Law&Crime Sidebar - 7 Bombshell Revelations from Amy Bradley Private Investigators

Episode Date: December 6, 2025

The investigation into the baffling, unsolved disappearance of Amy Bradley—who vanished from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship nearly 30 years ago—is heating up again after a massively watched Netflix docuseries brought new attention to the cold case. Law&Crime's Jesse Weber sat down with private investigators Jim Carey & Earl Nance to discuss new evidence, alleged sightings, and their absolute certainty that Amy was kidnapped and sold.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Download the FREE Upside App at https://upside.app.link/sidebar to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. Is the investigation into the unsolved disappearance of Amy Bradley, the subject of a massively watched Netflix series, heating up right now with new details and potential theories and updates, we are bringing on the private investigators who are actually looking into this case of the young woman who just disappeared off of a cruise ship almost 30 years ago. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime.

I'm Jesse Weber. Okay, real quick, got to pause, have to tell you about something that if you don't know about, it can really help you out. It is called Upside, our sponsor. It gets the cashback on daily essentials like gas and groceries and food, so it is so easy. It is free. I can use it when I pump my gas. I can use it when I go to a convenience store.

use it when I get food. And that's right. This is real cashback. After you spend, money appears in your upside that you can transfer right into your bank account. To find out how much you could save with upside, click the link in the description or scan the QR code on screen, but make sure to use our promo code sidebar to get an extra 25 cents back on every gallon on your first tank of gas. We are continually following this bizarre cold case of Amy Bradley, particularly after this story that is almost 30 years old, has come into the spotlight once again due to the attention from the Netflix docu series, Amy Bradley is missing, which was released over the summer. And in a little bit, I'm going to be bringing on the private investigators who have been

working on this case, what the latest is, what the status of the investigation is, have they found new leads? We're going to talk all about it. But to circle back, full picture, this is what we're talking about. We're talking about 23-year-old Amy Bradley from Virginia, who back on March 24th, 1998, just vanished out of nowhere from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship called the Rhapsody of the Seas, while on board with her family. This was as the ship made its way to Curacao from Aruba. Now, before she went missing, she was reportedly at the ship's disco with her brother Brad.

The next morning, she's gone. No evidence of her on board. The balcony door is open in the family's cabin. Her father says the last time he saw her, she was sleeping out there. Her body has never been found. While she may have been legally declared dead in 2010, no, there are people, there are theories. There is potential proof that she's still alive. We're going to get into that. Even though, by the way, there have been no arrests, no charges, nothing in connection with her disappearance. The FBI investigation into her disappearance remains open. There's a $25,000 reward offered for information that leads to her recovery. Now, I will say this. One person that became a central figure in all of this is someone known as Alistair Douglas, a musician who was playing

in the band on the ship and allegedly dancing with Amy. Only hours before she vanished. The two may have been together on the deck. This is according to Cosmopolitan. This is potentially supported by surveillance footage and witness accounts. Now, to be clear, he has adamantly denied having anything to do with Amy's disappearance and reportedly was questioned by the FBI, took a polygraph. This is according to the Netflix documentary as well. He's never been charged. He's never been arrested. But Douglas spoke last year on true crime journalist James Renner's YouTube channel saying that Amy approached him, told her about her family, her life, that she was gay, that her family forced her on this

vacation. He told her, quote, about five minutes to one, I said, I have to go, I have to be out of the passenger area, and I left. That was my last conversation, last time I saw her. However, that's, by the way, not apparently in line with witnesses who allegedly said they saw the two together on that upper deck that I mentioned between 530 and 5.45 a.m. He went on to say, quote, around 7 o'clock, I was awakened by a call by the hotel manager, and he asked me, Douglas, do you have a woman in your room? It was forbidden. It was forbidden dating. And I said, no. And I asked why. And he said the woman you were talking to last night in the club, we can't find her. And he explained how everybody was interrogated, lie detector tests. At that time, they didn't

say anything much to me. They took the wire off me. Now, Douglas added that an FBI agent later interviewed him on multiple occasions, telling him again that he was in the clear. And quote, I've lost so many opportunities because of this. Once my name was entered into Google, they would say I had something to do with this missing girl, and I would lose the contract. The truth is, no matter how long it is, always surfaces. Now, according to People Magazine, there have been at least half a dozen alleged sightings of Amy over the years. This includes on a Caribbean island, in Aruba. The FBI apparently looked into these potential sightings. Nothing ever stuck. There are all these theories out there. In fact, last month, Amy's apparent former boyfriend spoke to the media,

