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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
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anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website in the autumn of 1998 23 year-old Damien
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Bradley was told by her parents that they had been gifted a Caribbean cruise ami wasn't excited by the news like they
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were she had only just moved into her own apartment after graduating from her degree in physical education and she was
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just about to start a new job she was busy but more than that the idea of a cruise across the sea gave her the
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creeps she didn't really want to go she would be just as happy settling into her
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new place which was nearby her parents and brothers home in Chesterfield Virginia amy was really close with a
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younger brother Brad who was 21 and he and their parents Ivor and Ron were eventually able to talk Amy into joining
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them Ron had been given the trip by the insurance agency he worked for and he believed it was a great chance to spend
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some quality time together seven days of sunshine cruising the Caribbean cocktails and Danish sunsets it wasn't
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long before Amy thought perhaps a cruise wouldn't be so bad after all it was starting to sound like the trip of a
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lifetime [Music] amy was born on May 12th 1974 and grew up with her family in the Creek Woods
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subdivision in Chesterfield Virginia she loved sports and excelled particularly in basketball and swimming
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when it came time for college she chose to study close to home and attended Longwood University she was a
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star basketball player and at the time was the only student in the school's history to attend on a full athletic
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scholarship by the time she completed her degree in physical education she was a trained lifeguard a strong swimmer and
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had a teaching certificate but despite those attributes Amy couldn't help but feel nervous about going on a cruise it
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just didn't sit right with her the day before they left for their cruise amy adopted an English bulldog puppy which
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she named Daisy Daisy would be ready to pick up the day she got back from the cruise the Bradley's flew to San Juan
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Puerto Rico where on Saturday March 21st 1998 the cruise would depart for seven nights they would cruise the waters of
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the Southern Caribbean to Aruba curaçao on to sink Barton and back to Puerto Rico
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the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas was a brand-new luxury ship at the time
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with its first voyage less than a year earlier it was owned and operated by Royal Caribbean cruise lines of Miami
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Florida and although it has been registered in the Bahamas since 2005 back in 1998 it
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was registered in Norway at 280 metres long the ship carried close to 2,000 passengers and over 700 crew with
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Norwegian officers and crew members from over 50 nationalities like many cruisers the itinerary was a
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mix of days docking at port for day trips as well as days cruising the see passing islands and watching the sunset
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in a new place each evening itineraries were planned with formal dinners and casual meet and greets the cruise
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experience was enhanced by personal service crew members are encouraged to be friendly with passengers many
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addressing them by name the allure of cruising has been at the heart of American vacations for decades
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with TV shows like The Love Boat painting a picture of luxury fun and adventure the 80s and 90s saw the cruise
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industry become the fastest-growing category in the laser trouble market continuing to consistently grow
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approximately 7 percent per annum since 1980 cruisers are a loyal type of vacationer with many returning year
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after year passengers are drawn to the fun party atmosphere in 1998 the cruisers of the Caribbean
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were the most sought-after voyage and now almost 20 years on 34% of all cruises worldwide are on the Caribbean
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and Bahamas routes when it came to traveling in style and luxury close to American soil people loved to the idea
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of days wandering exotic places crystal blue waters clear skies and quaint charming tropical islands it gave them a
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taste of the island life without having to stay on the islands themselves as they could return to their luxury cabin
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on what was essentially a floating city in 1998 few people questioned how things
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were run aboard a luxury cruises most passengers received information from their travel agents and then read the
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brochures listing all the perks and offers available to them although there have been some changes
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made now in 98 the US government had no jurisdiction over cruise ships governed by century-old maritime laws if
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something went wrong aboard an international cruise on international waters u.s. passengers were not
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protected by any US laws instead they were governed by the laws of the country of the ship's registry and or the laws
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of the country of the port of call even the FBI often had their hands tied many passengers who went on luxury cruises at
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the time believed they were boarding an extension of their own country especially in the case of Americans
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boarding ships like the Rhapsody of the Seas where the cruise company was based in Florida but with offshore
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registration and ancient laws of the high seas they were actually entering an almost lawless floating City with
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regulations specific the country's many passengers had never been to and knew very little about the end of the
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tropical paradises that awaited them had their own dark and secret underbelly not
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advertised in the glossy brochures many destinations were rife with illegal trading of drugs money sex and people
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islands of great unknown [Music] the Bradley's traveled to Puerto Rico to board the Rhapsody of the Seas on
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Saturday March 21st 1998 prior to boarding a me sent some postcards to friends in one she wrote hey girl
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that's gorgeous here we leave for uber tomorrow take care till medicine and Niles hello I'll be
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home Saturday at 10:00 see ya Amy on another she wrote hey it's beautiful here old scent one has got some amazing
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buildings I am taking pictures maybe you can see the Modesto wish you were here Amy
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seeing the new ship in the blazing sunshine crew rushing around and thousands of passengers ready to board
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gave a nervous passenger like Amy comfort the excitement of other passengers was infectious it was an
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exciting experience approaching a large ship about to hit the open sea and the sheer size of the Rhapsody was a comfort
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itself it felt safer than a knee expected and she started to relax everyone received
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their onboard cruise cards and room keys as Amy and her family prepared to walk the gangway under the cruise they had
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their photo taken to remember the special occasion it was set to be a memorable week and with check-in over
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the Bradley's bordered the Rhapsody of the Seas a moment they would never forget as Amy's mother Iver looked at
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her family she thought how special that moment was the Bradley's were given a junior suede on decade cabin number
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eight five or six four which was halfway down on the starboard side of the ship close to the elevators they were all
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together in the same room they had their own private balcony where they could sit
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and enjoy the view in their room had floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors so Ron and Iver could see out from their
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bed there were twin beds for Amy and Brad and all the other amenities of a hotel suite
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ami unpacked her bags including 9 pairs of shoes and 15 rolls of film she planned to take plenty of pictures to
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make a collage for a coffee table for her new apartment as they departed dark shadows formed over the forts of Puerto
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Rico right alongside the ship and as the Sun set they left the twinkling lights of the
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city behind them the first nights before the cruise docked in Aruba the Bradley's
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enjoyed everything promised by the Rhapsody there was a formal dinner where Amy and Brad pose for a photograph taken
