Midnight Mystery Archive

The Midnight Mystery Archive
  • 4.4 (7)
  • TRUE CRIME
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

What happens when people vanish and the systems meant to find them fall short? Midnight Mystery Archive investigates unsolved disappearances, cold cases, and historical mysteries through primary sources, original research, and a commitment to evidence over speculation. New episodes weekly.

  1. 2D AGO

    Episode 6: "Acted Appropriately" (12-part Amy Bradley Series)

    In 1999, the Bradley family sued Royal Caribbean International. The cruise line’s public response was that it had acted “appropriately and responsibly at all times.” It also said the family had “decided to direct their grief at the company.” Episode 6 examines the gap between that posture and the documented record. In 1998, Royal Caribbean operated within an industry that had no mandatory reporting requirements, no electronic disembarkation tracking, and no standardized fraternization policy. Cruise lines reported what they chose to report, when they chose to report it. Eight months after Amy disappeared, FBI Special Agent James Weber stated publicly that investigators had “basically not gotten anywhere.” Under maritime law, as documented by Zachary Anderson Law in 2025, cruise lines hold a heightened duty of care as common carriers — a standard that applies regardless of which waters they’re in. The question this episode asks is whether Royal Caribbean met that standard. This episode covers: — The Costello report: what it documents, what it omits, and what it can’t explain — including the 30-minute announcement delay, the denied request to hold passengers, and the disputed timeline between Ron Bradley and Lou Costello — The tapes: a two-track suppression effort — Costello calling Chris Fenwick for the master footage while cruise director Kirk Detweiler simultaneously instructed the ship's own videographer Steve Smith to scrub Amy from all ship videos, confirmed in a text exchange that is part of the family's records — RC’s own 1999 internal consultants, whose recommendations on standardized crime response, victim advocates, and CCTV retention — documented in Ross Klein’s Senate testimony — were largely not implemented — Jim Walker’s direct assessment: “Like most disappearances at sea, the cruise line’s investigation seemed designed to protect the cruise line’s image and legal interests” — Iva Bradley’s own words: “To this date, the cruise line has failed to cooperate with our family by way of information or assistance” — The cases that followed Amy’s — Merrian Carver (2004), George Smith (2005) — and what it means that her disappearance preceded all of the legislative reform that eventually forced the industry to change This episode does not accuse Royal Caribbean of criminal conduct. It examines the record — and asks whose standard “acted appropriately” was actually measured against. If you have information about Amy Bradley’s disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. The FBI reward is now $100,000.   100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family’s GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link.   amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon   #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #RoyalCaribbean #ActedAppropriately #CruiseShipDisappearance #LouCostello #CosteltoReport #CruiseShipSafety #MaritimeLaw #CVSSA #FlagsOfConvenience #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #MissingPersons #MissingPersonsAwareness #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #BradleyFamily #RonBradley #IvaBradley #BradBradley #JimWalker #RossKlein #FBIReward #DocumentarySeries #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #UnsolvdCases

    30 min
  2. The Bradley Family's PI Speaks: What the Investigation Really Shows | Witness Wednesday: Jim Carey

    4D AGO ·  BONUS

    The Bradley Family's PI Speaks: What the Investigation Really Shows | Witness Wednesday: Jim Carey

