Amy Lynn Bradley disappeared from the Royal Caribbean ship Rhapsody of the Seas in March 1998, and she has never been found. The FBI, which still lists her as missing, dates her disappearance to March 24, 1998, while the ship was sailing in international waters from Aruba toward Curaçao. No official finding has established what happened to her. Netflix’s three-part documentary Amy Bradley Is Missing walks through the family’s search, the FBI’s investigation, and the leads that have surfaced since, but it does not solve the case.
The verified timeline
Most of the hard facts come from the FBI’s public missing-person listing for Bradley. The table below separates what the FBI records from what the documentary and press coverage add.
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| Date (1998 unless noted) | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| March 21 | Rhapsody of the Seas departs San Juan, Puerto Rico, and travels first to Aruba. | FBI listing |
| March 23 | The ship leaves Aruba and heads toward Curaçao through international waters. Netflix’s Media Center opening uses this date as the disappearance date. | FBI listing; Netflix Media Center |
| March 24 (early hours, Tuesday) | The FBI’s stated disappearance date. Amy was last seen on her cabin balcony after an evening out, according to the Netflix series’ account. | FBI listing; Netflix |
| Later in March | The ship continues to St. Martin (Sint Maarten) and St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, then returns to San Juan on March 28. | FBI listing |
The date discrepancy matters when you compare summaries. Keep March 24 as the official date. The March 23 date in Netflix’s Media Center opening reflects the series’ framing and does not come from the FBI record.
Bradley was born May 12, 1974, in Petersburg, Virginia, and was 23 when she disappeared, according to Netflix Tudum. The FBI describes her as 5 feet 6 inches tall, with short brown hair and green eyes. Its identifying marks include a Tasmanian Devil spinning a basketball tattoo on her shoulder, a sun tattoo on her lower back, a Chinese symbol on her right ankle, a gecko tattoo on her navel, and a navel ring.
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What is established and what is still disputed
Two things are settled in the public record: Bradley has not been located, and the FBI has never publicly identified a person responsible or a confirmed cause. Beyond that, the sources do not establish whether she fell or jumped overboard, was harmed by someone else, left the ship voluntarily, or survived somewhere else. Every explanation in the documentary and in later coverage sits in the unresolved category.
The table below sets out the main theories as the series and reporting present them, along with what the public record can and cannot confirm.
Rank #2
| Explanation | What is offered in support | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Overboard (accidental or otherwise) | The ship’s route in international waters and the fact that she was last seen on her balcony. | Not established. No official finding confirms it. |
| Harm by another person | Allegations involving ship entertainer Alister “Yellow” Douglas, who is seen dancing with Amy in nightclub footage. | Not established. The FBI questioned Douglas, and his voluntary polygraph was inconclusive. Netflix reports that the FBI released him without evidence to charge him. |
| Left the ship voluntarily | Reports of later sightings in Curaçao and Barbados, and IP addresses traced to Barbados that accessed a family-related website around anniversaries. | Not established. The filmmakers present it as one possible explanation, not as proof that Amy accessed the site or is alive. |
Explanations in the table are not ranked by the evidence, and the sources do not support treating any one as the answer. When you weigh them, separate the source of each claim (official record, documentary participant, later witness, or online lead), the timing (contemporaneous or reported years later), and whether any investigative outcome backs it up.
The Douglas allegations
Netflix’s case overview describes the FBI’s investigation of Douglas, including his voluntary polygraph and the agency’s decision not to charge him. The documentary’s focus on the nightclub footage is a reason for public attention, not a finding of wrongdoing. Nothing in the public sources establishes his involvement.
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Rank #3
Sightings and online leads
The series covers claims by people who said they encountered Amy in Curaçao or Barbados, as well as an online lead involving a woman some believed resembled her. TIME’s reporting describes these as accounts by named witnesses and notes that some were not reported until years after 1998. These are reported claims, not confirmed identifications.
The documentary
Amy Bradley Is Missing is a three-part Netflix series directed and executive produced by Ari Mark and Phil Lott. It premiered July 16, 2025, and includes Bradley family members, witnesses, and FBI investigators. Availability can vary by region, so check the Netflix listing in your country before you press play.
Rank #4
Mark has described the competing explanations this way: “I dare anybody to look at those scenarios and argue me off one of them because there’s enough information to suggest that any of those scenarios could be possible. It drove us nuts.” That is the filmmaker’s view of the theories, not an official conclusion. He has also reported the family’s position: “She’s out there, we’re going to find her, and we’re ready.” That is the family’s belief as the filmmakers relay it, not a finding about Amy’s status.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to report information
The FBI’s listing, as checked on October 8, 2026, offers a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Amy’s recovery and to identifying, arresting, and convicting those responsible for her disappearance. Reward terms can change, so confirm them against the current listing before relying on them.
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- Contact your local FBI office.
- If you are outside the United States, contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.
- Use the FBI’s listing for Amy Lynn Bradley to find current contact instructions.
Anyone who has a tip should share it with the FBI directly rather than only posting it online, since the agency is the body that can act on it.
Watching the series with the facts in hand
The documentary is strongest as a record of how the case has been handled over more than two decades and of the family’s persistence. It is weakest wherever it moves from reported leads to conclusions. Keep the verified timeline and the table of explanations open while you watch, and treat each new claim as a question to test against the FBI record and against contemporaneous reporting.
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