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by the ship's resident photographer Ron had other Insurance colleagues on the ship who they caught up with and
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everyone talked excitedly about the places they were heading to three waiters who were stationed at the
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Bradley's table began to flirt with Amy ever thought it was a bit forward but she was happy that her daughter was
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getting attention either quote after dinner one evening one of the waiters approached us and asked for a me by name
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the waiter stated they wanted to take Amy to a bar Carlos and Charlie's while docked in Aruba when Amy and Brad met
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with us a short time later we told Amy about the waiter who had asked for her by name she responded I wouldn't go and
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do anything with any of those crew members they give me the creeps Carlos and Charlie's was a hot spot for
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partying for cruise crewmembers and holiday makers this is the same location where seven years later 18 year old
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Natalie Holloway would disappear while on a school graduation trip when the ship docked in Aruba the following
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morning the Bradley's disembarked together and posed for a family photo on the gangway with the ship in the
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background everyone was relaxed and all were looking forward to a day of shopping and
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sightseeing they rented a jeep to tour the island and Amy bought some gifts for her friends to take back home as of the
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day drew in they returned to the cruise terminal to reboard the ship that evening there was a Calypso dinner
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party onboard the Rhapsody of the Seas the Bradley's had enjoyed their day off the boat in Aruba but we're looking
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forward to a relaxing evening and some fun entertainment Amy and Brad had no intention of going partying with the
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crew members off the ship in Aruba they were happy just to stay together on board later that night the ship would
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leave Aruba for the island of Curacao which at the time was a small island territory of the former Netherlands
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Antilles another top destination of the cruise circuit and only 70 miles east of
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Aruba they got ready and headed up to the upper deck where the house band was entertaining guests a dance troupe had
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boarded the ship in Aruba temporarily to perform and with them they brought a group of locals who were standing
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alongside the ship's railing the Bradley's weren't the only passengers to notice the group it seemed a bit weird
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to them they weren't paying guests and they weren't there to perform themselves either quote how could they be allowed
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to board a ship and just stand around watching the performance with paying passengers during the party Amy and Ivor
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went to the fourth deck to look at the photos that have been taken after dinner that evening as well as the evening
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before like all cruises they were board set up where passengers photos were displayed every table had group dinner
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shots taken and the photographer had also taken other photos around the ship the photos were then put up on display
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for sale either quote we asked the person in charge of the gallery where Amy's pictures would be posted he said
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he remembered placing them with the other photos taken at the same time but acknowledged he couldn't find them
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either I asked him if he could have them redeveloped and he agreed claiming that
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would be available the next day either walked away wondering why anyone else on board the ship from outside their family
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would want to take the photos of Amy the Calypso party continued on and Damian Brad won a limbo contest during the
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evening Amy met the basis from the ship's beamed Blue Orchid the bassist Alastair Douglas also known
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as yellow had taken particular interest in her and do they enjoyed a few drinks together after the being finished plane
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they danced together with a large group of other guests and some of the crew at 1:30 a.m. on March 24 I've earned Ron
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retired to their family suite on the 8th to deck leaving Amy and Brad dancing at
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the Calypso party after the party Amy and Brad continued on at the nightclub Amy and yellow were slow dancing on the
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dance floor at 3:00 a.m. Brad left back for the cabin just before 3:30 and a few
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minutes later Amy was seen approaching a lift at the side of the dance floor alone the nightclub had around 30 to 40
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people still dancing by the time Amy left the ship's computerized door lock system recorded Brad's return to the
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suite at 3:35 amy's arrival was five minutes later Iver and Ron were asleep so Brad and Amy sat on the balcony and
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chatted for a little while Brad started to fall asleep so he went inside the bed
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Amy stretched out on a lounge chair on the balcony and fell asleep there around 5:30 a.m.
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Ron woke up as he looked outside from his bed he saw Amy's legs on the lounge chair he couldn't see her face but
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assumed because she was so still she was asleep Amy cigarette sunlight I lay on the deck
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next to her chair and the sliding glass door was closed he thought it best just to leave her Amy
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and Brad had had a big night and it wasn't long before they would have to wake up the ship was already heading
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towards Porter Curacao and after an early breakfast the ship would dock Ron dosed a little more himself just before
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6:00 a.m. Ron thinks he may have heard their cabin door quietly closed at 6:00 a.m. Ron woke up and saw that
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Amy wasn't on the balcony and the sliding glass door was near ajar about 16 inches he looked around a little and
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saw that her shoes were still out on the balcony but as cigarettes and loiter were gone
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she was nowhere in the cabin so he thought that she must have gone up to one of the decks to have a cigarette and
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watch the ship come into port he thought it was a bit strange that she hadn't taken her shoes but perhaps she had only
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popped out for a moment Ron got dressed and headed out to look for her but the time he got to the upper
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decks the cruise ship was approaching the dock after looking around the open areas of the ship and finding no sign of
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Amy Ron's concern turned into panic he didn't have a good feeling on his way back to the cabin Ron ran into the
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ship's security chief Lou Costello he told Costello he was unable to find his daughter and he asked him if you
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would look out for her - the security chief of a 2000 person cruise ship a 23 year old who left her cabin with a
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packet of cigarettes less than an hour before was not a great concern Costello believed amy was likely
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standing somewhere watching the view of the island as they drew nearer with 35 beaches on such a small island the view
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was a memorable one and many passengers often worn the rails to watch just before 7 a.m.
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Ron went back to the cabin and woke up Iver and Brad Oliver said that from the moment she saw her husband's face she
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knew that something terrible was going on he was frantic and in turn that made either panic the Bradley's left their
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cabin and walked the entire length of the ship deck by deck passengers were busy getting off the ship and onto the
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island Ron and Ivor went to the captain and requested he make an announcement over the speaker system for Amy the
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captain refused he said it was too early in the morning to use loudspeakers the Bradley's requested that the
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gangways be secured to stop letting people off the cruise until they found Amy they were worried that if someone
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had her they may carry her off the ship the captain refused they requested that they post the picture up of Amy
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but again the captain refused the captain remained adamant that any announcement or formal search would
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disturb the passengers it was now 8 a.m. and Ron had been looking for Amy for almost two hours
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after more cleaning some of the ship's officers finally agreed to make an announcement but not that she was
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missing the message simply said Amy Bradley please contact the Purser's desk the Bradley's were frantic the cruise
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personnel kept telling them that Amy must have gone ashore either quote Amy would just never think of going ashore
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or does some secluded part of the ship without telling us because she knows how we'd worry the Bradley's continued to
