What happened to Amy Bradley? Netflix series investigates 1998 disappearance on a Caribbean cruise

Another chilling cold case is being added to Netflix's catalogue with new documentary, Amy Bradley Is Missing.

Now available to watch on the streamer, the three-part documentary delves into Amy's disappearance and theories on what might have happened to her.

Featuring interviews from her family, authorities and those connected to the case in one shape or another, the documentary hopes to answer the question of whether or not this was a tragic accident or a crime.

Read on for more information about the case and possible sightings of Amy over the years.

What happened to Amy Bradley?

In 1998, Amy Bradley and her family were holidaying on a Royal Caribbean cruise but just three days in, Amy was nowhere to be found.

On the third night of the cruise, Amy and her younger brother Brad were dancing in the ship's nightclub and she was later found asleep on a chair in her private balcony by her father – but half an hour later, she was gone.

The Bradley family alerted the crew and asked them to keep the passengers on board to make an announcement about Amy, but it was too late as the majority of the passengers had disembarked for the day.

The ship was searched extensively, but Amy could not be found.

On the morning of Amy's disappearance, witnesses claimed they had seen Amy on the upper deck with Alister 'Yellow' Douglas, one of the ship's band members. Alister was later interviewed by the FBI and took a polygraph test, which he passed.

In an impromptu moment in the documentary, Alistair's daughter Amica rings her father as the pair have a conversation about that night.

Asked by his daughter about Amy's disappearance, Alistair said: "They brought the FBI on immediately and then he said to me that they're trying to find this girl [and] I was seen dancing with her. Everybody that had anything to do with cleaning her room, serving her drinks, we were grounded.

"When they realised nothing was involved, we continued to work. And I continued to work on the cruise ship until two years later."

A four-day search was conducted by the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, with the initial thought that Amy had fallen overboard or died by suicide. But investigators said that there was no evidence that she fell overboard, was pushed or took her own life.

Has Amy Bradley ever been found?

Amy Bradley was legally declared dead in 2010 and as of 2025, Amy Bradley's whereabouts and fate remains unknown.

In the months after Amy's disappearance, there were multiple reported "sightings" of the 23-year-old, but nothing concrete.

In 2005, Amy's parents appeared on an episode of Dr Phil after they received an image of a young woman who resembled Amy, suggesting she had been sold into sexual slavery.

"It is like a stab in the heart," Amy's mother says. "I've never thought that she wasn't out there. Neither has her dad. Neither has her brother. We gotta get to her."

Erin Sheridan, an FBI special agent said in the documentary: "The photograph itself has been on a particular website that dealt with prostitution down in the Caribbean and Venezuela area.

"The individuals in the photographs, they're women, and they're in risqué attire." A forensic analysis was done on the photo and it was believed it was of Amy.

Seven years after Amy went missing, a woman named Judy Maurer was on holiday in Barbados and believed she had spotted Amy in the bathroom in a local store.

While there, Judy heard people enter the bathroom. She recalled that a man told someone: "The deal's at 11 o'clock and I'm warning you, you better be ready to go."

After exiting the cubicle, she said she saw a woman with "real long, dark hair" stood by the sinks.

Judy claimed she asked the woman her name, to which she responded: "Amy". It wasn't until she watched the Dr Phil episode, that Judy realised that "Amy" she had spoken to could have been Amy Bradley and called the FBI.

FBI agents flew out to Barbados to see if it really could have been Amy but nothing came to fruition.

Amy Bradley Is Missing is available to watch now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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