While Aruba does damage control over fears that their tourism industry may suffer, reports have surfaced that Natalee Holloway is not the only young American girl to disappear there.
From The Hawaii Channel:
Another family said they know exactly what the parents of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teenager who has been missing in Aruba since last week, are going through. They've been dealing with the same nightmare for seven years.
The Bradleys, of Virginia, went on a cruise in 1998 and Aruba was one of the stops. That's where their daughter disappeared.
Iva Bradley said her 23-year-old daughter, Amy, befriended three men who worked on the cruise ship and they wanted to take her to a bar in Aruba.
"They said they wanted to take her to a bar on Aruba that was called Carlos and Charlie's," said Bradley. "She made a face and said 'I wouldn't get off the ship with any of those guys anyway. That's creepy.'"
Amy Bradley was last seen in her cabin at 5:15 a.m. By 6 a.m., she was nowhere to be found....
Bradley's case remains open with the FBI. WVTM-TV in Birmingham, Ala., spoke with her case manager in Barbados but there wasn't much she could say. However, she did confirm reports of a sighting by a Naval officer one year after the woman disappeared.
The officer told the FBI he went to a brothel in Curac'l on Canal. He said an American girl leaned in and said: "My name is Amy Bradley. I need your help."
Unfortunately he didn't report the sighting for sometime and by then the brothel had burned to the ground. The FBI has released sketches of suspects in her case.
There is a $260,000 reward for information leading to Bradley's whereabouts. Her family continues to hope that someone, somewhere, has information that could finally reunite the missing daughter with her parents.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dawn
Well, this is a horrible tale and a parents worse nightmare. I am not sure if there are more women being targeted or if we are just hearing about it more because the media latches on to disturbing cases involving pretty young girls - either way it sucks.
I do not think though, that Aruba isn't taking this case seriously. The last thing they want is to give their country a bad name in the eyes of tourists. It can be a death sentence for tropical locations.
Travelers should ALWAYS use caution, no matter where they are. Just because you are on vacation, doesn't mean crime is.
I hope they find this poor girl - it's such a waste and a tragedy. And I also hope if anything positive can come from this, it's an overall awareness in women to be ever vigilant to their surroundings. Our gender is always in a precarious situation when it comes to crime.
2 - Eric Olsen
this is insane - what the hell is going on down there? There's goes their economy.
3 - Nancy
Why didn't that guy report the incident immediately? Why wasn't he charged for not doing so? Especially if he's in the US navy, that should be a court-martial offense.
4 - windrider
Didn't happen on Aruba:
"The ship was en route to Curacao, Antilles at the time Amy was last seen. The ship docked in Curacao shortly after Amy was discovered missing."
5 - Eric Olsen
we should make that clear then, thanks
6 - John
My guess is that the Naval Officer was keeping quiet because he visited a Brothel. It is probably (hopefully) against Naval regulations to visit such a place and most likely he did not want to get in trouble for it. It's a suprise that this information was released in the first place. Either way it makes you wonder if she really is still alive.
7 - bhw
Maybe the story needs to come down until we have more clarification? Because the story from the Hawaii News Channel, on which this post is based, says it's Aruba.
8 - Eric Olsen
we can leave it up, I changed the title, but it would be great if Danny looked into it a little more to see if the stories can be reconciled
9 - windrider
Found info on a Caribbean missing persons link:
Amy Lynn Bradley*
Reward U.S. $260,000.00
Last Known Location:
Tuesday March 24, 1998 on board the cruise vessel Rhapsody of the Seas while enroute from Oranjestad, Aruba to Willemstad, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Amy disappeared during the docking process in Curacao. Suspected Location: Unknown.
Amy may have been abducted and is possibly being held in South America or the Caribbean. A reward of OVER A QUARTER OF A MILLION US DOLLARS is being offered for Amy's safe return and a reward of US$50,000 .00 for any information that leads to the apprehension and arrest of those responsible for Amy's disappearance.
Name: Amy Lynn Bradley
White Female
Race: Caucasian
Age: 23
Hair: Short Brown
Eyes: Green
Height: 5' 6"
Weight: 115 Pounds
Tattoos on:
Left Shoulder,
Right Ankle, Navel (Belly Button),
Lower Back.