provided some interesting tidbits that I want to get into as well. But I also have to say this, Okay? When we last spoke about Amy Bradley in this case, we discussed how according to the Hollywood reporter, the Netflix series brought a lot of attention to Amy in the case, and that a source close to the production claimed there are, quote, very significant leads, like an allegation that a female bartender, server on the ship, doesn't speak much English, that on the night Amy disappeared, screamed, Signorita Kidnap, and a source telling the outlet that she was told to shut up. There's also reporting about a suspicious IP address that apparently logs onto a missing person's website about Amy, perhaps on a regular basis, and that this IP address is connected back to a device on a boat in Barbados. So one theory is it could be someone allegedly involved in her kidnapping or alleged kidnapping, want to see what's going on with the case. There's another theory that it might even be Amy using it to check in. In fact, there's another theory that not only is she alive, that she was pregnant, that she has a child. According to the Daily News, Amy may not want to come forward because she's been pregnant and had a child as a result of sex trafficking or sex work. These are all allegations. These are all theories right now. There's nothing to fully substantiate that.

And I want to get into that a little bit more when I bring on the PIs. But the Daily News, New York Daily News, reporting that there is a new FBI agent who has been assigned this case, that the FBI has also interviewed someone who allegedly saw Amy in Barbados. and by the way, speaking of the FBI, in a recent statement to the Hollywood reporter, they said, we have nothing further outside of the seeking information poster. Tips can be submitted via 1-800 call FBI or at tips.fbi.gov. Okay, so I want to bring on two special guests right now. I'm joined by Jim Carrey and Earl Nance, the private investigators who are looking into this case.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for taking the time to talk about this. I want to start here, actually, and Jim, I'll start with you. How did you get to be working on this? case how did you meet the bradley's how did you become involved i met the bradley's through the through beth holloway and beth holloway um and greta van cusser i work in the holloway case with greta and i was down in kurosol living when my son and my wife and uh we got introduced to the bradley's and um i wanted to help the bradley so and they needed help and how long you've been working with them? About four years, I think. Four years? Yeah. And Earl, how about

yourself? I met Iva and Ron in 1989, and I helped them with a couple of projects. I got to know the family. I got to know Amy. And what a privilege that was and is. So we've been joined at the hip since 1989. And we have been to the graduation parties for Amy, all of the celebrations for Brad and all of the highs and lows of the last 30-some years we've shared. And I'll tell you, Earl, I mean, when she disappeared, that must have been a hard hit for you as well. I mean, what was your relationship like with Amy? what was she like from your time? Amy

was and is a very she's a tenacious competitor she has that athletes intensity she's a leader she would never back

down from any challenge she was very confident in her ability to handle life, and she accepted life's challenges with enthusiasm. And she worked and very, very disciplined and very determined. And you could see that both in her academic efforts and in her basketball. I mean, she was a great basketball player. She sounds like an incredible person, which is why it's not surprising that you have so many people who are invested in trying to find out what happened here. And you said is. You said is. And so, Jim, I go to you. What is your theory? I'm assuming it's maybe both of you. Jim, what is your theory about what happened to Amy? And do you believe, as we sit here today and we talk about Amy, do you believe that she's alive?

from what I've learned and what me and Earl learned and the rest of the team, there's a lot of other people helping with us. We have people in the social media that work really hard to help us. That evening or that morning, March the 24th, she went to the disco. And I think that guy, Yellow Douglas, took a liking to her. She was very energetic. She liked to talk to people. She was very nice.

