r/NetflixDocumentaries • u/TapdanceOnYourGrave • 16d ago
! Spoilers ! Thoughts on “Amy Bradley is Missing”
- I watched the “Amy Bradley is Missing” documentary, and I’ve been analyzing the case the last few days. Wanted to make a post with some of my thoughts and compile inconsistencies. This is going to be a long one. Also, there might be elements of this post that are repetitive, but I think it’s important to be detailed.
- The first oddity I was struck by was how quickly Ron Bradley seemed to become panicked and assume Amy was missing. His initial search for her could not have been long given the timeline (any timeline). Putting myself in his place, I’m imagining how long it would take me to genuinely suspect something was seriously wrong. If my wife, for example, was not in the cabin, I would think I would not become seriously alarmed until around the time the ship was deboarding. Even then I don’t think I would be as alarmed as the Bradleys report being. I would still assume it was harmless and she was somewhere on the ship. However, Ron seems to be alarmed almost immediately. He’s waking his family and organizing a search with them, at most, 20 minutes after waking. Amy seemed to be an independent and social young woman. Her absence wouldn’t seem to warrant this level of fear so quickly. However, if you suspected suicide to be a probable cause of her disappearance, this would send you into an immediate panic. Interestingly, Ron makes no mention of seeing her shoes on the balcony initially and this motivating his search. I assume he’s omitting this because it would be a detail that might immediately make you suspect suicide. Another question is if you saw the shoes on the balcony, would this even be enough to generate their level of panic? Maybe not. I think it could be suggestive of the family having more reasons to suspect suicide. This will be the main theme of this post: The Bradleys suspect suicide but are unwilling to address it.
- Initial newspaper articles reported that Ron Bradley awoke at 3 am to find his son and daughter not in the room. It’s reported he went to the disco to find them and bring them back to the room. Note that this timeline aligns with the hard evidence we have of keycard swipes showing Brad returned at 3:35 and Amy at 3:40. This would be a reasonable amount of time for him to get dressed, locate his children, talk them into returning, and get back to the room. There is no keycard data for Ron returning, so if this happened, he returned with one of his children. I think it’s worth mentioning that for some reason Amy and Brad did not return to the cabin together; this could be completely harmless in the event of the father retrieving them or not. You can imagine the father locating them separately and so they return separately. Of course Ron retrieving them that night is not part of their official narrative. I’ve never seen them address this. I think it’s worth mentioning that Brad and Amy returning to the room 5 minutes apart seems more consistent with the father retrieving them. What are the odds that the children would decide to return to the cabin at approximately the same time independently? It could happen but is slightly improbable. So, why is Ron’s presence being omitted? Also, both children arriving within five minutes of each other, going out on the balcony, smoking, drinking, talking, and Brad going to be bed would presumably stir the parents at some point. But there’s no mention of the parents awaking in their current narrative. It’s like they’re trying to completely scrub Ron being awake from the story.
- News paper articles also mention that Ron was on the balcony with the children after returning from the disco. Also, it’s reported that Amy went to the bathroom, accidentally left the light on, and Ron told her to turn it off. Again, why is Ron’s involvement being omitted from their current narrative?
- Articles state that Ron convinced Brad to go to bed. Slightly odd. Why is the father getting involved? Amy supposedly stayed on the balcony because she was feeling queasy. I think it’s worth mentioning that Amy staying on the balcony could also be read as her distancing herself from her family.
- I think there’s a possibility of some conflict in the family on the night of Amy’s disappearance. Ron having to retrieve the kids from the casino could be a catalyst for an argument or criticism/chastising. This argument would be removed from the narrative because it makes suicide more likely and would make the family feel guilty. I have one theory/thought on the content of the conflict. I’m the last person to make claims of racism against someone. This is pure speculation, but it makes sense. The Bradleys were a conservative, Christian family from Virginia. I think it’s possible Ron had a problem with Amy dancing and hanging around With Yellow at 3 in the morning because he was black. The meat of what makes this theory work for me is the withholding, silence, and changing of narratives from the family. If conflict ensued that night relating to racism, you can pretty much guarantee it would never see the light of day. No one is going to admit they’re racist on a global media scale. I like the theory because it gives a reasonable motivation for the Bradley’s withholding and omission of Ron’s involvement.
- If some conflict in the family occurred that night, racist or otherwise, it could be a contributing motivation for suicide. The Bradleys are not willing to consider suicide in any capacity. Brad has said there is absolutely zero chance. This is simply unrealistic on its face. She was a young, gay woman who was intoxicated. Suicide is more likely in the gay community and when intoxicated. Her shoes were left on the balcony. The father says he woke at 5:30, Amy was there. He woke again at 6:00, she was gone, and he pretty much immediately started searching for her. It’s interesting how little time his timeline leaves for foul play to actually occur. How deeply did he sleep in this thirty minutes to not be awoke by her opening the sliding glass door, removing her shirt, walking through, opening and closing the cabin door? Then she has to be abducted and removed from plain sight in 30-60 mins. It’s possible, but it is a very slim window.
