La desaparición de Amy Bradley

Back in 1998, a family set off for a holiday on board a cruise ship. One evening, their daughter, Amy Bradley, vanished without a trace. Efforts to find her proved fruitless, and over the years, Amy has apparently been spotted regularly.

This is such a chilling and incredibly sad story; her poor family is clearly haunted by her disappearance, and the lack of closure must be the worst thing.

This is a very well-made documentary. Three episodes were about right; it explores some interesting ideas and some fairly baffling conspiracy theories.

It makes you aware of one thing: if you go missing on a ship, you are in serious trouble; international waters, etc. You are very much in the hands of the captain, and if they don't want to know...

Several powerful interviews, primarily from her friends and loved ones, as well as an eye-opening one from Kirk Detweiler, a staff member whose attitude is somewhat remarkable.

Judy Maurer came across as the most sincere of the witnesses, all I could think think of, was why didn't she fall the Police?

Decades on, we can hope she's living well somewhere; it just seems so unlikely. People love a conspiracy theory, but she seemed to have a closeness with people at home, especially her brother, she'd have made contact somehow.

7/10.

I have been following this case since I came across it in around 2019, and was SO excited when this doc came out. Having watched all the YouTube videos and read all the news articles I have been so intrigued by this case and truly genuinely concerned about what happened to Amy. I am only done the first episode so I will definitely be expanding on this review, but I am just so glad to see this case getting the recognition it deserves. Can't wait to watch the rest. I truly hope some resolution is found for her loved ones after all this time, but I know not to expect that in this intonational doc.

With all that was said and watch...I just feel so very sorry for her parents and her brother. I can't even imagine the pain that they have carried for so many years. Everyday, they continue to hope against hope that they will be reconnected with Amy! What surprised me the most, was that her parents were still married. That the stress of all this, did not drive them apart, to divorce. That says a lot about their love for Amy and their love for each other. I'm not sure how I would react in this situation. Do I give up? But then to have multiple, possible sightings...whew!..My heart goes out to them...

As a fan of true crime documentaries, I went into Amy Bradley Is Missing without knowing much about the case - just that it involved a disappearance at sea, which immediately piqued my interest. The idea that someone could vanish from a cruise ship is incredibly mysterious, and the show leans heavily into that intrigue.

That said, the pacing is noticeably slow. The first episode is a real slow burner, taking its time to build up. It's not until the second episode that things start to pick up with the introduction of darker themes like sex trafficking. Even then, it takes a while before it becomes truly gripping.

At this stage, I'm finding it a bit of a drag. There's a lack of emotional connection for me personally, and while the mystery is compelling, the presentation hasn't quite drawn me in as much as I hoped.

Overall, it's a decent watch if you're into slow-building mysteries, but don't expect to be instantly hooked. It might be more rewarding for viewers with patience and a strong interest in missing persons cases.

The disappearance of 23-year-old Amy Bradley from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in 1998 certainly is a fascinating case, and this 3-part documentary does an ok job of shedding light on the many possible scenarios and explanations. What the creators don't do equally well is finding the right balance between their journalistic codes of ethics and their responsibility to ask critical questions. They go overboard (sic) when they incite Alister "Yellow" Douglas's daughter to confront her own father. In doing so, they were clearly taking advantage of a problematic family situation, and the daughter should have been protected against herself. Conversely, the creators are too lenient with regards to the questions they ask the Bradley family. The saintly picture they get to paint of their daughter in their distraught eternal mourning may not be so accurate. You shouldn't speak ill of the dead, is that it? There are also several important points that are not sufficiently followed up on - not least Amy's camera and shoes...

All in all, a somewhat underwhelming series that doesn't really cover enough ground considering its running time. And of course, no answers are given.