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search everywhere and the security chief Lou Costello and the captain told them that they were conducting a thorough
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search themselves while searching an internal deck Brad green Ian to yellow the bass player from the ship's beings
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who amy was dancing with the night before yellow said he was sorry to hear about Amy
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but he didn't offer to help look for her by lunchtime the Bradley's were literally begging the captain to make an
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announcement that amy was missing either quote around lunchtime again the captain
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of the cruise ship told us that it would not make an announcement that she was missing or post the photo for other
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passengers to view as this would alarm the other guests and he was not prepared to do that he told us that every nook
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and cranny of the ship had been searched for Amy all ten decks in to 999 rooms there was no sign of angle in Bradley
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anywhere it was then that the captain made the comment that Amy may have fallen overboard but the Bradley's
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weren't having it in order for her to fall she would have had to have been climbing or flung in
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rough seas the sea was calm that morning and the Bradley's were adamant that there was no way Amy would climb the
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railings she was nervous enough about stepping on the boat they also knew that the railings were designed so that
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people didn't just stumble over them even after a night of drinking the railing on their balcony also had a
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shelf below it so Amy falling overboard didn't make any sense to them but the captain felt it was a possibility and he
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contacted the US Coast Guard to organize a sea search it was at this time that a
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member of the crew suggested that the Bradley's disembark and search for Amy in Curacao as the Bradley's had already
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done a thorough search of the ship they felt this was a good idea and too they prepared the disembark the cruise
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terminal at the pier in Curacao is an open area thousands of passengers disembark and go through the formalities
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of customs and are then free to go while the ship is docked staff come and go in
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the laundry carts and garbage bins irregularly will passed customs officials by crew members in 1998
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regulations were not as strict as in the years that followed 9/11 it was highly possible that someone could travel will
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be moved through the customs area without being checked when Ron Iver and Brad got off the ship they immediately
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contacted the Curacao authorities and the US Embassy for help they were soon in touch with the FBI but
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they were told that investigators would not be able to get there for 24 hours they were completely lost they didn't
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know where to look or how to ask anyone for help they walked the streets and beaches but there was no sign of aiming
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anywhere on the island the Bradley's then had to decide whether they would get back on board the Rhapsody of the
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Seas and head on to the next destination Sint Maarten or stay in Curacao and keep
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searching for Amy while waiting for the FBI in the end they decided to stay in Curacao they watched as the Rhapsody of
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the Seas pulled out of Port at the time a mule in Bradley disappeared she was five feet seven inches tall weighed 120
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pounds and had short brown hair and green eyes she had a Tasmanian Devil cartoon with a basketball tattooed on
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her left shoulder blade a Chinese symbol tattooed on her right ankle a green and
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blue gecko lizard tattoo around her navel a navel ring and multiple ear piercings Curacao was and still is one
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of the most anticipated destinations on any Caribbean cruise the island is small
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and built up with quaint colorful Dutch style architecture it's a sought-after spot for divers and snorkelers with
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around 60 dive sites surrounding the island it's known for its relaxed and fun atmosphere but there is a dark side
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the busy tourist market the constant comings and goings of aircraft cruise ships cruise and tourists provided an
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infrastructure in which illegal activity flourished drug trafficking and money laundering mainly at the time of Amy's
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disappearance US officials estimated that 40% of all drugs reaching the US mainland passed
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through the Caribbean that figure was four times what it had been a decade earlier the 90s were a very busy time
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for illegal activity in the Caribbean and a very busy time for tourism including sex tourism
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on the majority of the Caribbean islands sex work is illegal but the Dutch Antilles provided a unique opportunity
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for the sex industry not legally available in the rest of the Caribbean according to a Leia Walker a researcher
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for the Council on hemispheric Affairs quote as present or former territories of the Netherlands the Dutch Antilles
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fall under many of the same general laws as their mother country including the controlled legalization of sex work on
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the sixth dutch-speaking islands being regulated arguably makes the work safer than other Caribbean locations Sint
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Maarten and Curacao are particularly prime locations for sex tourism as they house the two largest brothels in the
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Dutch Caribbean the largest Campo Alegre is located on Curacao while the smaller
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seaman's club is located on Sint Maarten although the regulations were stringent
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it was widely known that much of the sex trade was being running outside the parameters of the law with it amending
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creasing a huge influx of women were brought in from other parts of the Americas many without appropriate
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permits a new type of sex holiday emerged where both men and women would book holiday packages linked to brothels
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and with that came a dark underworld of sex trafficking kidnapped people mostly women were sold into sex rings they were
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often drugged and tortured and threatened that they or their families would come to harm if they didn't do
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what they were told the Bradley's felt this is what happened to Amy while waiting for the FBI to arrive in Curacao
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they wondered helplessly how Amy could have disappeared in the space of half an hour
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Brad told I haven't drawn more about yellow and how he and Amy had been dancing together nothing seemed to make
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sense and with such a short time frame of her going missing it seems like a bad dream in 1998 the Royal Caribbean
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Rhapsody of the Seas was registered in Norway but being known as a Norwegian flagship it was governed by the maritime
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rules of Norway rather than the USA even though the owners were and still are situated in the US this is the same from
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most cruise ships often flying the flags of Panama Liberia and Greece just the name of you cruise ships are rarely
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registered to the USA because if they were they would be beyond by the u.s. maritime laws for building regulations
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crew members nationalities and work permits minimum wages working hours and also certain laws when things go wrong
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the cruise lines being registered in the USA is just too costly and too strict the crew restrictions ship construction
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and ownership requirements to flag a vessel in the US are among the most restrictive at the maritime nations by
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registering your ship elsewhere Cruise Lines pay cheaper or no taxes get cheaper labor and it can essentially
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sidestep laws the Freedom of the Seas law allows a ship to move freely on the ocean as long as it follows the
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international law and remains governed by its registered country the Bradley's learned very quickly that
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the US government had virtually no jurisdiction over whatever had happened to Amy in their waters just off the
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coast of Curacao because the Rhapsody of the Seas was within 12 nautical miles of
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Curacao when amy went missing it wasn't international waters so the situation was technically in the hands
00:26:03
of Curacao police and governed by the maritime laws of Norway in the event of death of an American citizen at see that
00:26:11
being a relevant death that occurs beyond three nautical miles from shore worldwide the death on the high seas Act
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applies this is a United States Admiralty law which was created in 1920 to ensure that the widows and children