Hot line: +(804) 276 - 8503
F.B.I.: +(804) 777 - 3363
Relatives Main Line: +(804) 276 - 2204
Fax: +(804) 745 - 6133
Primary E-mail: Teamamy@hotmail.com
Suspected Location: South America.
Website: Wetip
Website: Tggweb.com
Website: Etsi.net
Website: URL @ FBI
10 - Joun
If you read carefully in other articles, the last place she was in terms of solid ground was Aruba. She was discovered missing (after being known to board by her family and brother) early the next morning while the cruise ship was in route to Curacao. When the ship docked an extensive search was done before any passengers were allowed to leave. The media is blowing the whole "Aruba" thing out of proportion while it is just a sad missing person case with some similarities to Natalee Holloway's incident.
11 - Eric Olsen
thanks for all the info
12 - Large Juan
Joun - Do you know where Curac'l on Canal is?
13 - francisco68
It is indeed shocking and disgusting in both cases no matter which port the young women were lost.
Living in what is becoming more and more tourist-oriented Mexico (Bacalar near the cruise ship port at Mahajual on the Costa Maya); it is amazing how lax people become while in a "vacation paradise".
Once, two otherwise bright appearing men asked me at the Cenote Azul (a touristy restaurant and swimming hole) if they could leave their luggage in their rented, open topped Jeep while they swam. "Of course," I said. "Equally safely with leaving things in an open car in Detroit."
The third world tourist havens of this hemispere are happy to receive dollars and go out of their way to provide a good looking, safe looking environment. But no one should ever let down their guard since systems of protection and criminal justice hardly exist while poverty, violence and sexual deviance do.
This is not for a second to assume that either of these young women did the slightest thing wrong. We don't seem to know nor is it important.
The important thing is to maintain vigilance even in "paradise".
In what was, a couple of years ago, a quiet Mayan village; we now have a full time guard living on our property. Tourist development brings the best and worst of the host country out of the woodwork (or jungle in this case).
14 - John
No sorry, I dont know where Curac'l on Canal is. I agree though that being aware of the risks is a major problem with tourists. You need to always have your guard up (even more than usual in another country). The thing I have trouble understanding (in terms of the Holloway incident) is how Natalee's friends were not with her and why she was out [alone] at night. That is not even smart back home in the U.S. Why on earth would her friends let that happen elsewhere. So many "common sense" mistakes were made by those girls that this could have been prevented. In terms of Amy's disappearance it is a true mistery. She was last seen by her brother on a ship and just vanished with almost no evidence, making efforts to find her almost impossible.
15 - Jon
I really hate hearing about related stories such as this. I go to Aruba about four times a year, and have been doing so since the late 90's. Never once saw a bad thing happen there, and the only murders or rapes that I have heard about were always in the seedy non-tourist town of San Nicholas (mostly between rival drug dealers or prostitutes). Carlos and Charlies happens to be one of the most famous places to hang out there because it's a very young place to hang out at. The age group is most teens to early thirties with dance and rap music being played. It's one of the few places where the younger crowd goes while on vacation with their folks as a place to get away from them and hang out with their peers. The only bad thing about the Carlos and Charlies area is the drug dealers selling pot and small amounts of cocaine or party drugs on the corner. The Police need to clean that part up and since prostitution is legal in Aruba, they should keep all of that junk in San Nicholas where no tourists will go (it's also near the very smelly oil refinary).
I am in no way defending any of the suspects either, but I do happen to know two of them five that they are holding, and although I can see them being a bit aggressive with women (as far as hitting on them and whatnot) when they are intoxicated, it's no excuse to automatically assume there was foul play. You must realize that even though Aruba is a small island, it is by far the safest one of all of the islands put together. I would never go to Curacao or venture out to Venezuela (20 miles from Aruba) because I know, as an American and NYC native, those places are nowhere near as safe as Aruba.
