-off never came to anything.
Now, in a renewed effort to find their missing daughter, Amy's family are offering a reward of $25,000 (£19,700) for help with the cold case.
"We get up every single day with the thought that maybe today, we’ll find Amy," Iva Bradley, her mother, said.
Age-processed images using AI have since been created to show what she may look like today, aged 50.
People with information are instructed to contact their local FBI office, nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
Topics: Crime, News, World News, Cruise Ship
Bec Oakes