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

Amy Lynn Bradley, while on a family cruise to the Caribbean, went missing from the Royal Caribbean International Cruise Line’s ship Rhapsody of the Seas.  On Saturday, March 21, 1998, the vessel departed San Juan, Puerto Rico, and traveled to its first port of call, the island of Aruba.  On Monday, March 23, 1998, Rhapsody of the Seas departed Aruba and was traveling in international waters to its next island port of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.  During the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 24, 1998, Amy Lynn Bradley went missing.  The vessel later departed Curacao and continued on to the island of St. Martin (Sint Maarten) and further traveled to St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, before returning to San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday, March 28, 1998.

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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 are convinced that this waiter was involved 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. At this point, Amy Bradley was probably on the top deck with her camera to photograph the colorful buildings along the canal. 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. 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. Amy had her camera with her and it is believed she went to the upper deck for photographs of the Willemstad canal. She was not wearing shoes and she did not run through a parking lot looking for a phone.

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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.

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Amy was probably removed from Rhapsody of the Seas through the cargo doors, in a container or laundry cart. There is a service elevator from the upper deck where Amy was last seen to the cargo area.

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Witnesses testified for a Federal Grand Jury in Richmond, Virginia that Amy was seen on the upper deck with Alister Douglas, minutes before she disappeared. Amy had her camera with her and it is believed she went to the upper deck for photographs of the Willemstad canal and coffee. Witnesses testified that Alister Douglas was seen giving 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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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.

It is believed that Amy went to the upper deck for coffee and to take photographs of the historic buildings along the canal. Three witnesses testified for a Federal Grand Jury that Amy was on the upper deck and Alister Douglas gave her a drink containing a dark liquid. It appears that Douglas may have previously told Amy about the vantage point on the upper deck for photographs of the canal. Amy would have had no way of knowing she was being setup when she arrived to take pictures.

Amy brought 15 rolls of film with her on the cruise. Her intention was to make a project with the photographs under glass in her new apartment. She wanted to cover the top of a trunk with photographs from her trip. According to Iva Bradley, Amy planned to cover the photos with glass. The Bradleys have 14 rolls of film. Two rolls of film have been developed. They are photographs of Puerto Rico and Aruba. Amy's camera with one roll of film is missing.

[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.

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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.

The problem with this story is that Amy had already been drugged and kidnapped. She wasn't running anywhere. Amy was an intelligent woman. If she had experienced a problem, she would have gone directly to one of the police officers or Customs agents who were there when passengers disembarked. There would have been no reason for her to approach a cab driver in search of a phone because none of the Bradley's phones were capable of international calls in 1998. The Bradleys had all turned their phones off in Puerto Rico. Amy had nobody to call. The cab driver failed to mention that Amy was without her shoes. Running through that parking area would have been very difficult without shoes. Amy was not seen in the parking area by anyone except this cab driver. There were no other reports. The cab driver gave his information to Ron Bradley a month after Amy disappeared.

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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.