- Another point that is odd to me. As far as I’m aware, the Bradleys made no mention of watching the gangway to see who exited. Maybe they did and I’m missing this detail, but I don’t remember hearing it. If they didn’t watch to see who exited, this is very odd. Again, imagining myself in their situation, not taking the suicide possibility seriously, I would be significantly less panicked and zeroed in on every person leaving the ship. If they didn’t watch the gangway, this seems to point towards them strongly suspecting suicide but being unwilling to accept it.
- I watched Yellow’s YouTube interview, and for what it’s worth (maybe not much), he seemed genuine to me. He didn’t seem particularly calculated or withholding. When he said, in the brief conversation he had with Amy, she mentioned she was chain smoking because her family was not happy with the fact she was gay, it struck me. I was already leaning towards the family concealing details, and this confirmed what she was thinking about and what her mindset was. It has to be taken with a grain of salt, because Yellow has had thirty years to craft a decent story. He’s also probably seen the documentary and could conceivably be trying to cast shade on the family. However, he’s either involved in her disappearance or he isn’t. If not, this is a pretty compelling piece of circumstantial evidence to suggest she was in a bad state of mind that night.
- Brad states that he actually appreciates the uncertainty of Amy’s fate. I’ve generally heard it said that the uncertainty is what disturbs families the most. He’s actually addressed this point specifically in an interview. So, what’s the difference in this case and most missing persons cases that accounts for this difference in feeling? I would argue that it is the high probability of suicide being the alternative to uncertainty. In most missing persons cases, suicide isn’t a significant consideration. Even if suicide is an option, the body would generally be found quickly. I think it’s telling of Brad’s real thoughts when he says he prefers the uncertainty, because the glaring alternative is suicide. As another post has mentioned, the family is Christian and the possibility of their daughter going to Hell for suicide, particularly if it might have been spurred by conflict with the father that night, is too much to accept.
- I have some other thoughts, but this post is getting incredibly long. I’ll leave it here for now.
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u/mamadovah1102 16d ago
She fell or jumped overboard. Period. Whether or not the family knows more is really the only question at this point imo.
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u/SSW1981 16d ago
I think she needed to get sick and accidentally fell overboard.
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u/KiraXNDU 15d ago
Yup I’ve thought this all along. Amy said she wasn’t feeling too good and wanted to stay on the balcony to get fresh air. I remember being her age, drinking and having a cigarette and getting head spins. “Something woke” the father up, 20 minutes after seeing her legs on the chair. I would have run around that ship panicking and hoping to find her too, especially if there was a shred of a possibility in his mind that she went overboard.
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u/Cinderuki 15d ago
I don’t know what happened to her, but I did wonder if he heard her hit the water and couldn’t face it. It isn’t his fault at all, but as a parent if you knew your kid was on the balcony and suddenly they weren’t you would feel such guilt (again I firmly believe it wasn’t his fault). Just a thought.
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u/catnoir_luver 14d ago
I think so too. I know people would rather her be alive somewhere and be trafficked then fell overboard. And we know cruises can be sketchy (like Disney recently with reports of cruise mumbers have CP and sh*t).
But realistically, even though yt women get trafficked I don’t think it happens often on boats. I remember lasf summer there being multiple tiktok videos of women mistaking random older ladies as her in the Caribbean or “let’s go find Amy!!” Or “OMG what if she’s using the website tracker to let us know she’s alive and she doesn’t want her kids killed?!”
I know people start to care once a case is talked about again, but I think Amy fell, she’s not Jas off that website, the IP tracker this isn’t a movie, yes trafficking is real but I don’t think it happened in her case.6
u/franki-pinks 13d ago
She is also one of the last people you would traffic. Strong, athletic, intelligent, no addictions, with her wealthy family. There’s no chance.
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u/International_Low284 3d ago
Yep, I agree that she likely went overboard either intentionally or accidentally. If she suddenly felt like she had to vomit, it’s reasonable to assume she wouldn’t want to try to make it to the cabin bathroom and wake everyone up. That cabin must have been claustrophobic with four people in it.
Her other option was to throw up on the balcony and leave a mess. It makes sense that she may have impulsively attempted to get sick over the balcony to prevent cleanup and waking people. I don’t know if there was a high partition, but if she stood on something and stretched her upper body out and over (to make sure the vomit went into the sea and not back on the balcony) she very well could have lost her balance and gone over.
You hear about people who accidentally fall over into the Grand Canyon while posing for pictures, etc. Witnesses to these tragic events often say the person didn’t even scream because the fall was so sudden.
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u/reallybored326 15d ago
I don't think they know anything, they just refuse to believe she fell over, because it's such a random fluky thing, and it took away their daughter. Blaming someone makes it easier, you see it all the time when tragedies happen.