00:26:25
of seamen could get a share of their husbands or Father's salaries if they were killed at sea but for it to apply
00:26:31
at all shipping companies need to be charged either with negligence or unlawful actions at this point the
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Bradley's didn't know if Amy was alive or dead and if she fell off the ship was it beyond three nautical miles from
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shore they had no idea and of the only people who were willing to help we're the FBI and Evon they had their hands
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tied the Rhapsody of the Seas was self-regulated there were no investigators or police onboard no
00:27:02
policies in place for dealing with an incident of this nature and to no legal responsibility to investigate a
00:27:07
situation that could very well have been an accident or suicide at the time US federal law enforcement agencies
00:27:15
including the FBI Navy and Coast Guard had to obtain permission from a cruise ships flag country before beginning a
00:27:22
criminal investigation US agents couldn't just board a cruise ship that may have been the scene of a crime if
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the ship was located beyond US waters while not getting back aboard the Rhapsody of the Seas the Bradley's had
00:27:36
the ability to call and gain the assistance of the FBI but they lost all control of what was happening aboard the
00:27:42
ship security footage if they had it access to their cabin and other rooms preserving evidence that was all left in
00:27:50
the hands of the ship's crew who had nearly 2,000 passengers left on board to keep happy
00:27:56
the following day Wednesday March 25th the Bradley said helpless in their hotel room in Curacao the FBI phoned and
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informed them that they would meet them in sync Martin the following day the plan was for the Bradley's and the FBI
00:28:11
to board the Rhapsody of the Seas together while it was docked in st. Maarten the FBI would then meet with the
00:28:17
captain and other personnel and conduct their own investigation while on the phone the agent told the Bradley's that
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they had been in touch with some of the ship's crew already when they asked the crew about the search they had conducted
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after Amy went missing they learned that the search hadn't been as extensive as what was originally made out to the
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Bradley's the Bradley's listened as the agent told them that only a cursory search of the common areas and the
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restrooms had been conducted the Bradley's fell apart back on board the Rhapsody of the Seas rumors began to
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circulate that a young woman had committed suicide Chris Fenwick was a videographer and
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editor who had been contracted the work aboard the cruise his job was to create an entertaining video of the cruise and
00:29:06
edited onboard the video would then be shown to guests on the last night and be made available to purchase as a memento
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one of Chris's team members asked him that morning if he had heard about the young woman who ended her life
00:29:19
Chris's team member had heard about it upstairs from another crew member this got Chris wondering if he had footage of
00:29:26
the woman he tried to find out more information on Thursday March 26 over 48 hours after
00:29:36
the last sighting of Amy FBI agents boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas in st. Maarten together with the
00:29:42
Bradley's who had met them there they went directly to the captain the chief of security Lou Costello under
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the ship's risk management representative this risk management representative was in fact an attorney
00:29:56
for Royal Caribbean International while the FBI met with this attorney the Bradley's were not allowed to be present
00:30:04
agents spoke with the coast guard who were two days into what would eventually be a three-day air and sea search
00:30:10
despite the captain's belief that Amy had gone overboard quite close to the port the Coast Guard had found no sign
00:30:16
of her and nobody had been found washed up along any of the beaches of Curacao the Bradley's felt that the lack of
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cooperation from the ship's personnel extended to that day in front of the FBI when members of the cruise started to go
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hostile and defensive the FBI conducted their own search of the ship including the Bradley's cabin and other areas they
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surveyed the railing of the cabin and to looked for evidence of Amy either falling overboard going overboard by her
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own doing or foul play they then commenced separate interviews with each family member and two during these
00:30:51
interviews the ship's attorney was permitted to be present thus allowing the Royal Caribbean personnel to later
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be made aware of everything that was said by the Bradley's band members including yellow had their room searched
00:31:04
by investigators nothing was found yellow himself was also interviewed Ron Bradley sat outside the room while
00:31:13
yellow was being interviewed when he left his interview yellow walked past Ron smiled at him and gave him a thumbs
00:31:21
up yellow had been given a polygraph test so Ron assumed this thumbs-up was a sign
00:31:27
that he had passed these tests during his interview yellow maintained that he didn't know what happened to Amy he
00:31:35
claimed to that Amy had a drink in the disco with the band at about 1:00 a.m. and then he didn't see her after that
00:31:41
other crew members including the waiters who had been in contact with Amy were also interviewed that afternoon Chris
00:31:49
Fenwick the videographer was with his colleague Steve in the editing room Steve mentioned the Chris that the ship
00:31:55
security had instructed him to make sure that there were no images of the missing
00:31:59
girl in his cruise video meanwhile new whispers started circulating around the ship maybe amy Lynn Bradley didn't
00:32:08
commit suicide maybe she had been abducted it didn't take long for crew members to start
00:32:15
talking about yellow lots of people had seen he and Amy flirting and dancing at the Disco just a few hours before she
00:32:21
disappeared the Bradley stayed on board the Rhapsody of the Seas and returned to their cabin
00:32:28
the last few days had been a blur and the whole thing felt like a bad dream they kept turning things over and over
00:32:36
in their heads trying to make sense of it all they couldn't get any sleep many passengers had no idea what had happened
00:32:44
and continued on with their vacation sipping cocktails and watching the sunset while the Bradley's were living a
00:32:50
nightmare about 3:00 a.m. on Friday March 27 Chris Fenwick took a break from video editing he was standing on the
00:32:59
eighth deck looking over a central banister down through an atrium to the lower levels two floors down he watched
00:33:06
his two young women ran towards a group of people as he looked closer he realized that the group of people were
00:33:12
the Bradley's and they were with someone from Royal Caribbean the two young women
00:33:17
seemed stressed him more explaining something to them as Chris listened on he overheard the two women tell the
00:33:25
Bradley's that they had seen Amy just before she went missing they had been hoping to come across the Bradley sooner
00:33:31
but they couldn't find them anywhere on the ship this must have been when the Bradley's disembarked in Curacao the
00:33:38
women said they saw Amy around 6 a.m. coming out of an elevator near the Disco and she was with yellow at this point
00:33:47
Iver became frantic it had taken almost three days to hear this information the women explained that they were waiting
00:33:55
near the Disco as the ship came into port around 6 a.m. it's then that they saw a yellow and Amy get off the large
00:34:01
glass elevators and walked to the bar in the disco yellow turned up the music on
00:34:06
the sound system and then got a mere drink containing a dark liquid which they assumed was a Coke or a coffee then
00:34:13
moments later Amy and yellow were gone it was around this time when Ron was getting dressed to go and look for Amy
00:34:20
ten minutes later yellow exited the elevator again this time he was alone not thinking much of it the two women
00:34:30
left the disco after that and got ready to disembark in Curacao they both pass polygraph tests the Bradley's were
00:34:39
furious had the ship's personnel helped conduct the proper search of the ship early on and made a proper announcement
00:34:45
that would likely have found out this information days before after overhearing misinformation Chris Fenwick
00:34:53
went back to his cabin and pulled the tapes he had from the Monday night after almost an hour of watching partygoers
00:34:59
enjoying the calypso party and disco he found what he was looking for he had footage of Amy the time the footage was
00:35:07
shot was just after 3 a.m. Chris had three different sections towards the end of the tape where Amy
00:35:14
could be seen dancing there were around 30 to 40 other people also on the dance floor at the time firstly Amy was
00:35:22
dancing with yellow quite close to the camera along the edge of the dance floor that was separated by a couple of feet
00:35:28
but facing each other and clearly dancing together then the video cut to yellow and Amy further into the middle
00:35:35
of the dance floor dancing close together they were both facing the same direction smiling and their bodies were
00:35:41
touching a few moments later you can see that they are holding hands on the last
00:35:48
section on the tape there was a shot of Amy standing by the elevators on the side of the dance floor it appears she
00:35:54
is dancing or while waiting for the elevator to arrive the time was 335 a.m. the same time that the computerized
00:36:02
thought system recorded her brother Brad returning to the family's cabin it was five minutes after this final shot that
00:36:09
the computerized door system recorded Amy returning to the cabin he said that Amy had joined been members for a drink
00:36:15
at the ship's disco after the band's performance and he parted with her about 1:00 a.m. he headed to the staff
00:36:21
elevator and Amy went off in another direction Chris Fenwick's video footage told a
00:36:27
different story and there were two witnesses who said they saw them together again around 6 a.m. right at
00:36:33
the time Amy went missing yellow also said in his interview that he was asleep when cruise security
00:36:40
knocked on his door in the morning looking for Amy they then searched his cabin he said
00:36:46
this door knock was around 6 a.m. the same time the two witnesses saw him back at the disco with Amy
00:36:52
according to Royal Caribbean security actually knocked on yellows door sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m.
