Was Amy Bradley Ever Found? What Really Happened on the Rhapsody of the Seas

Honestly, if you’ve spent any time at all on true crime message boards or watched that recent Netflix documentary, Amy Bradley Is Missing, you know the chill that comes with this story. It’s been nearly 28 years. Twenty-eight years since a 23-year-old woman with a bright future and a Tasmanian Devil tattoo vanished from a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean.

People ask all the time: was amy bradley ever found?

The short, heartbreaking answer is no. She hasn’t been found. But that "no" is complicated. It’s buried under layers of alleged sightings, grainy photos, and a massive amount of frustration from a family that refuses to let her memory sink to the bottom of the ocean.

The Morning Everything Changed

It was March 24, 1998. The Rhapsody of the Seas was cruising toward Curaçao. Amy Lynn Bradley was on vacation with her parents, Ron and Iva, and her brother, Brad. They were a tight-knit family from Virginia. Everything seemed fine.

Amy and Brad had been out late at the ship’s disco. They were dancing with members of the ship’s band, Blue Orchid. Around 3:40 a.m., Amy headed back to the family suite. Her father, Ron, actually saw her around 5:30 a.m. She was asleep on a lounge chair on the balcony. He closed the door, went back to sleep for a bit, and when he woke up at 6:00 a.m., the chair was empty.

She was just... gone.

Her cigarettes and lighter were missing, but her shoes were still in the room. This is the detail that gets me. Who walks off onto a massive cruise ship deck—or anywhere else—barefoot if they're planning to stay gone?

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Why the Initial Search Failed

The family panicked. You would too. They begged the ship’s crew not to let people off the boat once they docked in Curaçao. They wanted a full search immediately. But the ship's authorities didn't want to cause a scene. They didn't make a ship-wide announcement until 7:50 a.m., and by then, the gangway was open.

Think about that. If someone had snatched her, they had a two-hour window to get her off that boat while the crew was basically dragging their feet.

The Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard searched the waters for four days. They used helicopters and radar planes. They found nothing. No body. No clothing. No sign that a "trained lifeguard" (which Amy was) had accidentally fallen into the sea and struggled to stay afloat.

The "Jas" Photos and the FBI Investigation

The case went cold for a while, but then 2005 happened. This is usually where the "was amy bradley ever found" question gets really murky.

An anonymous person sent the Bradley family a link to an adult website. On that site was a photo of a woman who looked strikingly like Amy. She was posing in her underwear, looking directly at the camera with a haunted expression. The site called her "Jas."

You’ve probably seen the side-by-side comparisons. The facial structure is eerily similar. The family was convinced. Even the FBI took it seriously. They analyzed the bed frame in the photo, trying to track down where the furniture was manufactured. They even sent an operative to the Caribbean to scope things out.

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But the IP address led to a dead end. The website was based in the Caribbean, but the digital trail vanished before they could pinpoint a location. It’s one of the most frustrating "almost" moments in the history of missing persons cases.

The Sightings That Keep the Case Alive

There are so many sightings. It’s like Amy is a ghost haunting the islands. Some people think it’s just "grief-induced hope," but some of the witnesses are incredibly credible.

• The Taxi Driver: A driver in Curaçao claimed he saw a woman matching Amy’s description running through a parking lot just after the ship docked. She was barefoot and looking for a phone.
• The Navy Veteran: In 1999, Bill Hefner said he met a woman in a brothel in Curaçao. She told him her name was Amy Bradley and begged for help, saying she wasn't allowed to leave. Hefner didn't report it until years later because he didn't know Amy was missing at the time.
• The Beach Encounter: David Carmichael, a Canadian tourist, saw a woman on a beach in 1998 with the exact same tattoos as Amy—the Tasmanian Devil, the sun on the lower back, the gecko. He said she was with two men who wouldn't let her speak.

Most recently, in late 2025 and early 2026, a private investigator named Jim Carey has been vocal about a police clerk in Curaçao. This clerk apparently claimed to have seen Amy as recently as a few years ago. He even asked for $50,000 to lead the family to her before going silent.

Is it a scam? Maybe. But Carey says he believes the man. Why get involved 28 years later if you're just making it up?

The Trafficking Theory vs. The Ocean

There are two camps here.

One side believes Amy fell or jumped. They point to the fact that she’d been drinking and it was early morning. Maybe she leaned too far over the railing?

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But the family—and many investigators—don't buy it. Amy was a strong swimmer. The ship was docked or very close to it. If she fell, someone should have seen something, or her body should have surfaced.

The trafficking theory is much darker. It suggests she was targeted by someone on the ship, possibly a crew member or an entertainer who knew the ship's "blind spots." If she was drugged and moved off the ship in a laundry bin or a service entrance, she could have been in the interior of Curaçao before the sun was even fully up.

Where Does the Case Stand in 2026?

As of early 2026, Amy is still on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for missing persons. There is still a $25,000 reward from the FBI, and the family has offered significantly more for her safe return.

There’s a new FBI agent on the case now. Fresh eyes. They are reportedly looking into "highly suspicious" activity on the family’s missing-person website—specifically hits coming from an IP address on a boat near Barbados.

Actionable Steps and How to Help

The reality is that was amy bradley ever found remains a question with no closure. If she is alive, she would be in her early 50s today.

If you want to help or keep the search active, here is what actually matters:

• Study the Tattoos: Amy had very specific ink. A Tasmanian Devil (spinning a basketball) on her shoulder, a sun on her lower back, a gecko on her navel, and a Chinese symbol on her right ankle. These don't just disappear.
• Share the Age-Progressed Photos: The FBI has released images showing what Amy would look like today. Share these in travel groups, especially those focused on the Caribbean and South America.
• Report Tips Directly: Don't just post on Reddit. If you have real information, contact the FBI’s Washington D.C. office or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
• Support Cruise Safety Legislation: Cases like Amy’s led to the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010. Supporting groups like International Cruise Victims helps ensure that today's ships have better surveillance and protocols so this never happens again.

The Bradley family still keeps Amy’s car in the garage. They still maintain it. They still say "maybe tomorrow" every night before they go to sleep. It’s a haunting reminder that for the families of the missing, the clock stopped the moment their loved one vanished.