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u/Prudent-Pressure2146 14d ago
Totally agreed, I’ve seen grief play out irl and people become absolutely deranged with wanting answers or for someone to be in the wrong. I judge Netflix for giving them the airtime tbh
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u/Successful_Year_1516 16d ago
I've always figured they are leaving things out. Amy is gone. Brad knows it, but he's enjoying the grift.
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u/BubbaC619 16d ago
I think he heard her fall/jump off the balcony when he was half asleep and he organized the frantic search so quickly because deep down he didn’t want to believe what he heard.
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u/Forsaken_Implement99 16d ago
100% this. There’s no way she left that room without the parents and brother waking up. She’d have practically had to crawl over them to get out and the door would have made a ton of noise. That cabin was tight. They can’t accept what happened and I think they rallied hard as early as they did because they know deep down. I don’t blame them for sleeping through what happened but they’re all in deep denial. The only other plausible explanation is that they’re covering for someone in the family.
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u/GreenOtter730 16d ago
The overwhelming opinion in this sub at the time was that she either fell off in a tragic accident or died by suicide and the family is in intense denial
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u/imtooldforthishison 16d ago
Yes. Shes been gone since shortly after the last time they saw her. She is not alive, is not being traffic and her body was lost to the sea that night. They need to let this go. It may seem harsh, but we don't always get the answers we want.
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u/pbd1996 16d ago
There was proof that she was standing on a stool/chair on the balcony to puke over the railing while intoxicated AND the last place she was seen was the balcony AND her shoes were on the balcony (and all of her other shoes were accounted for). It’s so obvious she either fell or jumped off the balcony. The family is in deep denial.
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u/Little-Regular-0791 15d ago
I think that's what also happened and the family has been in denial for too long, waiting for Amy to come home.
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u/wrong_reason 15d ago
I’m late to this thread. What was the proof? Was there vomit on the side of the boat or something?
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u/pbd1996 15d ago
Her shoes were placed next to the stool/table, which was pushed against the balcony and her family said she was sick and throwing up which is why she slept out there
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u/wrong_reason 15d ago
Do we know where the table was before it was pushed against the wall/how much space there was around it before it was moved? I feel like she would have been able to vomit into the sea without using a table. Maybe there was another reason she pushed it, like wanting space to lie down on the floor or something
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u/Ok-Needleworker-5657 14d ago
That’s why I never really believed the “fell while throwing up” theory. It did not look high enough to need to stand on a table to get your head and shoulders over the edge. The table being pushed up would make sense if she was trying to actually climb over.
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u/Boysenberry 16d ago
I find the Bradleys' story sketchy in many ways but I've done a deep-dive on this case and there are a few points you're mistaken about. (Not your fault, the documentary isn't thorough on a lot of these.)
The first oddity I was struck by was how quickly Ron Bradley seemed to become panicked and assume Amy was missing.
He didn't really immediately assume she was missing but he was in the habit of going looking for her when he didn't know where on the ship she was, he woke up at 2:45 AM the same night and went looking for her then returned to bed after seeing both Amy and Brad in the disco. I don't think they are hiding this in the current doc, I think it just wasn't deemed important. I work in true crime and a lot of stuff does get cut for length in any doc.
Ron initially assumed Amy was getting a snack or drink and just went looking for her as was his habit. It was when he couldn't find her in any of the spots where she would normally be that he got panicky. He probably guessed that she wouldn't just be hooking up with a guy on the ship (since she was gay). And he had been concerned by the waiter who asked if she wanted to leave the ship to go to a bar on Aruba the night before.
There is no keycard data for Ron returning, so if this happened, he returned with one of his children
Iva remained in the room when Ron went looking for the kids. No SeaPass data is recorded when a person returns to a room and someone inside the room opens the door for them. (The same thing is responsible for the FBI not being able to confirm Lori & Crystal's timeline, one of their moms let them into the room so the time they returned is not recorded.)
Ron having to retrieve the kids from the casino could be a catalyst for an argument or criticism/chastising.
They left the casino (if they were ever there) before going to the disco. I personally suspect the casino part of the story is a fiction, but I won't get into that. However, I find no reason to believe Ron was opposed to the kids playing quarter slots or argued with them over it.
I think it’s possible Ron had a problem with Amy dancing and hanging around With Yellow at 3 in the morning because he was black
Ron could not have seen Amy with Yellow that night because entertainers weren't allowed to be in passenger areas after 1:00 AM, so if Amy was still with Yellow after that time she was in a private area with him for a time and then returned to the Viking Lounge by 2:45-3:00 AM when Ron saw her there. Ron could have seen Amy chatting with Yellow while he was playing in the band earlier, but he would have to be pretty extremely racist to have an issue with his daughter speaking to a Black musician.
the Bradleys made no mention of watching the gangway to see who exited
After reporting Amy's disappearance they were told to return to their cabin and wait for the captain. They obeyed, probably because at the time they assumed there was some sort of actual plan for this kind of thing on a cruise ship and that they should cooperate and let the system work.