And I think that she was taken sometime between 5.30 and 6 o'clock in the morning. I'm looking more around quarter of six. I think she left the room where the three witnesses saw her in the elevator with Douglas at the disco. It was a big glass elevator. And you could see them. And we had three witnesses who actually saw both of them. So they're pretty credible. and then I think

she might have been drugged most likely she got drugged one of the witnesses saw that Douglas come down after they were up in the disco and get a dark color drink and I know Amy didn't drink coffee

so it was most likely a soda and he went back up to her and turned the music on which she found odd the witness I find out myself at 6 o'clock in the morning and 10 minutes later all they see is Douglas walking by himself

and there's no sight of aiming. So from what we've learned, what myself and Earl have learned, we believe she was drugged. I think there was someone else up there. I think another person arrived on the ship and got on that ship in Aruba that night before. And I think that was the person

who actually took her off the ship in a container. Most likely what we've heard is a musical box or a big, huge box. They brought her down the service elevator where they take out trash They take out laundry They bring on food for the next part of the The cruise

And she was taken off by that way Because there's about There's like three or four boats That come and grab stuff off the ship And we believe that she was taken off that way And then taken somewhere That's what we believe As far as she's alive

I think there's a good chance But I don't know I'm trying to find out myself and Earl, we're looking for all the facts. And we're looking for her. We're looking for anybody who's seen her. And we're praying she's alive. But, you know, she's been seen. So it's a good chance she could be alive. Now, Earl, I want you to jump in here because I read, and correct me from wrong, did you speak to anybody last year who confirmed that Amy is in fact still alive? Is there anything more you can tell us about that well we've we've had several people who have approached

us and told us that uh amy is is alive uh we we spoke to one person and and jim and i both asked him are we wasting our time what what what can we do to uh bring this case to a conclusion. And he said, oh, no, no, she's alive. I saw her and she's alive. Is this man credible? Don't know. That's the problem with so many of the leads that Jim and I try to run down

is that so many are dry holes or, you know, shadowy folks who are looking for a payout, thinking that we, you know, the Bradley's are a rich American family who will be free with cash. And unfortunately, the Bradley's and our search efforts are limited by a lack of resources. But that doesn't keep us from trying to run down every lead. And that's what we intend to do. Yeah, Jim, what was this I was reading about a police clerk from Curacao who had contacted Amy's family back in the day with information. I mean, Earl mentioned, you know, money played a key factor in this situation.

Can you explain to us what happened there? Yeah, that was the gentleman we spoke to in Carousel. Back in November 24, we made a trip down there to interview him. his name's Herman Goylo and he portrayed himself as a as a police officer in the island of Curacao and I did a little investigating I had made some contacts and I learned that he was only a clerk he was a clerk that had a lot of information he knew what he knew what was going on in the precinct he knew all the ins and outs he's been talking to the Bradley since 1999 he's been in contact with. We have letters. We have transcripts of his conversations with the

Bradley's, letting them know that, yes, she's alive. I've seen her. I've talked to her. I know where she is. He went as far as accepting $50,000 to tell the whereabouts of Amy. We had some Interpol agents down there at the time, and the exchange was supposed to be made, but he didn't want a he didn't want to check he wanted just plain cash and they explained to me they just can't bring cash

to the island and our plane because he knows something he knows somebody and he's going to lead us to something and that's what we're hoping for that's

that's what I believe obviously you know it's just it's a complicating factor as part of the investigation but you know it's good to hear that he might have that you might believe he has credible information

Are you still in contact with him? Do you know when you're going to have a follow-up conversation with him, Earl? I think he is not currently in conversation with us, but we hope to reestablish that line of communication in the future. And, Earl, my understanding is that during the course of this investigation, as we were all listening to Jim laying out what a possible timeline is here, You were looking at security logs, key card records, speaking to witnesses. What about that potential evidence should we know?

You should know that there have been a number of credible witnesses who have passed polygraph tests and who have testified under oath that they saw Amy. and well after her disappearance off the cruise ship, that keeps us going. You know, one person saw her at a dive beach in a remote part of Curacao, another saw her at a hotel. We had a statement from a casino operator in Aruba that she had been in their casino. So we keep getting these fragments of leads that, believe me, we run them down until they don't have any more legs. Earl, what do you make of this theory that Amy is alive, but she was pregnant, you know, has a child, she's continually keeping tabs on what's going on by logging into this website that's about her disappearance

through this IP address that's linked to a boat in Barbados. You know, that's one of the theories that's come up, and particularly after the Netflix series, you think there's any credence to any of that? the amy i knew would never abandon her family the amy i knew would never cut off communication with her parents they were extremely close she and her brother brad were very close as close as brother a brother and sister could be unless somehow she is currently deprived of of her full mental capacities, I can't see that Amy would not contact her family if she had the ability to do so. Now, is it possible that she is being held against her will?

