What really happened to Amy Bradley? Her 1998 cruise ship disappearance still baffles investigators

It’s been more than 25 years since Amy Lynn Bradley went missing — and people are still asking what really happened. Her case is one of the most puzzling cruise ship disappearances ever, and now, it’s getting attention again thanks to the new Netflix documentary Amy Bradley Is Missing.

The series looks back at Amy’s story — a young woman on a family vacation who vanished without a trace. Even today, there are more questions than answers.

A normal vacation turns into a nightmare

Amy was 23 years old when she disappeared. She was from Chesterfield County, Virginia, and had just graduated from Longwood University with a degree in physical education. She was athletic, smart, and had her whole life ahead of her.

In March 1998, Amy and her family, including her parents Iva and Ron and her younger brother Brad, boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. They were excited for a fun vacation, but everything changed on the morning of March 24.

Amy had been out the night before, enjoying the ship’s music and entertainment. Her dad last saw her around 5:30 a.m., sitting on the balcony smoking a cigarette. When he woke up again around 6 a.m., Amy was gone. So were her cigarettes and lighter. She never returned.

The search begins, but Amy is nowhere to be found

Her family quickly alerted the ship’s crew. A full search of the cruise ship was done. The Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard even searched the nearby waters for four days. Still, no sign of Amy.

Authorities first suggested she may have fallen overboard, but Amy’s family never believed that. She was a strong swimmer, and nothing else added up. They believed something else — something more serious — had happened.

Strange sightings and unconfirmed leads

After the cruise, the Bradleys went public with Amy’s case. They spoke out on shows like Unsolved Mysteries and America’s Most Wanted, hoping someone might recognize her.

Over the years, several people claimed they had seen Amy. A cab driver in Curaçao said a woman who looked like her asked him for help and seemed panicked. Two women on the cruise remembered seeing Amy talking to a man from the ship’s band, known as Alister Douglas (aka Yellow).

A diver in Curaçao later said he saw a woman with two men who looked scared and had tattoos just like Amy’s. In 1999, a U.S. Navy vet claimed a woman at a brothel told him her name was “Amy” and said she was being held against her will.

Each of these leads gave the family some hope — but none have ever been officially confirmed.

Still no answers after all these years

Amy’s case is still unsolved. Her family has never stopped searching for the truth. They believe Amy may have been kidnapped — possibly taken off the ship and trafficked. They’ve spent years keeping her story alive, using media, websites, and now the Netflix series to bring new attention to her case.

The show doesn’t solve the mystery, but it does walk viewers through everything — the timeline, the investigation, the sightings, and the emotional toll it’s taken on her family.

Amy Lynn Bradley went missing while on a family vacation in 1998. One moment she was present on the cruise ship — the next, she could not be located. No confirmed farewells, verified clues, or conclusive findings have been reported. Her disappearance remains an open and ongoing case that spans over two decades.

A new Netflix documentary has brought renewed visibility to the investigation. While no verified conclusions have been reached, her family continues to share her case publicly in hopes of receiving credible information or leads that could assist in determining what happened to Amy.

To this day, the case remains unsolved, and public interest continues as investigators and her family pursue any new developments. The search for answers is still ongoing.