FBI rules out accidental fall, foul play in disappearance of cruise passenger

GALVESTON - A Houston-area woman reported missing from a Carnival cruise ship was not the victim of foul play or an accidental fall, Houston FBI agents determined Sunday after interviewing her husband and other passengers.

"We had agents on the ship and concluded there was no foul play involved," said Agent Luz Garcia, a spokeswoman for the FBI. "I can't really go into detail out of respect for the family, but our feeling is that it was not an accident."

Family members last saw Vonnie Ales, 40, of Simonton, about 6:45 a.m. Friday when she left their cabin, after the ship Elation had left Belize and was steaming toward its home port in Galveston, Carnival spokeswoman Jennifer de la Cruz said.

A passenger saw her on an upper deck about 7:15 a.m. as the ship passed about 30 miles south of the Mexican island of Cozumel, de la Cruz said. The seven-day voyage included stops in Mexico and Belize.

Passengers disembarking Sunday from the Elation at Galveston said they first learned that Ales was missing Friday morning when an announcement was made on the ship's public address system asking her to phone or go to the purser's office.

A photo of Ales, who passengers said was traveling with her husband and two teenage children, was broadcast on the ship's televisions.

"We all looked," said John Besiso, 35, of Katy. His wife, Lisa, 35, said, "Everybody was upset and concerned."

Later the captain announced that he feared Ales was overboard and that he was turning the ship around to return to the area where she was last seen, passengers said.

"He was really frantic," said passenger Pam Gaspard, 37, of Orange. She said the ship turned around about noon. About 1 p.m., passengers were asked to go to the rail and look for Ales, Gaspard said.

She was not found, so the ship began to retrace its course toward Cozumel, she said.

Passenger Jeff Boren, 42, of Belton, said the Elation traveled for about six hours before arriving in the area where Ales was last seen on the upper deck.

Boren and other passengers said they saw two Mexican naval or coast guard vessels and a third, private ship that appeared to be a large freighter steaming in a search pattern.

Gaspard said there was little danger of accidentally falling overboard, noting that the railing is chest high.

WTF? How do you commit suicide while on vacation with your husband and kids?!

I'm thinking that she didn't. This incident is quite similar to the Amy Bradley case.

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.
"Imagine if you have a child. You brought that child into the world and every waking moment is geared toward your children," said Iva Bradley. "You go on a trip and come home without one of them and you get no help. It's a pretty devastating 24/ 7 situation."
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."
Towards the bottom of the page

Or somebody kidnapped her.

http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/kidnap/bradley.htm

http://www.unsolved.com/1104-Bradley.html

As seen on July 10, 2001 on
Unsolved Mysteries

Amy Bradley was last seen aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise liner on March 24, 1998.

SYNOPSIS: Amy Bradley was last seen around 5:30 a.m. on the balcony of her family's cabin on a Royal Caribbean cruise liner on March 24, 1998. She and her brother Brad had returned from dancing in the ship's disco around 3:40 in the morning. They talked and smoked cigarettes on the suite's balcony. Amy's father awoke around five and saw her sitting out on the balcony. He went back to sleep. When he awoke an hour later, Amy was gone. Within an hour the family realized Amy was nowhere to be found. She has not been seen since.

At the time of her disappearance the boat was close to docking in the port of Curacao. It seems very unlikely that she could have fallen overboard. Amy had been discussing disembarking at Curacao to buy cigarettes. When she disappeared, 23-year-old Amy was wearing jeans and a white top, and had her room key, her cigarettes and lighter, and $100 in her pocket. She had a navel ring and four tattoos. Amy was an attractive, outgoing young woman. She was a very strong swimmer and a trained lifeguard. Her family believes she was either abducted or betrayed by someone in some kind of a set-up. Some believe there are maritime pirates operating out of Curacao, and suspect that a crew member, acting in cahoots with these pirates, abducted Amy. The case is under FBI investigation. Amy's parents have offered a $250,000 reward.

For more information about this case, please visit the Amy Bradley website

If you have any information about Amy Bradley please call the Unsolved Mysteries hotline at 1-800-876-5353

Foul Play Suspected
in the mysterious disappearance
of U.S. citizen in the Caribbean

FOUL PLAY is suspected in the March 24, 1998, mysterious disappearance of AMY LYNN BRADLEY...a vibrant, beautiful and intelligent 23 years young girl who recently graduated college and has a very promising future. She was on a vacation cruise with her family in the Caribbean at the time of her disappearance.

AMY is an American citizen who 'vanished' while aboard a foreign vessel in international waters. She was leisurely traveling with her mother, father and younger brother aboard the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas (a Norwegian Flag Ship) which is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines of Miami, Florida. The cruise ship was near docking procedures into port in the island of Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, the Caribbean. It is known that Amy left her Cabin in the wee hours of the morning of March 24, 1998, with her cigarettes and lighter...predictably she was not wearing shoes because where she thought she was going, she would not be gone long and would not need her shoes. This is where the mystery begins! Who was Amy going to meet at this time of the morning? Why would she take her cigarettes and lighter? There are many questions here that need answering, but unfortunately neither Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines nor any Government authorities are providing any answers and, at this time, it appears that neither of these entities are making any inquiries at all regarding Amy's disappearance.

It is known that the last person seen with Amy in the early hours of the morning was a cruise ship band member of a group known as 'Blue Orchid' by the name of 'Yellow'...and, there were other crew members who spent time with Amy, as well...Katalin (from Hungary); Eduardo Cabrito (a waiter); David Cato (a waiter); and, Patrick (a waiter).

It is also known that Amy had no reason to run away...her background and her family's backgrounds have been checked thoroughly by the FBI and Amy shows no signs of a 'runaway profile' nor are any of the Bradley family members suspect. One scenario suggests that Amy may have willingly met with a crew member who she had come to trust who then put her in a position of coercion, or even more probable, Amy may have observed an illegal activity and become a liability.

http://www.tggweb.com/amybradley/

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