OCEAN ENIGMA
FBI issues urgent update on missing Amy Bradley 28 years after she vanished from Royal Caribbean cruise without a trace
Fiona McLoughlin , News Reporter
Published: 13:45, 30 Mar 2026
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Updated: 14:45, 30 Mar 2026
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THE FBI is looking for new leads in the shocking disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley, who vanished 28 years ago from a cruise with her family.
Bradley embarked on a Royal Caribbean International cruise alongside her family for a seven-day trip, but she disappeared on March 24, 1998 and has yet to be found.
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Amy Lynn Bradley was 23-years-old when she vanished from the balcony of a cruiseCredit: NETFLIX
The Bradley family boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise liner in March 1998 for a seven-day cruiseCredit: AFP
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for any information relating to Bradley’s disappearanceCredit: Federal Bureau of Investigation
The FBI shared a missing person flyer on Tuesday, exactly 28 years after Bradley went missing, looking for new information regarding the case.
Authorities said they are offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of Bradley and any information that leads to identifying, arresting or convicting those responsible for her disappearance.
Bradley’s disappearance caught nationwide attention, including in recent years with the 2025 release of Amy Bradley Is Missing, a three-part Netflix documentary series.
Bradley, then 23, boarded the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas with her family in 1998 and went missing within the first few days of the trip.
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She was last seen on the balcony of the cabin that she shared with her parents and younger brother.
Her father, Ron, reported seeing her feet hanging from a chair on the balcony around 5:30am and by 6am, she was nowhere to be seen.
There was no evidence that Bradley jumped or fell from the high railing of the ship, and she was not seen again on the vessel’s security cameras.
Before her disappearance, she and her brother Brad were partying at the ship’s nightclub.
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Bradley was last seen dancing with Alister “Yellow” Douglas, around 5:45am, the ship band’s bassist.
Douglas has maintained that he does not know what happened to her and was ruled out by the FBI.
Amy and her brother Brad, were dancing and drinking at a nightclub before they returned to their cabinCredit: FBI
Several people have reported seeing Bradley since she went missing, but she still remains missing 28 years laterCredit: NETFLIX
Douglas’ daughter, Amica, told filmmakers that she was suspicious of her father’s story and called him to comment on the case while being interviewed on camera. He insisted he had nothing to hide.
Theories swirled surrounding her disappearance, with her family thinking she could have left the room and been abducted and sex-trafficked.
Her mother, Iva, shut down theories that Bradley could have intentionally taken her life, writing in a post for International Cruise Victims, “She had just moved into her new apartment and was starting a new job on the following Monday.”
“She had so many plans and was so happy about all of them.”
Bradley also adopted a dog one day before the cruise, Iva said.
Timeline of Amy Lynn Bradley’s last hours before her disappearance
March 23, 1998, evening Amy Lynn Bradley and her brother, Brad, attended a dance party at the ship’s disco, where they were seen with members of the ship’s band. The ship was sailing from Aruba to Curaçao.
March 24, 1998, 3:35 a.m. Brad Bradley returned to the family cabin, followed five minutes later by Amy, after a night of dancing and drinking. They sat on the balcony and talked before Brad went to sleep.
March 24, 1998, 5:15 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Amy’s father, Ron Bradley, woke up briefly and saw Amy asleep on a lounge chair on their cabin’s balcony. This is the last confirmed sighting of her by her family.
March 24, 1998, 5:30 a.m. to 5:45 a.m. Three witnesses later claimed to have seen Amy on an upper deck of the ship with Alister “Yellow” Douglas, a member of the ship’s band, and said he was seen leaving alone shortly after 6 a.m.
March 24, 1998, 6:00 a.m. When Ron Bradley woke up again, Amy was no longer on the balcony, but her shoes were still in the cabin, and her cigarettes and lighter were missing. He began to search the ship for her.
March 24, 1998, 6:30 a.m. The family reported Amy missing to the ship’s crew and asked that passengers be prevented from disembarking, but their request was denied. The ship had already docked in Curaçao.
March 24, 1998, 7:50 a.m. The ship made a public announcement for Amy to come to the purser’s desk, but by this time, many of the passengers had already disembarked. A full ship search was conducted later in the day, but no sign of Amy was found.
March 24-27, 1998 The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard conducted a four-day air and sea search for Amy around Curaçao and Aruba, but no trace of her was ever found. Authorities initially considered the possibility that she fell overboard, but this theory was later dismissed.
Other theories have floated around that she purposely left to start a new life.
Another theory formulated by journalist and YouTuber James Renner alleged Bradley had been smoking heavily during the trip and was worrying about revealing her sexuality to her family.
Renner claimed investigators told him there were footprints on the balcony door and handprints on the railing suggesting she pushed herself off.
“I think it’s possible she sat on the railing. I think what we might be looking at here is what the French call ‘l’appel du vide’ which we call ‘call of the void,’” he told The U.S. Sun in August 2025.
“I think it’s possible. She had a really rough night. She’d been drinking. She had a very big decision to make when she got home from that cruise ship.”
Bradley’s mother, Iva, said her daughter “had so many plans and was so happy about all of them”Credit: NETFLIX
Ron Bradley, Amy’s father, reported seeing her feet hanging off a balcony chair around 30 minutes before she vanishedCredit: NETFLIX
The cruise left from Puerto Rico and traveled to Aruba before heading to Curaçao, where Bradley was last seenCredit: NETFLIX
Renner also claimed Bradley’s family cut him off after he brought up her sexuality during his investigation.
A family spokesperson told The U.S. Sun that the family had known Bradley was gay since 1995, and said “they have all moved on from that, and they love their daughter no matter what and support her.”
“The Bradleys want to make sure the topic is about finding out what happened to their daughter and not some writer’s sensational gay theory.
“It really had [no] relevance to the case, and they thought it would distract [from] finding Amy.”
Since her disappearance, several people have reported seeing her around Curaçao, where the ship docked just minutes after she vanished.
A taxi driver from Curaçao told the family he saw her running and searching for a phone within two hours of the boat entering the port, the New York Post reported.
One tourist later said they saw a young girl with two men, and another reported sighting came in 2005 when the Bradley family was sent a photo from an adult website of a woman resembling their daughter.
Bradley was officially declared dead in 2010, but her family believes she could still be out there.
“The hope doesn’t go away,” Brad told NewsNation in February.
“As unrealistic as it may be to some people, it’s possible that she’s still alive and still out there.”
Ari Mark, a filmmaker who worked with fellow producer Phil Lott on the 2025 Netflix series, spoke exclusively with The U.S. Sun, saying several leads came about after the show aired, but they didn’t want to immediately get their hopes up.
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“We have had a few leads come in, but I can’t discuss them and they’re not verified yet, so they may very likely be false leads,” Mark said.
The investigation into her disappearance remains ongoing.
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