Rhapsody of the Seas

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Amy Photographed on The Rhapsody of the Seas.

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/amy-lynn-bradley

Approximate Timeline of Amy's disappearance from the Rhapsody of the Seas on March 24, 1998.

3:40 AM - Amy and Brad return to their cabin and join each other on the balcony. (Time confirmed via Locklink system)

4:00 AM - Brad leaves the balcony to go to bed.

5:15 - 5:30 AM - Ron sees Amy resting on the balcony of the family suite. He recalls that the balcony door was closed at this time.

5:30 - 5:45: Witnesses Crystal and Lori see Amy and Alister Douglas enter the glass elevator together and go up to the Viking Lounge, aka "Disco," located on the 11th deck. Approximately 10-15 minutes later, they see Alister Douglas return from the disco, alone.

5:45 - 6:00 AM - Another witness, Elizabeth, who was in the Viking Lounge early that morning, corroborated the account given by Lori and Crystal. Elizabeth testified she saw Amy and Alister Douglas get off the glass elevator and enter the Viking Lounge. She observed them walk over to the bar; Douglas turned up the music and gave Amy a dark-coloured drink. Elizabeth left the lounge shortly afterwards, as she had a shore excursion booked for Curacao. She waited to disembark the ship.

6:00 AM - Ron Bradley awoke to find the balcony door open, and Amy gone. The ship had was fully docked at this time.

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The Bradleys believe Amy's kidnapping was the result of a well planned and organized group effort, including several people on the ship. Amy was obviously selected early in the cruise. Her photographs disappeared and Iva discovered someone staring at Amy from a higher balcony. Aruba was the first stop during the cruise and the Bradleys spent the day touring the island. They returned to Rhapsody of the Seas for dinner. This was when one of the waiters asked Ron Bradley if Amy would go with them to an Aruban bar known as Carlos'n Charlie's. Amy declined because she didn't feel comfortable about the waiter and referred to him as "creepy". He had been overly attentive. Ron actually expressed concerns that the waiter was attempting to fraternize with Amy. After Amy disappeared, the FBI interviewed the Portuguese waiter.

During the FBI interview, the waiter claimed that Iva Bradley had questioned him about procedures when someone falls from the ship. Iva claims this discussion never took place and she asked the FBI to give the waiter a polygraph. The polygraph was never given to the waiter, but the Bradleys were suspicious of this waiter because of his interest in taking Amy off the ship and because he fabricated the story about his conversation with Iva. The kidnapping was probably originally planned for Aruba. The Curacao wharf with Alister Douglas was likely a Plan B. It would have been easier to kidnap Amy away from the ship and at night. Eduardo Cabrita lied to the FBI and attempted to falsely incriminate Iva Bradley.


Eduardo Cabrita, Portuguese waiter on Rhapsody of the Seas

Photograph by Iva Bradley

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A - Rhapsody of the Seas left Aruba at 1:00 AM and traveled 70 miles to Curacao. The ship waited off the coast of Curacao for clearance to dock.

B - Prior to 5:00 AM, Rhapsody of the Seas was given permission to leave the ocean, enter the canal in Willemstad, and proceed toward the Bunker Wharf area where the ship was designated to dock. Traveling through the canal is not a fast process. Ron Bradley saw Amy on the balcony of the family's suite between 5:15 and 5:30 AM.

C - Rhapsody of the Seas passed under the Queen Juliana Bridge. Witnesses have testified for a Federal Grand Jury that Amy was seen on the upper deck with Alister Douglas between 5:30 and 5:45 AM

D - Rhapsody of the Seas entered the Schottegat Bay and turned 90 degrees to the right. The cruise ship proceeded to back into the specific dock assignment at the Bunker Wharf location.

E - Rhapsody of the Seas had completed docking procedures by 6:00 AM when Ron Bradley went to the upper deck aka Viking Lounge. By 6:00 AM, Amy had already disappeared.

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This is the upper deck of Rhapsody of the Seas. Witnesses testified for a Federal Grand Jury in Richmond, Virginia that Amy was seen here with Alister Douglas, minutes before she disappeared.

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https://web.archive.org/web/20070821200800/http://www.amw.com/missing_persons/case.cfm?id=24282

The FBI has had little success. "We've pursued every angle, from whether there was foul play, a suicide or an accident, and we have basically not gotten anywhere," said James K. Weber, special agent in charge of the office in San Juan, Puerto Rico. FBI agents with trained dogs searched the ship Friday and Saturday but turned up no trace of Bradley, FBI spokeswoman Sara Lema told television reporters.

The agents took deck furniture and other objects from the cabin for testing, Steck said. FBI officials and family members said they never received any ransom demands.

They believe she left the cabin and was kidnapped somewhere on the ship.

[Admin]

Amy could very well have been removed from the ship through the cargo doors in a container or laundry cart. There is a service elevator in the upper deck area that connects to the cargo hold.

[Admin]

These are photographs of the Viking Lounge aka ''the Disco'' Witnesses have testified for a Federal Grand Jury in Richmond, Virginia that Amy was seen on the upper deck with Alister Douglas, minutes before she disappeared. Elizabeth testified she witnessed Alister Douglas give Amy a drink that contained a dark liquid.

[Admin]

Rhapsody of the Seas has a glass elevator. Witnesses on the upper deck testified for a Federal Grand Jury that Amy and Alister Douglas arrived in the glass elevator at the same time. Witnesses also testified that Alister Douglas was seen leaving the upper deck, alone, in the glass elevator.

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The FBI gave Alister Douglas a polygraph. The results were identified as "inconclusive". When Alister Douglas left the room, he flashed a thumbs up sign to his friends and Ron Bradley.

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[Admin]

This is the canal in Willemstad. It is not part of the ocean. Rhapsody of the Seas passed through this canal to dock at the Bunker Wharf in Schottegat Bay. Passage through the canal required about 55 minutes.

Three witnesses testified for a Federal Grand Jury that Amy was seen on the upper deck and Alister Douglas gave her a drink containing a dark liquid.

[Admin]

This was the approximate location of Rhapsody of the Seas when Amy disappeared from the upper deck. The cruise ship had passed through the canal and had passed under the Queen Juliana Bridge. Rhapsody of the Seas was turning to dock at the wharf. The ship was not in the ocean.

[Admin]

This is the Bunker Wharf area where the Curacao cab driver claims he saw Amy running and looking for a phone. This area is little more than a parking lot with lots of oil tanks. The dock was portrayed in Vanished as having brick Customs Buildings and sidewalks, but that is not correct.

When the Bradleys returned to Curacao to search for Amy, a Curacao cab driver approached them. He claimed he had seen Amy when the ship was docking. He said he recognized her green eyes, which had been clearly described in the reward poster. The cab driver claimed that Amy was running through the parking lot looking for a phone. He also claimed that he had seen Amy in other locations on the island.

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Beth Holloway and the producers of Amy's Vanished program asked Alister Douglas to be part of the program. He declined. After the program aired, Douglas contacted them and complained that he was not fairly represented, and his reputation had been damaged.

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This was the dock location when Amy disappeared.