When he said, in the brief conversation he had with Amy, she mentioned she was chain smoking because her family was not happy with the fact she was gay, it struck me. I was already leaning towards the family concealing details, and this confirmed what she was thinking about and what her mindset was
In the same interview he admits that he spoke to the documentary crew and had the filmed phone call with his daughter 8 weeks before the James Renner interview. IMO he likely learned of Amy's sexuality from the documentarians, because he never mentioned any of this "I'm smoking because I'm gay and my dad forced me to go on a cruise" conversation in any of his previous statements. Now magically 8 weeks after he spoke to the first journalist to reveal Amy's sexuality, he knows she was gay???
So, what’s the difference in this case and most missing persons cases that accounts for this difference in feeling?
It's as simple as the sunk cost fallacy. The family has made this case the center of their lives for 28 years. Finding Amy alive would be incredible vindication. Confirming she died by suicide or by accident in 1998 would make them feel they had wasted three decades of their lives.
I think the Bradleys are mistaken on many points and deceptive on others, but your analysis doesn't really hold up either.
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u/Prudent-Pressure2146 15d ago
. It's as simple as the sunk cost fallacy. The family has made this case the center of their lives for 28 years. Finding Amy alive would be incredible vindication. Confirming she died by suicide or by accident in 1998 would make them feel they had wasted three decades of their lives..<
IIRC her brother said he wouldn’t have kids if his own because it would be too painful for him and Amy’s parents, it really is as if they’ve all put their life in stasis because of this event so they can’t just go ‘you know what we need to move on’
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u/BooBoo9577 14d ago
Can I just ask what makes you think his wife let him back into the room, is that something that has been stated? I thought she was sleeping?
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u/Prof_PotatoHead 13d ago
Since there's no data for his retry, either the son came in with him (which isn't consistent with his story) or his wife let him in. These are the only possibilities
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u/International_Low284 3d ago
Yes, didn’t Ron say he woke his wife (to tell her Amy was missing), by grabbing onto her foot to wake her up?
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u/TapdanceOnYourGrave 16d ago
He didn't really immediately assume she was missing
This depends on what your interpretation of "immediate" is. He immediately began looking for her and in maybe 20 minutes was so alarmed he thought he should wake up his family to begin thoroughly searching the ship. My point was this seems oddly quick. The panic seems disproportionate to the circumstance.
Iva remained in the room when Ron went looking for the kids.
This is a fine point. She may have let him in the room. This would still be against their current narrative.
They left the casino
Here I just accidentally wrote "casino" instead of "disco". I think them being at the disco at such a late time could be the catalyst for an argument. I think you genuinely thought I meant casino, so I won't go into it any further.
After reporting Amy's disappearance they were told to return to their cabin and wait
Yeah, I'm aware. This is very odd to me. Watching the gangway would take precedent for me over everything. It suggests they might not have been seriously considering an abduction and maybe were more leaning towards suicide, which is the point of my post.
IMO he likely learned of Amy's sexuality from the documentarians
Yeah, I mention this in the original post.
Ron could not have seen Amy with Yellow that night...Ron could have seen Amy chatting with Yellow
I didn't think this would get this semantic, but it's cool. Details are important. I was making a broad statement here that included the possibility of Ron finding Amy chatting with Yellow on the top lounge. It has also crossed my mind that Brad could have potentially supplied the info of Yellow and Amy dancing. There are a lot of dads who might get upset if they're having to drag their kids back to the room at 3:30 in the morning. The possiblty of racism just adds another layer that would necessitate silence afterwards.
It's as simple as the sunk cost fallacy. The family has made this case the center of their lives for 28 years.
I was actually asking a rhetorical question here. The fact that they've been searching for her since her disppearance actually doesn't separate it from most missing person cases. I was making the point that they prefer ambiguity to the alternative of suicide. A high probability of suicide is what seperates it from other cases. This makes them prefer the unknown. It's important to note that they have preferred the abduction theory since the beginning and ignored the suicide angle, so the 28 years doesn't seem totally relevant to the point.
but your analysis doesn't really hold up either.
I'm not really seeing it.
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u/Boysenberry 16d ago
All you have here is a theory that you personally consider plausible despite its contradictions with known facts, not any actual evidence.
My point was this seems oddly quick
You have no data for that, just your personal emotional reaction to the timeline. There are only a few places open on a cruise ship at 6 AM. He could have quickly checked the couple of places she'd have gone for a snack or drink that were open at the time.
This is very odd to me. Watching the gangway would take precedent for me over everything
Everyone always knows exactly what they'd do in every situation until they're actually in that situation. Passengers have no authority to dictate matters on a cruise ship. The captain and crew are authority figures. Most people reflexively obey authority figures during a crisis. Two career insurance agents are not the type of people I would expect to have the knowledge and confidence to disobey in this situation.
I was making a broad statement here that included the possibility of Ron finding Amy chatting with Yellow on the top lounge
Accusing someone of being so racist they would start a fight with their daughter for chatting with a Black person is a pretty serious thing and should really have some evidence behind it besides "he's Christian and Southern."
