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The creator of the popular Netflix documentary about a woman who mysteriously disappeared during a family cruise over 27 years ago has reportedly received new information regarding her case.
Amy Lynn Bradley went missing in March 1998 after boarding the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas with her parents, Ron and Iva, and her younger brother, Brad.
The family trip began in Puerto Rico and first stopped in Aruba.
On the third day of the cruise, March 23, Amy vanished after an evening of mingling and dancing at the ship’s nightclub that stretched into the early morning hours.
She was last seen asleep on the balcony in the family’s shared cabin, but no evidence suggests she fell or jumped from the railing.
When her father awoke, he couldn’t locate her and quickly notified the ship’s security team, but no trace of Amy was found, and the surveillance cameras did not capture any of her final movements.
This case has intrigued the true crime community for years, with some alleged witnesses in the documentary suggesting Amy might have been a victim of sex trafficking.
She was last observed dancing with Alister Douglas, a bass player performing with a band during the cruise, known by the nickname “Yellow,” though he has consistently asserted his innocence.
His daughter, Amica, suspects her father was involved in Amy’s disappearance and is seen in the three-part Netflix series grilling him during a tense phone call, in which he insists he has nothing to hide.
Filmmaker Ari Mark, who worked with fellow producer Phil Lott on the series, spoke exclusively to The U.S. Sun after it became a Top 10 show on the streamer.
He said, “[We’re] very pleased with very pleased with how the series has been received. The ‘buzz’ around the show is incredible.
“That’s what we want. The more people that know Amy’s story – the better.”
Asked if the team had received any possible leads since its release that have been passed on to police or the FBI, he said they had, but they don’t want to get their hopes up just yet.
“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,” he said, as they can get hoax calls, or people getting information wrong.
“This was always about one thing: finding Amy,” he went on.
“But to ensure that the audience is activated, they have to want to help.
“To use Iva Bradley’s words, they are ‘over the moon’ that Amy’s story is finally getting this level of attention. Everyone in the world now knows her name.
“I prefer to believe that Amy is alive. But there’s so little tangible official ‘evidence’ in this case that it’s impossible to know.
“So much gray area, especially when it comes to timelines.
“Remember, no cell phones and virtually no cameras, so we really can’t track people’s whereabouts, which means we can’t take anything as fact.”
SEX WORKER MYSTERY
One of the aspects only briefly touched on in the documentary is how the family’s cabin was cleaned before the police were able to look for evidence and deem it a potential crime scene.
Mark admitted the cleaner’s identity remains unknown, and it is unclear whether a small table on the balcony could have been moved closer to the railing.
Her sandals were placed side by side, and a t-shirt was lying on the arm of the chair she’d been sitting on, while her cigarettes were missing, and only an ashtray remained on the table.
“Allegedly, ‘cruise security’ was responsible for questioning their crew,” Mark said.
He added that they did search for evidence that Amy had jumped or fallen into the water, saying, “They absolutely looked and came up with nothing.
“They did find Amy’s fingerprints around the cabin, but the whole family’s fingerprints were all over the room, so it wasn’t really ‘evidence.'”
One of the most shocking parts of the documentary saw experts review photographs published on a sex worker website years later that showed a woman clad in lingerie.
The woman had strikingly similar features to Amy, and her family said they fear it could be her years on.
Asked his opinion on the legitimacy of the photographs, Mark said, “I really don’t know. We tend to air on the side of something happened to her vs accident.
“One thing we do know with missing person cases is that there usually is some elusive piece of evidence out there, but the universe needs to align to bring that thing or person forward.”
FBI REWARD
Asked about the theory that Douglas could have been involved in her disappearance, Mark confirmed his lie detector test was “inconclusive” despite reports he passed, but he was cleared by police.
Mark simply said, “I feel awful for the Douglas family and what they’ve had to endure all these years.”
Does he have any advice for anyone who has information but is terrified to come forward?
He said, “I would say to them: look at this family. Look at the pain this has caused. And look at the millions of people that want to help.
“That has to be enough for someone to muster the courage to speak out.”
He added that Amy’s family is “understandably shattered and lives in a constant state of not knowing.”
Mark added, “Gaining their trust has been a journey, but their warmth, sense of family, and strength has been something that everyone who worked on this show has admired and rallied behind.”
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.
The FBI has a page dedicated to Amy’s disappearance and a separate website that features images of what she could potentially look like today.
The page states, “The FBI is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the recovery of Amy Lynn Bradley and information that leads to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the person(s) responsible for her disappearance.”
She is described as standing at 5-feet-6-inches, and weighing 120 pounds with green eyes and short brown hair.