Yeah. Is it possible that she takes a chance and checks in on the website from time? to time, absolutely. And we are doing everything in our power to run down these IP addresses. Jim and I have been down the loneliest dirt roads and Curacao tracking down these IP addresses. And given our limited resources, we have a hard time, you know, getting an example. location right now, but we're working on that. Jim, there's a lot that there was a lot of, it came out there after the Netflix series that there were like three big leads that, and I mentioned, you know, this IP address, this idea

that, you know, was Amy pregnant. There's this idea that there was a bartender who spoke up that night and said, you know, signore to kidnap, something along those lines that she said she was witnessing a kidnapping and was told to be quiet. Is this somebody you've, you've spoken to is there anything there where this is a real lead uh yeah we spoke to him in honduras um he was a bartender and the witnesses was one of the girls that saw amy in yellow on the uh on the elevator she's the one that saw him go get a drink for amy she has since passed away but she testified in the grand jury in uh in virginia they have her testimony um she's passed away. We spoke to him, and I believe, uh, I believe he knows that she's passed

away and he just, he just clammed up. So he didn't say anything. But, um, what grand jury, I mean, grand jury about? It was 2002, 2003. Yeah. In the, in the, in the federal court, the U.S. District court for Eastern Virginia and Richmond. Yeah. It was about, I apologize for, for, for, for, in connection with who. or what charges? They were investigating Amy's disappearance and the people who may have been involved. I believe they were looking hard at this yellow character, and they were trying to establish a probable cause to seek arrest warrants for those who may be involved.

but nothing came of it. No actionable evidence that would be, that would establish a prima facie case came out of that grand jury. Jim, I want to ask you something. So Bradley, okay, Brad sent a statement directly to law and crime when we talked about this on a previous episode of Sidebar. relatively recently about the search, the articles, apparently, about these new investigative leads. And he said, we've been encouraged by some of the leads and information that we have gotten since the Netflix series aired. However, the recent article that claims the bar worker who Elizabeth Lewis testified about has come forward is not true as far as we know. We still do not know who she is or where she is.

The claim about Amy potentially mothering a child, in my opinion, is speculative at best. We are not aware of who the source was for the information in that article, but we do appreciate the attention. and interest that has sparked. Through our efforts at the state and federal levels, there will be two very important letters with certain requests sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Cash Patel, and Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Nome, by our Attorney General Jason Maras, Governor Glenn Yonkin, Lieutenant Governor Winsom Sears, and Senator Chuck Grassley's team at the Senate Judiciary Committee. There are things that are in the works that I cannot disclose at this point, but know that we are continuing to follow up

on each and every lead we were provided and will not stop looking for Amy for answers and for accountability to those responsible for her disappearance. Jim, is there anything you can tell us about what this effort towards the lawmakers and those in the DOJ is about? Well, we were, a group of us had to go up and testify and talk in front of the Judiciary Committee in D.C. I believe it was a couple months ago. They're still working on it. Senator Rassley's office is doing the work. From what I know right now, they're still involved in it.

We're trying to get help, and they're doing a great job. But that's where it stands right now. So we're just waiting on that. Hopefully it's going to pan out and give us a bunch of assistance. We think it will. We think it will. But, you know, getting back to Yellow, Douglas, a lot of people don't know that, I mean, his roommate was in a lot of.

an interview on board the ship the guy who lived in his room wasn't interviewed um which i find amazing that they didn't interview the actual roommate of the number one suspect did they ever explain that why they know no they didn't explain anything of the bradley's the bradley's kind of got the short end they didn't get the help they deserved and uh a lot of people weren't interviewed um the two young girls that saw amy in young girls that saw amy in young L.O. that morning, they didn't, they didn't have their key, their key card to get back into their room. So at 6 o'clock, around 6.10, they went back to the room, and they were knocking on the door. And there's two young girls, they're kind of loud in the corridor. And the

mother way, mother's always up early. So she opens the door and says, you guys got to be quiet at 6 o'clock in the morning. They never interviewed her to verify that they were up at 6 o'clock in the morning. Just little stuff like that, that I found that a lot of discrepancies that way. So Jim or Earl, did either of you ever get a chance to speak to Douglas? But he's adamantly denied, by the way, having any involvement. Did any of you have a chance to ever speak to him about this? Yeah, I've interviewed him a couple times. He totally denies it.