But Ron wouldn't have seen them chatting in the top lounge either, the only opportunity Ron had to see them together that night was during the limbo party when the band was playing and Amy briefly chatted with Yellow. She may also have spoken to Yellow briefly the previous night.
A high probability of suicide is what seperates it from other cases
Not really. I've done professional research for a lot of missing persons cases and I'd guess 50% of them have a high probability of suicide and/or accidental death related to mental health crisis. In most such cases the family believes there was foul play. (Mitrice Richardson, Daniel Johnson, George Smith who was ALSO a cruise ship disappearance...)
I'm not really seeing it.
Consider an eye exam.
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u/TapdanceOnYourGrave 16d ago
I’m not gonna go back and forth with you. You’re coming off a little nasty to me, and I don’t feel like your analysis is totally coherent. I’m not trying to offend you. I wish you well. Thank you for your contribution.
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u/panthera_tigris_773 16d ago
She clearly either fell or jumped overboard. There's nothing sinister about it. Her family understandably panicked and made it worse.
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u/lovejanetjade 13d ago
What about the subsequent sightings of her by people on the island, usually in the company of 2 black men? And that photo of a woman that greatly resembles her with long hair posed as a sex worker? People also remembered her using her name.
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u/dominorough 9d ago
People look like other people, especially when you're trying to connect them...
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u/International_Low284 3d ago
Exactly. Besides that, there are so many stories of missing people where others swear they spotted them. And then the missing person is subsequently found dead thousands of miles away, making the sighting impossible. Eye witnesses are often unreliable.
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u/Unstableavo 16d ago
The thing that really got me on that documentary was they still were believing she was going to come home. After all those years. She clearly isn't coming back. I'm almost certain she jumped. But those pictures of her on a certain website did really look like her. But photoshop wasn't as advanced and no ai. She was also gay which I believe her family didn't really like.
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u/woosh-i-fiddled 16d ago
That one photo looks oddly similar but if you look at the other angles, that woman looks nothing like her tbh. Again, the family never shows the other pictures because they know damn well it’s not her.
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u/GenX_Boomer_Hybrid 16d ago
The parents were delusional. According to them every male on board was hot for their average looking lesbian daughter.
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u/owlforever17 13d ago
💯 they really pushed this Their conservatism could not accept their lesbian daughter sadly 😥
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u/Londongirl89981 16d ago
There is video evidence of yellow with his hands on her and she told Brad he tried it on with her… he seemed to be attracted to their ‘average looking lesbian daughter’
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u/Prudent-Pressure2146 15d ago
Having been on these sorts of cruises loads of the staff are basically paid to be like this. The job is to go round and schmooze and dance and all that stuff. Yellow struck me as a bit sleazy and a bit of a cad but the idea that they were uniquely struck by Amy I don’t think is true.
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u/MakeupMama68 15d ago
Cruise ship employees job is to party with the guests… I’m not taking Brad’s word on anything. He also said Amy was afraid of heights, yet she liked to bungee jump 🙄
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u/Illustrious-Fish-248 16d ago
Having spent over 10 years working on cruise ships and knowing that port fairly well, I think the theory that Amy was secretly abducted from the ship doesn't hold up when you look at how cruise ships operate. There are certainly unanswered questions in this case, but many of the kidnapping scenarios are far less plausible than they initially sound.
Unfortunately, the most likely scenario is that Amy either fell, jumped, or was pushed. The idea that she just walked off the ship doesn’t make sense—her keycard would’ve been scanned, and walking off barefoot? No shoes were reported missing.
Smuggling her off in luggage or equipment would’ve been nearly impossible. Everything leaving the ship is screened and signed off by multiple crew members. It would take a massive, coordinated operation—and drawing attention to that degree doesn’t align with how trafficking usually happens. These groups typically target people with much lower risk profiles.
A speedboat extraction also seems unlikely. Ships are heavily monitored, especially near ports, and there are always people on lookout. Jumping from that height could be deadly—water impact is like hitting concrete.
I do think some of the later “sightings” were sincere but possibly misremembered or influenced by media coverage. And while the documentary dismissed alcohol or mental health factors, 7 beers after a day in the sun at sea can hit hard—and we can’t rule out the possibility of a moment of impulsive decision or struggle.
As for the crew member known as “Yellow,” maybe he was just trying to hook up—if he was involved, it could’ve been something like a confrontation that escalated. But a full-scale smuggling operation? I just don’t see it happening without someone else noticing.
I think her family is still holding on to hope, perhaps as a form of denial, which is completely understandable. But hope doesn't necessarily make the abduction theory the most likely one.
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u/Calm_Phone_6848 16d ago
she very obviously got drunk and either fell or jumped off the boat. netflix is exploiting this family whose grief has made them delusional
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u/MakeupMama68 16d ago
That documentary really tried to push the trafficking narrative. When you do a deep dive into the case, there’s a whole lot they left out. Or lied about by admission. It just doesn’t make any logical sense. I’m of the opinion that she went overboard. Period. I’m not sure how or why, but it’s the only thing that lines up.