Personally, I hate to say this, but if she is dead, I don't think she was murdered, but drowned or something that may have happened accidentally. My worst fears are that she became mixed up in some type of weird black market prostitution ring with Venezuela, and if the Police were smart, they would start doing some investigations in that area because unfortunately THEY DO exist. I'm not being paranoid or strange about it either, but you have to admit, these suspects are not professionals, and if they really did something bad like rape or murder, they would have messed up in some type of way to give the police and FBI at least one type of solid lead or evidence. So far there is just speculation, and no real evidence, which pains me to think this way, but they really must explore EVERY option, whether in Aruba or outside of it.
It's a very sad story nonetheless, and I do pray that she is alive and well, and if these guys are guilty of such a terrible crime, I hope they recieve the maximum punishment for it, but until then, I wish the police would start investigating other areas, instead of only Aruba.
16 - GC
Looks like another story similar to the Stewart incident in Boston (1990), Susan Smith of SC (1994) or Jennifer Wilbanks (2005)..a black or Hispanic guy did it syndrome. It may well be another white person...
"The Dutch suspect, Joran Andreas Petrus Van Der Sloot, a student at Aruba International School, came out of his upper-class home in the northern Montana neighborhood of Oranjestad on Thursday with his head covered in a blue-and-green towel."
17 - Large Juan
Well, I don't know where Curac'l on Canal is either, actually. It seems Google doesn't either, as its only mention is in the article related to this story story.
Anyway, where I was going was if it is on Aruba, then the two stories could have a very tight connection.
The funny thing about common sense is it isn't.
18 - John
This drives me crazy. What the hell do parents know?! I am currently in college and see straight-A students party and drink all the time. Parents can be so naive it's rediculuous. Sorry this is about the other girl, but I just had to let it out.
Quote from CBS News
"It was not clear if Holloway had been drinking the night of her disappearance, though her relatives say she does not party much and is a straight-A student who earned a full scholarship at the University of Alabama"
19 - jarboy
don't blame (or credit) the hawaii channel. i saw an interview with amy's parents on msnbc monday.
20 - windrider
How in the world could the two stories have any connection? If one of the 3 new suspects in the Holloway case is 18 years of age, and Amy disappeared in 1998, does that mean he's been abducting girls since he was 11?
Quote:
-----------
Comment 18 posted by Large Juan on June 9, 2005 01:22 PM:
Well, I don't know where Curac'l on Canal is either, actually. It seems Google doesn't either, as its only mention is in the article related to this story story.
Anyway, where I was going was if it is on Aruba, then the two stories could have a very tight connection.
The funny thing about common sense is it isn't.
---------------
21 - jarboy
well, the connection could be a sex/drug trade with nearby columbia.
22 - Kevbosnafu
apologies if this was mentioned already..didn't see it...
a Boston woman coming forward with a scary story of assault after leaving Carlos 'n Charlies a couple of years back...
23 - windrider
I agree jarboy that there could be kidnappings to Curacao or Caracas, although in this case an accidental tipsy slip off the pier is starting to seem more likely to me. I'm just saying that the fact that Amy's parents went on TV and insinuated a connection because "3 men on the cruise ship wanted to take their daughter to C&C's" just doesn't add up. These three wouldn't have been men in 1998. And a lot of young people would have suggested C&Cs as a place to go, especially since it is right next door to the shipping port.
People wonder why some cases get the press and others don't. I think a lot of it has to do with how much the loved ones of the missing become "squeaky wheels," much more so than race or all the other factors people site. Perhaps people from some socio-economic groups are more adept at figuring out how to capture the attention of the media.
If I'm not mistaken, Amy disappeared on a Royal Caribbean Lines cruise. If her parents had contacted 60-Minutes in 1998, don't you think there would have been a major expose on the Girl Gone Missing on Cruise to Paradise?
It's all very sad. Let's hope they both turn up.
24 - jarboy
now don't blame the parents for not doing enough, windy. not fair.
25 - windrider
Not blaming the parents for losing anyone, but I think the lesson for all, ala Elizabeth Smart, John Walsh, is that if your loved one goes missing scream as loud and long as you can and don't stop. Not all will have a happy ending, but at least a valiant search will be made.