00:37:00
given that run Bradley didn't alert security officer Ron Costello until around 7:00
00:37:05
there's no way security were knocking on yellows door at 6:00 a.m. as he claimed
00:37:11
sometime during the morning search carried out on the ship Brad stated that he ran into yellow and
00:37:17
yellow said something along the lines of I'm sorry to hear your sister is missing
00:37:22
Brad took this as odd as he believed that yellow shouldn't have known at that time that amy was missing according to
00:37:29
the Bradley's only the ship's captain a security chief Lou Costello knew amy was
00:37:33
missing at that stage but according to Royal Caribbean they had already begun searching by then this was after the
00:37:41
gangway had been lowered and passengers were disembarking and word had already spread mostly through the crew that Amy
00:37:48
Bradley was missing presumed overboard so according to Royal Caribbean yellow would have known amy was missing at the
00:37:55
time he made that comment to Brad when Chris Fenwick found a me on his tapes he copied the footage to a blank better SP
00:38:04
tape he wrote his name and room number on the tapes label and then headed out his door to the location he had seen the
00:38:10
two witnesses talking to the Bradley's the time was now 4 a.m. the Bradley's and the witnesses were gone but a man
00:38:19
was standing there this man was Mike McCord Ron's boss Mike told Chris who was a
00:38:26
good friend of the Bradley's and he would give them the tape after handing the tape over to Mike Chris went to bed
00:38:35
around a 9 a.m. later that morning Friday March 27th the Bradley's were sitting at a breakfast table with Mike
00:38:42
McCord they looked distraught and by now more passengers knew what was them whose
00:38:47
daughter was missing the rumors were rife but the question of suicide had clearly now moved on to abduction or
00:38:55
maybe even murder Kris Fenwick approached Mike McCord later that day and Mike told Kris that the tape was now
00:39:03
in the hands of the FBI later that afternoon Kris received a call in his cabin it was Lou Costello
00:39:10
the chief of security Costello wanted to know if Kris was the guy with the video Kris Fenwick quote at
00:39:20
that point he told me that he was going to have to get that tape from me I informed him that there was no way I was
00:39:25
going to give up my master tapes I never give these away and that besides that it
00:39:30
was on a tape format that I'm sure he didn't have access to and that I would be glad to make a broadcast quality
00:39:36
double if you liked he then informed me that the FBI were involved in this and they would want the original tapes I
00:39:42
told him that if that was the case and the FBI I wondered what master tapes then they would have to contact me Kris
00:39:51
never heard from the FBI and he never heard from Lou Costello again by the time the Rhapsody of the Seas docked
00:40:00
back at Puerto Rico the Bradley's had no answers and they had no support from the
00:40:05
cruise line the cruise line was adamant nothing untoward had happened to Amy and
00:40:10
they were in the process of doing whatever they could to protect their gleaming reputation a Royal Caribbean
00:40:16
spokeswoman said that the company had cooperated with investigators and didn't believe foul play was involved they
00:40:23
stated that they believed that Amy had accidentally fallen over a railing and drowned
00:40:28
perhaps while intoxicated after the calypso party they quoted numerous cases of cruise ship passengers going
00:40:35
overboard but the majority of these cases involved people recklessly climbing railings or committing suicide
00:40:42
although regulations for railing heights has changed since 1998 FBI investigators
00:40:48
didn't believe Amy accidentally fell over the railing of either one of the main decks or on her own balcony which
00:40:55
actually had a small shelf below the US Coast Guard completed their three-day air and sea search and found no trace of
00:41:03
Amy the sea conditions become amy was a lifeguard in a very proficient swimmer and the ship was believed to be very
00:41:11
close to land at the time of her disappearance making it seem less likely that she would drown there was a chance
00:41:18
however that she hit her head and entered the water injured or unconscious but in that case it was believed that
00:41:23
the Coast Guard would have found some sign of her body either in the water that morning or washed up ashore or
00:41:29
another vessel in the busy port would have seen some sign of her from there onboard investigation the FBI could find
00:41:37
no evidence to directly link yellow to Amy's disappearance and he was not detained nor was he considered a suspect
00:41:43
neither were any of the other crew members the Bradley's wouldn't accept the idea that Amy fell overboard and
00:41:51
they didn't believe she committed suicide they said she would never abandon her family or her dog the FBI
00:41:59
agreed with the Bradley's they didn't believe Amy had committed suicide her background her life back in Virginia
00:42:05
with a new job and a new home and her making plans for when she returned all pointed to someone who didn't fit the
00:42:11
general criteria for someone wishing to end their life Amy had no history of running away hadn't had any family
00:42:19
disagreements or issues with anyone back home they found no reason for a me to cause harm to herself yellow was fired
00:42:28
at the end of the cruise for fraternizing with a passenger the Bradley's returned home to Chesterfield
00:42:34
County Virginia without Amy friends and family was shocked and soon the Bradley's had a large support group
00:42:41
rallying around them they decided that they needed to do something to get answers they set up a hotline and
00:42:48
website in the hope that someone might come forward with information with their phone hotline set up the
00:42:55
Bradley's barely left their home office which had once been their dining room the walls were filled with photos of Amy
00:43:01
notes and a map of the world friends and family were often around to help for days after they returned home a
00:43:10
spanish-speaking man called the hotline the Bradley's got a spanish-speaking neighbor who was a good friend of theirs
00:43:16
to translate for them the caller was a Puerto Rican man who was studying to be a police officer he had just seen a news
00:43:24
report about Amy's disappearance on Puerto Rican television and he realized from a photo that it was her he saw it
00:43:30
just days before he believed he saw Amy being forced into a taxicab by a man in a baseball cap at the terminal at San
00:43:38
Juan Puerto Rico shortly after the Rhapsody of the Seas docked back there on March 28th after the crews had
00:43:44
finished a core desired because he felt it looked like a policeman forcibly leaving a person into a cop car the
00:43:53
woman he saw didn't appear happy and she looked disorientated he thought they looked like they were fighting or at
00:44:00
least disagreeing after hearing this Ron Bradley found the FBI agents investigating Amy's case and gave them
00:44:08
the witness's details with this new information Ron and Brad made plans to go back to Curacao Ron's boss helped
00:44:15
fund the search and helped put up a reward that was posted on their website a two hundred and fifty thousand dollar
00:44:21
reward was offered for any information leading to Amy safe return as well as a further fifty thousand dollar reward for
00:44:28
information that pinpointed a verifiable location within a few weeks the Bradley's had
00:44:34
hired private detectives to board the Rhapsody of the Seas undercover but it turned up nothing in desperation they
00:44:41
consulted psychics which also came up with nothing the FBI continued to look into Amy's
00:44:48
background after interviewing family and friends co-workers and school associates
00:44:53
they confirmed once again that they didn't believe Amy had committed suicide Brad Ron and diver all took polygraph
00:45:01
tests and nothing seemed unusual with the results the Bradley's believed that Amy may have been drugged while drinking
00:45:10
that coffee or coke in the disco area with yellow the drink that the witnesses saw them have together around 6:00 a.m.