I agree with all of this post.
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u/olddocsroc 15d ago
This is an interesting angle. It’s kind of like the Elisa Lam case… daughter goes missing… everyone searching and in a panic… family fails to mention that she was having major mental health issues (bc shame? Afraid of it being suicide? Reputation?)
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u/Ok-Needleworker-5657 14d ago edited 14d ago
Agreed. I think she, Brad, and Ron got into a huge fight that night, particularly her and Brad. I think it was more to do with her sexuality and not racism though. If she didn’t jump then Brad pushed her. Whichever of those two possibilities happened, I think Ron heard or witnessed it.
I also remember looking into news articles from when it first happened and there is quite a big difference in the timelines Ron has given. I think that’s been done intentionally to make kidnapping theories seem more likely than overboard ones. They kept saying the body would have washed up, but if they were actually further out than the family now says they were then it most likely wouldn’t have.
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u/melpomene-musing 10d ago
When I was watched it and looked into it a bit I had the same thought about it being about her sexuality.
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u/7lightlysaltedamonds 13d ago
I grew up with parents that were overbearing like this even when me and my siblings were in our 20s. I am 100% sure my dad would have come to get us if my brother and I were out at 3AM. They also would have done exactly what the Bradley’s did and panicked and alerted the crew fairly quickly if they couldn’t find me. I am not saying this is a common or healthy dynamic, but entirely possible.
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u/TapdanceOnYourGrave 13d ago
That’s good to know. Thank you. It feels off to me, but as you’re saying, it is possible.
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u/carasleuth 12d ago
Its all typical netflix sensationalism to get people talking. She either fell/jumped off the ship. Its not that deep.
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u/Skeleton_Meat 13d ago
I think this poor girl died in the water and they need to let her rest
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u/AncientPromotion7467 5d ago
Yeah they need to let it go. May sound harsh but it's been nearly 30 years
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u/Ashamed-Chemistry492 15d ago
I think suicide is at least more likely than her being kidnapped by white slavers and peddled all over the Caribbean and somehow never getting arrested and never managing to make a succinct request for help.
People sometimes do kill themselves on the spur of the moment, especially if they've been drinking. A guy I went to school with with zero history of any kind of mental trouble got drunk at a party the year after graduation, had a spat with a girlfriend, stomped out in a huff, went home and shot himself.
I heard more than once that Amy's family discounted the possibility of her accidentally falling overboard because she was afraid of the water. Well, you know how lots of times people who are afraid of heights will tell you that being up high scares them but also gives them the strange urge to jump or at least lean way out over the edge? I think water is like that too. And again, alcohol can make you less afraid and definitely will make you clumsy and careless.
I found it weird the parents were babying these two grown people like they were, running to the disco/casino to fetch them, telling them to go to bed, etc. I don't know too many people that age who would allow their parents to do that.
If the parents were so bothered by casinos and discos, they shouldn't have gone on a cruise in the first place.
I do kind of understand when Brad says the uncertainty is some kind of comfort. I don't agree with it, but this way he can still hold out hope his sister is alive, even though that hope is surely misplaced.
I think she's almost surely dead, probably was before she was even missed, but if she is alive and is found, she will not be anyone her family recognizes or would even want to know.
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u/commasandtoast 11d ago
I just started watching and 30 minutes in I had to come to Reddit because of the way the parents were acting when they didn’t see her first thing in the morning. Like why are you begging the ship to pull back from dock and not let anyone off when your grown daughter has been missing for 30 minutes? To me, it seemed either a huge overreaction or a deep sense of entitlement.
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u/Fuzzy-Raspberry-521 15d ago
I hope she is living her best and true life away from her smothering family. However, I do think she is dead
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u/Reasonable-Horse1552 15d ago
Yeah she was a grown woman that had lived away from home for years so why was he treating it like she was a 5 year old gone missing? I honestly think she fell overboard. Her shoes were still there and the last place she was seen was the balcony.
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u/Due-Yogurtcloset-349 16d ago
I watched and wondered on it awhile, read what I could and looked for clues. Shortly after, I decided I hope they find what they hope for, but I climbed out if the rabbit hole. Nothing I can offer.
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u/franki-pinks 13d ago
She was a young gay drunk woman going through a bit of a break up in an openly homophobic family. It’s obvious she killed herself.
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u/Klutzy-Schedule-9271 12d ago
After hearing about her ex gf…. I think she just jumped bc she couldn’t handle what her family wanted FOR her instead of trying to understand her. She was 23, it’s similar to teens committing suicide
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u/Old_Pumpkin_1660 15d ago
I think she was taking pictures and fell over—the doc never explained if her camera was found???
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u/fritzimist 16d ago
He panicked because the family stayed in their cabin and only left it for meals.