He totally didn't. He basically even denies the actual evidence of the room keys. I mean, everything's logged in saying he comes into 3.35 a.m., but he's continually, continually says he's been, comes back into the room at 1 o'clock a.m. I mean, he'll look at her writing the paper and say, no, that's wrong. And there's a couple names that go back and forth, which I find very interesting. Two small islands, Aruba, Curisole, Bernier wasn't much mentioned at all. Trinidad and Tobago's mentioned a lot.

But I personally believe she was going to be taken in Aruba. It just something happened. So they waited to Curisole. But in between these islands. You think there was like some sort of group. There was some sort of organization, some sort of network. here. Absolutely. Yep. Absolutely. We have we have names. I just don't want to disclose them, but we do have names. Earl, I want to get your opinion. As somebody who knows the Bradley's

new Amy, I want to ask you about this guy, Tom. He didn't provide his last name, spoke to East Idaho News last month, says he dated Amy, claimed she was bisexual, which is also somehow been a theory that has factored into her disappearance after the Netflix show, says he never believes that she fell overboard, that he himself flew to curse out, a help with the search efforts, claims that while driving back from a search with Amy's brother, Brad, he says that Amy screamed Brad from a passing car. They turn around. The car is gone. What do you think about all that? I think, I think Tom is very credible. And I believe to this day that Tom loves Amy with all his heart.

Also, some of the names that Jim has mentioned have corroborated the vignette about Amy yelling to Brad from that moving vehicle. They were going in opposite directions, and the confidential informants tell us that that is the reason they felt like they knew. needed to get Amy off of Curisout because of, because Brad and Amy connected in that very brief moment on Curisout. And Earl, just to be clear, you, you, this idea that, and I still don't quite understand it, that somehow Amy's sexuality played a role in what happened to her, nothing there, right? I don't even know why that theory is coming up, to be honest. Yeah, that was the same question Jim and I had.

It is irrelevant. It's maybe part of the Hollywood agenda, but it certainly is irrelevant to our search and to everything we know about Amy and particularly everything we know about this case. It's irrelevant and has no, I don't, it just doesn't have any. place in in the in the narrative let me ask you this before we wrap things up or i'll start with

you um the netflix show aired it's brought a lot more attention to this case do you feel confident that there is going to be a resolution about what happened to amy finding amy getting answers um in the near future do you feel confident about that um and and by the way let me also ask you because i'm going to put up some more information about amy at the end because the FBI, this investigation remains open. Have you spoken with the FBI as well? Are you working with them at all in this investigation? I spoke with the FBI early on in the very initial stages of the investigation.

As far as I know, there's been almost no contact or communication from the FBI in the last three years. so the first part of your question do I believe I do indeed I believe we're going to find the answers I pray for those answers every day Jesse and I believe we will find it I agree actually I I've been speaking to the FBI via phone calls to a new agent that's been assigned to the from the older agent. I've given him my details, not every detail. He says he's working on it, let's hope he is. As far as Amy, yeah, we're coming close.

I really think we're coming close. We have some good evidence. We just need to get our feet on the ground and go places to speak to people. And I think we're very close. I think what brings a resolution to this and find Amy or find anything we can find out, which will help the case. Let me tell you this. As anybody who's watching this, if they have any information, I encourage them to contact Jim and Earl. There's also, by the way, you can contact the FBI.

Their investigation remains open. There's a $25,000 reward that anybody with information about Amy's asked to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American embassy or consulate. And just to put this up here, again, as far as Amy, our understanding is she'd be 51 years old today. She disappeared. She was 5'6 foot 6. Had a tattoo on her shoulder of a Tasmanian devil, spinning a basketball, tattoo of the sun on her lower back, a Chinese symbol on her right ankle, a gecko lizard on her belly button.

And we are hoping for the best for the Bradley family. And hopefully there's a resolution here. And we're going to continue to follow it here on side. But Jim and Earl, thank you so much for coming on. And thank you so much for the work that you're doing, you've done, and continue to do. Really appreciate it. Thank you, Jesse. And that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar.

Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. And as always, please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can follow me on X or Instagram. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series, ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.