00:45:17
then they believe she was possibly put into the nearby staff elevator in a drugged condition and then sent to a
00:45:23
lower level of the ship there she may have been put in a garbage bin or a laundry cart and smuggled off the ship
00:45:30
through a crew door and through the cruise terminal others believed that Amy may have willingly met with someone and
00:45:36
left the ship of her own free will or she may have been forced off under duress or that she may have witnessed an
00:45:43
illegal activity and somebody panicked but for the Bradley's nothing would sway their belief that somebody had her
00:45:49
either quote somebody saw her wanted her and had to have her she would have been
00:45:56
a trophy hany would have been someone that I believe could have been picked out and fingered to move off that ship
00:46:02
she could have been held and hidden she could have been possibly drugged and taken from that ship according to the
00:46:11
us-based international cruise victims Association which was set up in 2006 by loved ones of several people who had
00:46:18
gone missing from cruises between 1995 and 2012 more than 170 people went missing off cruise ships in 1998 the
00:46:29
Bradley's weren't alone in their situation but there weren't many records or investigations for them to draw on
00:46:35
the murky jurisdictions and laws made their case difficult the Bradley's found it difficult to
00:46:43
ignore the possibility that Amy's disappearance may have been linked to sex trafficking according to the UN
00:46:50
refugee agency the Netherland aunt Elise is a transit and destination point for women and children who are victims of
00:46:57
forced sex work in what is a multi-billion dollar industry they estimated optimally eighty percent of
00:47:04
all sex workers in the Netherland in Talisa foreigners the UN Office on Drugs and Crime lists the Netherlands and
00:47:10
Netherland dentally says some of the top destinations for victims of human and sex trafficking women who were coerced
00:47:16
or kidnapped facing humane conditions extreme violence and multiple rapes to break their spirit victims are often
00:47:25
threatened with death along with the death of their family members should they try to escape and force drug
00:47:30
dependence is also common when Ron and I looked back over their time on the Rhapsody of the Seas they realized the
00:47:38
extent of the unusual behavior of some of the staff towards Amy they couldn't get past the behavior of the way does
00:47:44
that first norm the behavior of yellow and even the disappearance of Amy's photographs from the photo gallery to
00:47:52
them they felt she had been targeted on April 17th 1998 three weeks after returning from the Caribbean the
00:48:01
Bradley's put out a public plea for help quote the family of a mule in Bradley who has been missing since March 24th
00:48:09
1998 from the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas as it arrived the port in Curacao would like to make the following
00:48:15
plea please let Amy go blindfold her and to leave her somewhere safe at night unharmed she doesn't know who you are
00:48:24
and only wants to be with her family in her country we will ask no questions you will remain unknown please let Amy
00:48:32
go the Bradley's were 100% adamant she had been abducted Ron and Brad made their
00:48:42
way back to Curacao there's another taxi driver had come forward saying that he had been parked at the cruise terminal
00:48:47
at Curacao the morning Amy went missing he saw a woman fitting Amy's description
00:48:53
looking for a phone she seemed in a rush but she didn't seem frantic or scared despite the FBI's intensive
00:49:01
investigation heavy publicity in newspapers and numerous TV shows like America's Most Wanted vanished and dr.
00:49:08
Phil as well as numerous news outlets and magazines nothing of any value had arisen Amy had simply vanished
00:49:17
once again Ron and Brad came home with nothing in November that year 7 months after Amy disappeared the FBI confirmed
00:49:26
during an interview with the New York Times that they had nothing quote we've pursued every angle from whether there
00:49:35
was foul play a suicide or an accident and a way of basically not gotten anywhere
00:49:41
in December that year eight months after the Bradley's informed the FBI of the phone call they had received from the
00:49:48
Puerto Rican men who believed he saw Amy being forced into a taxi they discovered
00:49:53
that the FBI never interviewed him despite the Bradley's providing proof they forwarded on the information the
00:50:00
FBI denied receiving the lead US Department of Justice agents working with Interpol did go on to interview the
00:50:07
man in early 99 he positively identified Amy from a photo lineup as the woman he
00:50:13
saw the previous April that wasn't confirmed publicly if he positively identified the man he saw her with given
00:50:20
the media saturation of the case by then including Amy's photo being broadcast everywhere it's not known how much
00:50:27
weight this idea was given either quote we had lost time because the leads were not followed up we were told the FBI
00:50:36
would leave no stone unturned we were confident that they were contacting the witness following the lead intending to
00:50:43
everything fed up with getting nowhere with the FBI the Bradley's raped the congressman foreign officials and even
00:50:52
the president they continued to me in a 24 hour hotline and kept up the press employed to find Amy they still held the
00:50:59
belief that Amy was alive and being held against her will that same month Chris Fenwick's saw the
00:51:06
America's Most Wanted episode on Amy he was surprised that the videotape that he
00:51:11
had provided Mike McCord Ron's boss wasn't used on the show he began thinking about the conversation he
00:51:18
had with the chief of security Lou Costello Costello had been adamant that the FBI wanted the original tapes Chris
00:51:25
had given the copy to Ron's boss who said he passed that on to the FBI but Chris had never heard from the FBI
00:51:30
himself he picked up the phone and left a message for an agent but he never heard anything back
00:51:39
another man was also watching America's Most Wanted that North Canadian computer
00:51:45
engineer and avid scuba diver David Carmichael came forward immediately after seeing the episode he
00:51:51
and another scuba diving friend were on a beach in Curacao in August of that year approximately five months after Amy
00:51:57
disappeared David Carmichael quote I noticed three people walking along the beach one of
00:52:06
them was a young girl and she was flanked by two fellows she had two tattoos one of them was of a gecko the
00:52:12
other was of a Tasmanian devil the girl walked towards me she started to stare at me just as she was about to
00:52:20
say something she looked frightened like she was about to say something when one of the guys
00:52:25
motioned her away and gave me a menacing look I was stunned the minute I saw her
00:52:31
picture and saw her face on the program I realized that was the girl on the beach I am haunted by that encounter
00:52:38
with Amy I know it was her David Carmichael flew to Virginia to meet the Bradley's although Amy's family had a
00:52:48
feeling that she was still alive they started legal proceedings in late 1998 in order to have Amy declared dead in
00:52:55
June 99 their wish was granted this allowed them to pursue legal proceedings against the Royal Caribbean cruises the
00:53:04
Bradley's filed a lawsuit against Royal Caribbean cruises Limited alleging negligence security defamation and
00:53:10
intentional infliction of emotional distress but in November 99 the judge dismissed all lawsuits against the
00:53:18
cruise line as the Bradley's were accused of perjury and committing fraud in court when presenting evidence the
00:53:25
Bradley stated that they only had three witnesses who had seen Amy since she disappeared all three said she was under
00:53:31
duress but what they withheld was that they actually had over 100 eyewitness sightings reported of Amy living on the
00:53:38
island of her own free will not under any duress these extra sightings could have indicated to the court that Amy if
00:53:46
it was her who the witnesses saw may have left the cruise on her own free will the court ruled that the Bradley's
00:53:53
misdirected the court in an attempt to portray that the only explanation for Amy's disappearance was that she was
00:53:58
abducted despite the setback the Bradley's continued to search for answers the Bradley's had also heard
00:54:09
from a woman in Curacao a local cook named Judith margarita she believed amy was being held by heavily armed