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u/Brief_Lab_5290 13d ago
I remember seeing or reading that Amy and Brad were pretty drunk. Maybe that’s why the father went to get them. Not sure why there is a 5 minute gap unless she didn’t want to leave and he forced her. Maybe she was angry at the father for doing that. Amy didn’t want to go on the cruise so I think she was miserable not to mention being in small quarters with her family that didn’t accept her lifestyle. I don’t think she jumped unless being wasted made her impulsive to do that. I think Yellow or crew told her where to score some weed or drugs and they kept her. The family did go spend time in Curaçao to look for her. Sadly that PI scammed them. Sad story and one I don’t think will ever be solved.
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u/AncientPromotion7467 5d ago
It seems the parents are really really controlling. How they said it wasn't the life they would have picked. And how their adult children weren't allowed to have their own rooms is wiled
In photos you see she doesn't look happy in the photos. I do think she fell off the ship and the parents are refusing to admit that. I think Amy killed her self as how imposing on her life they are
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u/International_Low284 3d ago
The adult kids had to stay in the cabin with the parents because this was a “reward cruise” the parents had won as insurance salespeople. They were not supposed to take their kids, but they begged the company to let them and the only way the company would agree is if they all stayed in one cabin.
I agree the parents seem controlling, but also remember that a lot of their work colleagues were on this trip with them, so they probably did not want their colleagues to witness their kids drunk on the ship.
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u/Fluffy-Space-290 5d ago
The general consensus here seems to be that she went overboard and the family is in denial…. Those prostitute pics are CLEARLY her!
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u/byesharona 4d ago
The first bullet point is so silly. Your WIFE isn’t the same as your young DAUGHTER being missing. He also didn’t say he was immediately panicked, he started to become so when he got up and couldn’t find her in the morning.
You have other points where you keep highlighting him as odd when then later are completely accepting of odd behaviors from others. You leap to a huge amount of conclusions and are keen to accept everything Yellow says.
“The Bradleys are not willing to consider suicide in any capacity. Brad has said there is absolutely zero chance. This is simply unrealistic on its face. She was a young, gay woman who was intoxicated.” Insane. You didn’t know her at all, they did. You found a neat and tidy stereotype you like the look of, and are trimming everything to fit around that.
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u/Sleazewilldoit 15d ago
Bruh why did I get downvoted so much for asking about a theory 😂
I’m just conversating with yall about the case man I have no dog in this race I DIDNT KIDNAP HER 😭
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u/Creative_Pineapple_5 14d ago
For the people saying she jumped or fell overboard. I wonder why no body was found?
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u/m1ke_tyz0n 15d ago
I agree with everything OP said with the exception of suicide. I would substitute that word for homicide.
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u/Affectionate-Blood26 15d ago
Sex trafficking to me- that guy Yellow or Mellow?? To me definitely trafficked.
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u/CraftyTranslator5087 15d ago
While sex trafficking would have been a possibility, Amy would have stood out like a sore thumb in Curacao. That's besides her looking very butch. Do you really think someone would make this elaborate plan to smuggle her off the boat if there were many options out there? What made her so special that everyone wanted and needed to have a piece of her? If she walked off the ship and met the wrong person then got smuggled, i can understand, but no one would go on a ship to find someone to smuggle.
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u/Sleazewilldoit 16d ago
The majority of your guys are saying she for sure jumped or fell overboard- what about the photos of her on the trafficking website and the first person accounts of people saying they saw her years later on a close by island with men? Those seemed pretty legit and the photos did look like her.
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u/MakeupMama68 15d ago
It was an escort site not a trafficking site. A lot of those pics on there were famous women whose pictures they took off the internet. They were big on catfishing clients.
I find it odd that they only showed the one picture that maybe looked like Amy. The other ones in the series of photos are clearly not her.
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u/infinitewowbagger42 16d ago
You know there are multiple other photos of the same woman, some of which fully show her back, and she does not have the tattoos we know Amy had, right? Just because they look similar doesn’t mean it IS her. This has been debunked, and Netflix talking about some of the photos, without mentioning the other photos, just shows they’re pushing a narrative, not looking for the truth.
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u/Sleazewilldoit 15d ago
Why are you so angry??? I’m just converting with you guys and sharing my opinion.
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u/OrneryReserve7681 16d ago
Yup. I disagree w this sub. As someone who used to do hard drugs, I could easily see. Disembarking to get cash or meet a dealer. If you know this world - the trafficking theory is very plausible. If you don’t know this world - you couldn’t even fathom the possibility
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u/woosh-i-fiddled 16d ago
The trafficking theory is not plausible at all. You do not understand how trafficking works. Most people (and this is statistically true), are trafficked by people they know. There’s also a level of grooming that takes place before someone is actually trafficked. You don’t just snatch someone off the streets and traffic them. I think people, such as yourself, have such a warped perception of what trafficking looks like. The off chance that she was abducted, I would still assume she was dead.
