Amy Lynn Bradley: Will Her Cruise Ship Disappearance Ever Be Solved?

23 years on, Amy’s family are still haunted by her mysterious vanishing.

Amy Lynn Bradley, pictured before her disappearance in 1998 (Image: FBI website)

In March 1998, vivacious college graduate Amy Lynn Bradley from the US state of Virginia was heading out on the trip of a lifetime: a cruise around the islands of the Caribbean with her parents Ron and Iva and her brother Brad.

However, it was a trip from which she would never return. More than two decades later, her family has been left wondering if they will ever find out what happened to the daughter and sister who appeared to simply vanish without trace.

That fateful night

Amy and her family had embarked on a weeklong trip aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line ship. It set off from Puerto Rico to its first port of call, Aruba, on March 21st 1998, then was scheduled to sail on to Curacao in the Antilles.

The family had been enjoying the voyage and, on the night of March 23rd, Amy and her brother headed to the ship’s nightclub to dance into the early hours. Although they spent much of the evening together, Brad decided to return to his cabin a little earlier than his sister.

Indeed, the ship’s door lock records show he entered the family’s suite around 3:35 am on March 24th, although Amy only arrived five minutes later. The two chatted again before Brad went to bed and left Amy in a lounge chair on the balcony.

Ron awoke some time between 5:15 and 5:30 am and briefly got up, seeing his daughter dozing in the same place before he went to sleep again.

It was only when Ron returned to the balcony at 6:00 am to check on Amy that the family realised she was no longer in the suite. Amy was gone, along with her cigarettes and lighter — although not her shoes and ID.

Brad said he thought he remembered Amy mentioning going to get cigarettes, but this would have meant disembarking from the ship which had now docked in Curacao. Ron and Iva quickly alerted the cruise authorities about Amy, but the crew was preparing to lower the gangplanks for an excursion.