00:54:17
Colombian guards in a housing complex protected with barbed wire she also said that she regularly saw Amy shopping at a
00:54:24
grocery store and working out at a gym and that she was often with a man with long blond hair and tattoos all the way
00:54:30
down one arm Judith was able to give the Bradley's an accurate description of tattoos that Amy had but it was when
00:54:39
Judith hummed a lullaby that either used to sing to Amy when she was a baby that
00:54:43
the Bradley's were completely convinced she was telling the truth officials on the island told the
00:54:50
Bradley's they could do nothing with the information because there was no evidence of a crime end of the
00:54:55
investigation by the FBI had made little progress so it wasn't a priority for them while Ron and Iver were deciding
00:55:04
what to do and how they should deal with the information they had been given by Judith they received an email from a man
00:55:09
named Frank Jones Jones told the Bradley's who was a former US Army Special Forces officer
00:55:16
with the team made up of ex Army Rangers and ex Navy SEALs who might be able to help rescue Amy when the Bradley's told
00:55:24
him about the information they had received from Judith Jones offered to act as a private investigator in order
00:55:30
to scope out the situation and then carry out a stealth mission to rescue her either quote he told me that he put
00:55:38
Amy on his own back and swim her out of there his team had the experience and credentials to rescue Amy the Bradley's
00:55:46
felt that their prayers had finally been answered and they agreed to hire Frank Jones in order to do so they had to sell
00:55:53
their car and Ron's boss also chipped in in the year that had passed since Amy disappeared the Bradley's and the FBI
00:56:02
continued to get leads which all ended up going nowhere but this information from Judith seemed different and Ron and
00:56:09
Ivers gut feeling told them it was going to lead to Amy Frank Jones sent two of his men former Navy SEAL was down to
00:56:17
Curacao to check out the information given by Judith shortly after Jones sent the Bradley's a
00:56:23
report saying that he believed Amy was in a dangerous situation and was under guard they had attempted to set up
00:56:30
surveillance points at the locations Judith had given and they had seen Amy being driven by her kidnapper believed
00:56:36
to be a man with long blond hair and one arm sleeved with tattoos in a dark green
00:56:40
SUV but Jones and his men were forced to flee for a week after being fired upon by around 10 men things had gotten
00:56:49
serious but knowing amy was alive gave the Bradley some level of comfort the next few months were brutal they
00:56:57
constantly felt that amy was in imminent danger and may be killed at any moment they wanted Jones to get her out
00:57:03
immediately but they needed to trust him in his men it was on the right time it was too dangerous
00:57:11
over the following months Jones sent two more obese operatives to the island and
00:57:15
provided a series of reports to the Bradley's on the whereabouts of Amy the Bradley's continued the way hoping that
00:57:23
the next day would be the day Amy would be rescued and they would be a complete family again in 1999 there was another
00:57:32
possible sighting of Amy in Curacao this man didn't want any reward money but his
00:57:38
conscience had gotten the better of him he was an American sailor who stopped off in Curacao and visited a brothel
00:57:44
something he wasn't supposed to be doing at the brothel he claimed he approached two women
00:57:49
sitting at a table and one of them told him her name was Amy Bradley and she began begging for help he told her there
00:57:57
was a Navy ship just down the road but she said you don't understand I can't leave help me please help me
00:58:06
he said he dismissed her plea because he wasn't aware Amy was a missing person and he was also worried his superiors
00:58:14
would find out he was there but after he saw the picture of Amy in People magazine he recalled that after pleading
00:58:20
with him to help her the woman was escorted forcibly upstairs by two men when investigators went to
00:58:27
check on the brothel that had burnt down it was around this time Chris Fenwick received a call from his brother who had
00:58:36
seen a rerun of the TV segment on Amy on unsolved mysteries once again the dance
00:58:42
floor video wasn't used by the show Chris's brother took it upon himself to call the network and ask if they were
00:58:48
aware of the dance floor video a few days later Chris's brother got a call from my for Bradley he was shocked to
00:58:55
learn that the Bradley's had never seen the video Chris immediately made a copy for them it was almost a year and a half
00:59:03
since he attempted to give it to them the first time the remainder of 1999 in the year 2000 was excruciating for the
00:59:11
Bradley's Frank Jones continued his surveillance and kept them up to speed his surveillance validated Judith's
00:59:18
information it seemed what she had seen was legit the continued surveillance and
00:59:24
the additional operatives cost Ron an either more money every month but they kept going they'd spent all their
00:59:30
savings by this point and accepted help from donors and nonprofit organizations that were willing to help
00:59:37
eventually the Bradley's received word from Jones that he was ready to launch the rescue mission he just needed the
00:59:44
final payment so he could arrange his team with the financial help and the advice of Ron's boss Ron and neither
00:59:51
asked Jones for some kind of proof that amy was still a lot of so he sent them a
00:59:56
photo it was of a young woman sitting on the beach with her back to the camera the man next to her had long blonde hair
01:00:03
and a slave tattoo on his arm the woman was wearing a wide-brimmed hat so you couldn't say it face but the
01:00:10
tattoos were unmistakable they were all there when Oliver saw the picture she knew it was Amy
01:00:18
either quote when I got the pictures I knew amy was okay and it was just a matter of time the Bradley's arranged
01:00:28
the final payment and flew to Florida to wait in a hotel room to heat word from Jones he said he would call to let them
01:00:34
know the rescue had been successful as the donation from Ron's boss the Bradley's had a private jet on standby
01:00:40
so that they could immediately fly out to Curacao to meet Amy when she was rescued the Bradley sat in the hotel
01:00:48
room for a week waiting for the phone call that was so anxious that they hardly left the room in Curacao one of
01:00:59
Jones's men a former Army Special Forces sniper Tim Buchholz had been noticing over time that Jones was towing the
01:01:05
Bradley's things that weren't true when Buchholz was on duty watching the house where Amy was supposedly being held he
01:01:13
never saw any sign of her the residents of the house appeared to be regular people and he hadn't seen anything
01:01:18
suspicious but he later overheard Jones on the phone in a bar drinking telling that Bradley so that his people were
01:01:25
watching the house at that very moment Buckholtz his heart sunk as he realized it was all a lie Buchholz contacted the
01:01:37
Bradley's who were still desperately waiting in Florida for word from Jones he had to tell them that Frank Jones had
01:01:44
lied to them some of the operatives employed by Jones were legitimate those that were were unaware until that point
01:01:51
what they were involved in - Bradley struggled to cope with what had happened they had paid Jones approximately
01:01:59
$24,000 of their own personal savings and over a hundred and eighty thousand dollars from the Amy bradley fund at the
01:02:06
nation's missing children organization a nonprofit that provided assistance to the family and held a restricted fund
01:02:12
specifically for costs related to search and recovery when they found out the photo of Amy was
01:02:19
fabricated they literally fell apart no one could comprehend how someone could prey on
01:02:25
parents of a missing woman in such a desperate time later Johnno sank who had been working with Jones admitted to
01:02:34
pront on that he agreed to wear a blonde week and pose as the kidnapper he said they staged the photograph on a
01:02:40
beach with a young woman they knew who resembled Amy they had temporary tattoos made to match Amy's and Frank Jones took
01:02:47
the picture Judith Margaretha son Giovanni came forward to say that his mother made up the story he believed she
01:02:57
