Vanished Without a Trace: Are the Disappearances in This Mysterious Region Connected?

Ever get that weird feeling when you step onto a cruise ship? You know, that little voice asking, what could possibly go wrong when you’re stuck on a floating hotel with a thousand strangers and unlimited shrimp cocktail? Well, maybe Netflix has been listening to that same voice, because their latest true crime documentary, Amy Bradley is Missing, just tossed everyone straight back into the deep end of one of the strangest mysteries at sea . One minute Amy’s there, the next—poof. No body, no clear clues, just years of bizarre twists, sightings, and speculation. It’s almost like the Bermuda Triangle decided to branch out—right into our living rooms.

But here’s where things take a turn. In the world of true crime, stories get tangled up like the cords behind your TV. Amy’s eerie vanishing act draws inevitable comparisons to another infamous disappearance: Natalee Holloway, gone without a trace from Aruba—one of the very destinations on Amy’s cruise route . Two young women, a pair of tropical destinations, countless theories, and the haunting reality that sometimes, real life doesn’t give us tidy endings (or even solid answers) . So, why do these cases haunt us? Is it fear? Fascination? Or just the wild, uncomfortable truth that not every story wraps up with a bow?

If you’re ready to dive into the rabbit hole—where missing persons, family heartbreak, and unsolved mysteries meet viral true crime obsession—buckle up . This is a rollercoaster you won’t want to get off . LEARN MORE.

Amy Bradley’s disappearance on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship has become a widely discussed topic once again due to Netflix’s newest hit true crime documentary.

Netflix’s Amy Bradley is Missing has led many to once again revisit the bizarre case in which a 23-year-old woman disappeared without a trace from the ship. No body was ever recovered and, though there have been many claims of sightings, she has never officially been found alive.

The media coverage of her disappearance will bring to mind another event for those well versed in true crime however, the disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway from Aruba in 2005.

Holloway’s disappearance led to a number of comparisons to that of Amy Bradley, with Aruba also being one of the destinations on Bradley’s cruise, leading to her family speaking out about it.

The 18-year-old Holloway went to Aruba on a high school graduation trip and was last seen leaving a bar with a Dutch man by the name of Joran van der Sloot as well as Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, a pair of brothers.

Natalee Holloway went missing in 2005 (Natalee Holloway Resource Centre)

This quickly became world news and a widespread search for Holloway began.

In the weeks that followed, van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were arrested multiple times without being charged.

The trio claimed that after leaving a club they had dropped Holloway back at her hotel.

Satish Kalpoe however later admitted he had dropped her and the Dutch man at the hotel alone.

The club the trio had met Holloway in was the same bar on Aruba that men on the ship had invited Bradley to prior to her disappearance.

Whilst no clear suspect or theory was ever identified by investigators into Amy’s death, what happened to Natalee has since been revealed.

What happened to Natalee Holloway?

Van Der Sloot was a key suspect in Holloway’s killing for years but has never been charged (AFP via Getty Images)

Van der Sloot was later convicted of killing a Peruvian woman in 2010 and was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

His story about what happened with Natalee has changed over the years, at one time claiming that she fell and hit her head.

Also in 2010 however he contacted her mother, Beth, claiming that she would never find her daughter’s body unless she wired him $250,000.

He was charged for the crime of mail fraud because of this and was offered a plea deal of 20 years in return for a full account of what happened to Natalee and what he did with her body.

He finally admitted after 20 years that he had bludgeoned the 18-year-old to death when she rejected his sexual advances before pushing her body out to sea.

He has yet to be tried for murder in Aruba and cannot be tried in Natalee’s home of the United States.

Amy Bradley’s family spoke out

Amy Bradley’s father, Ron Bradley, spoke out about Natalee’s disappearance at the time after numerous news outlets made comparisons between the two cases.

Ron said: “Nobody should have to go through what we’ve been though in the last seven years.

Ron spoke out following Natalee’s disappearance (Netflix)

“I know that Natalee’s family is going through the same thing. You have so many thoughts and things that come to your mind and it just doesn’t leave you.”

Natalee was declared dead in 2012 and Amy was declared dead in 2010.

The two cases also became intertwined during the search Natalee’s body when a jawbone washed up on shore.

The bone was checked against her dental records and was found to not be the 18-year-old who was from Alabama.

Many have since pointed out however the closeness of the area being searched to the cruise ship where Amy went missing from.

The jawbone has, to this day, not been DNA tested to confirm if it is not Amy, with investigators confirming it belongs to a Caucasian woman.