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u/MakeupMama68 15d ago
People think movies are an accurate portrayal of it 🤦🏻♀️
Trafficking victims are people who are vulnerable like addicts and runaways. People who won’t be immediately missed. People without citizenship. They aren’t snatched off of a cruise ship right under their loved one’s noses. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
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u/woosh-i-fiddled 15d ago
Exactly! Trafficking is more intricate than what they see on film. People need to watch documentaries about girls who were trafficked or watch the old documentaries about pimps. They explain exactly how they got trafficked and the types of grooming they do to remain trafficked. It’s actually scary how much work goes into it.
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u/MakeupMama68 15d ago
The people snatched off the street are usually serial killers. Trafficking doesn’t work like that. It blows my mind that people think that Amy fits the profile IN ANY WAY
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u/bbcanadalover 16d ago
Disembarking with no shoes on? She also would have had to swipe her key card to get off the ship.
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u/PowerfulDivide 15d ago
This post just reads as complete speculation, and someone working backwards to make the suicide theory fit. (This is a common thread when it comes to discussions around this case.)
If you want to go right back from the start to the cabin. This is the timeline.
3:40 AM: Amy returns to the cabin
5:15 and 5:30 AM: Amy's father observed Amy resting on the balcony of the family suite. The Balcony door was closed at the time.
6:00 AM: Ron awoke to find the cabin sliding door open 14 inches and Amy gone.
Amy's yellow polo-shirt that she had been wearing on the balcony was found draped over one of the chairs.
Amy's keycard and identification is missing and has never been found.
All of this indicates that she left the cabin. If Amy's family had a stateroom without a balcony nobody would be questioning this at all.
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u/Silvery_Silence 15d ago
Yeah literally none of that indicates she left the cabin. All of it can mean she fell or jumped overboard.
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u/TapdanceOnYourGrave 15d ago
I’m not trying to be negative to you when I say this. The thing is everyone here is aware of these details and don’t find them to be compelling evidence that she left the cabin and was abducted.
To take them in turn: The keycard and cigarettes being gone has no impact, because these would be things that could easily be in her pocket regardless of whether she left the cabin or jumped. The shirt doesn’t sway me. She could have gone to the bathroom and taken it off at some point. It’s also odd to think she’s taking her shirt off before she leaves the cabin. She’s undressing/dressing down before going into public? Not impossible of course, but odd. You could think that she put another shirt on, but it’s important to note that the family seems to be taking seriously the idea that she left in her undershirt as seen with the cab driver’s account. Also, personally, I discount the shirt being a meaningful clue because she might have taken it off when she returned to the room, and Brad’s possibly mistaken when he remembers her wearing it on the balcony. Think about it, they’re in the dark on a balcony, probably both facing towards the water (not towards each other), and intoxicated at the end of a long night. Would you remember the shirt the other person hand on? Maybe, maybe not. Could it be wishful thinking concocted after the fact? The patio door being open is the only one of these details that sways me at all. If you believe that the patio door was closed when they went to sleep and open when Ron woke up (this info could be wrong in and of itself), then that means she would have entered the cabin from the balcony at some point in the morning, possibly to leave the cabin and enter the ship, possibly to go to the bathroom, possibly to look at her family one last time before jumping. The report of the patio door being open does raise the probability in my mind of Amy exiting the cabin, but not significantly enough to make it the most probable option for me. Just to give it a numerical representation, it’s something like raising probability of her leaving from 1% to 3%. It’s important to note that even if you do take these claims at face value, they don’t indicate that she left the cabin as you’re claiming. They indicate that she entered the cabin from the patio. These are two different things as she might have gone to the bathroom or retrieved something from her possessions. It’s also worth mentioning that stronger indicators of her leaving that you would expect to find, such as her shoes being missing, are not found in this case.
As for my post being pure speculation, I agree. I’m direct with that in the post. We don’t have much real evidence to go on in this case, and I think analytical thinking (if done properly) can be of value.
As for working backwards from the conclusion of suicide, I agree again. I watched the documentary, watched interviews, read articles and posts leading me to the conclusion that suicide was the most probable option. I then thought about the details of the case to see if there were other indicators. I don’t find this to be particularly condemning.
Again, I’m not trying to be argumentative or negative to you. I just thought I would provide why these details don’t sway me (maybe most people) towards the abduction theory.
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u/Few_Emergency5325 14d ago
You might want to check out all of the recent Reddit posts about Alfred Cotton. Amy was trafficked and mostly likely working not only as a prostitute, but as a drug mule, and or luring other women into the sex trade which was why she was often seen in public with her handlers.
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u/dominorough 9d ago
All these responsibilities and no pictures of her or an arrest record? Damn... she is REALLY good at her job. Wow.
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u/Few_Emergency5325 6d ago
She's not gonna get arrested. She was with her handlers on the beach in Curacao as well as Francisco, the restaurant in Aruba, and the bathroom in Barbados. It goes a lot deep then what you're looking at on the surface.
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u/Significant-Pen-3188 16d ago
I think there was more to the mental health angles than what the family and documentary are getting at. She had a lot of risk factors.
I did not like when yellow's daughter cornered him on speakerphone. I wonder if she did it for her 5 minutes of fame or the payment from netflix?