was just trying to steal reward money but Judith maintained she had never lied to amy's parents she was paid $8,000 for
01:03:05
her tip in February 2002 federal prosecutors charged Frank Jones with the frauding the Bradley's of $24,000 in the
01:03:15
nation's missing children organization of one hundred and eighty six thousand dollars Jones pleaded guilty and was
01:03:22
sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to repay the money to both parties he had never served in the
01:03:28
Special Forces when the Bradley's finally spoke publicly about the ordeal Ron said quote if there's a chance I
01:03:37
mean what else do you do if it was your child what would you do so I guess we took a chance and I guess we lost
01:03:49
in 2004 seven years after Amy went missing an anonymous source and online photos to the Bradley's they were from a
01:03:57
sex website selling what was essentially sex holidays in the Caribbean the site consisted of mostly naked women in
01:04:04
sexually suggestive poses for buyers to choose for their holiday the photos sent
01:04:10
to the Bradley's were of a woman named jazz who resembled a slightly older and harsher looking Amy and the email seemed
01:04:18
to suggest that she had been sold into sexual slavery FBI profiler Clint Van Zandt who has worked on many kidnapping
01:04:25
cases and top forensic artists experts looked at the pictures they concluded that the woman in the photos could be
01:04:33
Amy the following year in 2005 Judy Moore was on holiday in Barbados when she entered a public toilet in a
01:04:42
department store in Bridgeton while in the toilet stall she overheard some men come in and threaten a woman in another
01:04:48
store she heard them say quote the deal is coming through you need to obey to not mess it up after a few minutes
01:04:58
Judy Moore coked out of the stall and approached the woman who was carrying over the basin Judy asked though who she
01:05:04
was the woman who she thought was in her 30s said she was from Virginia and that
01:05:10
her name was Amy moments later the men opened the door not saying Judy who was standing to the side of the door they
01:05:18
grabbed the woman and dragged her out Judy was terrified and went to the local authorities she also later provided the
01:05:25
FBI with the description of the men allowing them to circulate sketches from her descriptions
01:05:31
in 2006 the international cruise victim association was launched also known as the ICV
01:05:38
it was launched to offer support and assistance to those affected by crimes committed against themselves or family
01:05:44
members while on cruise ships Kendall Carver the company's CEO and founding president of the ICV began
01:05:52
lobbying for change after his daughter Marion Carver disappeared aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship the mercury
01:05:58
in 2004 Kendal Carver quote we're not here to put these companies out of business we just want to see that if a
01:06:08
crime takes place appropriate action is taken and people are prosecuted whether this can never be achieved voluntarily
01:06:14
however is a different question entirely in the time between Kendall's thought of
01:06:21
disappearing into the official setup of the ICV was when Natalie Holloway disappeared at
01:06:26
the front of Carlos and Charlie's in Aruba the ICV became the subject of five congressional hearings in Washington
01:06:33
they brought the cruise companies to account after years of them being able to run outside US laws in 2008 the
01:06:41
cruise vessel security and Safety Act supported by Senator John Kerry was unveiled which pushed for stricter
01:06:47
regulations and systemic change Kendall Carver quote the cruise lines tell us they're not equipped to
01:06:55
investigate crimes and that they report everything to the FBI meanwhile the FBI top brass claimed they lack the
01:07:02
resources to follow up such reports nobody is assuming responsibility so nothing is getting done in 2005 10
01:07:11
million passengers embarked upon cruises 50 criminal cases were opened and only four convictions were made that is scary
01:07:21
on July 27th 2010 President Obama signed Senator John Kerry's cruise vessel security and Safety Act which increased
01:07:30
security law enforcement and accountability on cruise ships in international waters all cruise lines
01:07:37
and passenger shipping operators are required by law to report to the FBI any criminal activity against US citizens
01:07:44
reports are mandatory even on incidents at sea when vessels are in international
01:07:49
waters the cruise vessel security and Safety Act will improve ship safety by requiring 42 inch guardrails peepholes
01:07:58
in every passenger and crew members door on deck video surveillance and an emergency sound system that will provide
01:08:05
transparency in reporting by establishing a structure between the cruise industry the FBI under the Coast
01:08:11
Guard that will improve crime-scene response by requiring rape kits and a trained forensic sexual assault
01:08:17
specialist to be aboard each ship and it will establish a program designed in consultation with the FBI to train
01:08:24
appropriate crew members in crime prevention detection evidence preservation and reporting of criminal
01:08:30
activities in the international maritime environment Senator John Kerry quote we
01:08:36
have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the millions of Americans who will board cruise ships this year this
01:08:42
law will finally do away with the murky lines of jurisdiction that have put American cruise ship passengers at risk
01:08:48
in the past I applaud President Obama representative Matsui and my colleagues for helping to
01:08:54
ensure the security safety and accountability be strengthened to hold criminals accountable and to end the
01:09:01
cycle of serious crimes on these vessels Kendall Carver quote today marks the beginning of a new accountability for
01:09:11
any crimes that are committed against passengers on cruise ships this came about because a small group of victims
01:09:17
joined together 4 and 1/2 years ago to form ICV from just a few families ycv now has membership in over 20 countries
01:09:26
the lesson learned from this is that no one should ever underestimate the power of organized victims who are all
01:09:33
volunteers to make changes this legislation would not have happened without the dedicated support of Senator
01:09:40
Kerry and representative Matsui who joined our efforts to pass this historic legislation this legislation will
01:09:47
protect millions of passengers in the coming years and we are deeply indebted to all those who helped make it happen
01:09:55
in 2010 an American tourist who was holidaying on the western side of Aruba found a human jaw bone washed up on the
01:10:03
beach after forensic testing the jawbone which had a wisdom tooth attached was found to be likely from a Caucasian
01:10:10
female forensic testing was able to determine that the jawbone did not belong to Natalie Holloway or amylin
01:10:19
Bradley in 2016 of the 200 overnight ocean-going cruise vessels owned by knowing cruise lines there were four
01:10:28
suspicious deaths one of those on Royal Caribbean cruises there were six missing
01:10:34
us passengers four of those on Royal Caribbean cruises and of the 62 sexual assault allegations made aboard cruise
01:10:42
ships in 2016 15 of those were aboard Royal Caribbean cruises in the first three months of 2017 the near ten cruise
01:10:52
line companies worldwide reported two missing passengers one kidnapping two assaults with serious bodily injuries
01:10:59
six thefts over $10,000 and 16 sexual assaults in 2017 after years of staying quiet on the case and despite the fact
01:11:10
that Amy Bradley was declared dead in 1999 the FBI released the video relating to her disappearance quote the FBI is
01:11:21
offering a reward of up to twenty-five thousand dollars for information leading to the recovery of a mule in Bradley and
01:11:27
information that leads to the identification arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for
01:11:34
her disappearance either Bradley quote our lives have been so drastically changed every waking
01:11:43
moment is where is Amy I just want people to know that when girls disappear outside of the [ __ ]
01:11:48
they're disappearing for a reason and slavery and sex trafficking is so alive and well that would absolutely blow you
01:11:56
away we believe with every fiber in our being that someone took her and we want it back and I have tried to make deals
01:12:04
with God if we find her today you can take me tomorrow when they say it's the worst nightmare it is it's the worst
01:12:14
nightmare [Music]