Amy Bradley Disappeared in 1998 — She Was Last Seen Sleeping on the Balcony of a Cruise Ship

It has been more than 25 years since Amy Bradley seemingly vanished while on a cruise with her family in March 1998. Amy's father worked for an insurance company and was one of 35 agents who won an all-expenses-paid family cruise from Illinois Mutual Life, per the Richmond-Times Dispatch. While most agents opted to bring a spouse, Ron Bradley forked out $2,000 to cover Amy and her brother Brad. The siblings were best friends.

In preparation for the trip, which was happening in the dead of winter, Amy spent three weeks tanning so she wouldn't show up to the ship unprepared. It started in San Juan, then headed to Aruba, Curaçao, St. Martin, and St. Thomas before returning to Puerto Rico. Once she got back, Amy was all set to start a new job as a marketing and office assistant for her aunt and uncle's software company. She had also just moved into a new apartment. What happened to Amy Bradley? Here's what we know.

On March 21, Amy and Brad flew from Richmond, Va., to San Juan, leaving an hour after their parents, who were on a separate flight. Upon landing, the Bradleys boarded the ship, which left for Aruba the next day. Amy spent the next couple of days lounging by the pool, grabbing meals with her family, and of course drinking. The second part of the trip was spent at sea, so the excited 23-year-old attended an art auction where she purchased a modernist serigraph for her new apartment.

Two days into the cruise, the ship docked at Aruba. The family rented a Jeep and explored the island, which included swimming in the ocean. It should be noted that Amy was terrified of heights and avoided the ship's railings. After the day trip, the family changed into nice clothes and went to dinner. Amy was attractive and received a lot of attention from passengers and crew, including one waiter who invited her out for drinks in Aruba. She declined.

After dinner, Amy and Brad went to the ship's casino, where they each won $140. They showed their winnings to their parents before the whole family participated in a limbo contest. Exhausted, Ron and Iva, Amy's mother, turned in for the night. Amy and Brad kept the party going. Ron woke up at 2:45 a.m., only to find Amy and Brad hadn't returned. He went looking for them and found Brad dancing with a group of women while Amy was chatting with the ship's DJ. Ron went back to sleep.

An hour after waking up the first time, Ron got up again at 3:45 a.m. when Amy and Brad finally returned to the room. The siblings were smoking on the balcony. Ron told them to turn off the bathroom light and fell back asleep again. When he woke up at 5:30 a.m., Ron saw Amy's legs on the lounge chair on the balcony. Assuming his daughter had fallen asleep there, Ron went back to sleep. That was the last time he saw his daughter.

A mere 30 minutes later, Ron was up for good at 6:00 a.m. He checked on Amy and discovered she was gone, along with her cigarettes and lighter. Curious but not concerned, Ron went looking for his daughter. By this point, the ship had docked at Curaçao. Amy was nowhere to be found. He woke up Brad and Iva, who recalled her husband looking more frightened than she had ever seen him before.

There was no evidence to suggest that Amy, who was a trained lifeguard, fell overboard. After four days of searching, the Bradleys returned to Virginia. Over the years there have been multiple sightings of a woman who looked like Amy. They never went anywhere. The Bradleys were even scammed out of more than $200,000 after a con man claimed he saw her and needed the money to attempt a rescue, per ABC News.

Ron and Iva still believe their daughter is alive. As of 2018, the FBI was still offering a reward of up to $25,000 for any information leading to Amy's return. "We get up every single day with the thought that maybe today we'll find Amy," said Iva to the FBI.