    Jim Carey spent four years in the U.S. Coast Guard and 28 years as a police officer. He came to the Bradley family through his work on the Natalee Holloway investigation. He's lived in Curaçao. And when he reviewed the records in Amy's case, his reaction was direct: they dropped the ball. They really dropped the ball. In this Witness Wednesday episode, Jim gives his unfiltered assessment of the original FBI investigation, what Lou Costello's security report actually shows, and what he found when he went back to Curaçao in the fall of 2024. This interview covers: — The original FBI investigation: the witnesses who weren't interviewed, the mother who confirmed the eyewitness timeline and was never contacted, and what the agents who boarded the ship failed to do — The Costello report: how Douglass was allowed to change his statement, why the keycard data directly contradicts the one o'clock timeline he's maintained for 27 years, and why Jim says he was a hundred percent lying — The Bradley family's records: why Iva and Ron's meticulous documentation is the backbone of the entire investigation — without them, there is nothing — Herman Goilo: a Curaçao local who has claimed knowledge of Amy's whereabouts since 2000. He signed an agreement with Interpol, then broke into their hotel room looking for cash. Jim met him at a Starbucks in fall 2024 — sweating, nervous, unwilling to shake hands. Told Jim Amy is alive. Then texted from the airport: "Get off the island. We've got people watching you." Then sent a chess game. Then blocked him. — The visit to the cab driver's widow in Coral Spec — and the red pickup truck that circled their jeep before skidding directly at their door — Bill Hefner: new details about what Hefner told a fellow sailor the same night — a corroborating account that was never given to the FBI — The investigative avenues still not pursued: Douglass, Costello, and the cruise director — people Jim knows how to find and who won't pick up the phone If you have information about Amy's disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. The FBI reward is now $100,000. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #WitnessWednesday #JimCarey #PrivateInvestigator #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #MissingPersons #BradleyFamily #RonBradley #IvaBradley #BradBradley #AlistairDouglass #LouCostello #HermanGoyler #BillHefner #Curacao #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #FBIReward #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #UnsolvdCases

    31 min

  3. 6D AGO ·  BONUS

    One Year. Ten Thousand Downloads. And a Novel Coming This Summer. | Midnight Mystery Archive Anniversary

    A year ago, I hit publish on the first episode of Midnight Mystery Archive and had no idea what was going to happen next. This week, the show crossed 10,000 downloads and the moment that made it feel genuinely real was in March, when Episode 1 of the Amy Bradley series became the most-listened-to episode in MMA's history.  In this brief anniversary episode, I reflect on what year one actually meant, what the listener community built, and what year two is going to look like. Also, the hints have been out there, and we are approaching the launch of Echo 1953 is the first book in The Hollis Files. A mystery series set in present-day Michigan following Eli and Mari Hollis. Eli spent 25 years with the FBI before opening a private investigations firm with his wife Mari, a former investigative journalist. The case at the center of Echo 1953 involves Lena Monroe — a nursing student abducted through a basement window in the middle of the night while babysitting.  Thank you for being here for year one. Year two starts now. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe during the Amy Bradley series. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon #MidnightMysteryArchive #PodcastAnniversary #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #AmyBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #ColdCase #MissingPersons #Echo1953 #TheHollisFiles #MysteryNovel #DebutNovel #MichiganMystery #WitnessWednesday #PodcastMilestone #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear

    6 min

  4. APR 24

    Episode 5: "They Went Back" (12-Part Amy Bradley Series)

    When Amy Bradley disappeared from the Rhapsody of the Seas, the institutional response moved slowly. The FBI didn't board the ship for nearly 48 hours. Local authorities in Curaçao had limited resources. The cruise line controlled access to everything. The Bradley family didn't wait. Within hours of landing back in Virginia, the home had become a command center. Letters went to senators and congressmen. Tip lines went up. And within a week, Iva's brothers made a decision that deserves to be named for what it was: they booked the same cruise. The same ship. The same route. The same ports. Back on the Rhapsody of the Seas — not to vacation, but to search. Meanwhile, a formal search of the waters between Curaçao and Aruba had already concluded. In the Netflix documentary Amy Bradley Is Missing, harbor police chief John Mentar described the operation: the Marines, the Venezuelan Coast Guard, and the Navy all covered that corridor. He called it the biggest search the island had ever seen. His conclusion was direct — given the currents, the wind, and the wave height, if Amy had entered that water, something would have washed ashore. Not a piece of clothing. Nothing. In his own words: strange. Three and a half weeks after coming home, the family flew back to Curaçao. Brad was there. His uncle Paul was there. And so was Tom — Amy's boyfriend, heard in this series for the first time — who went because he believed Amy was waiting for someone to find her. This episode covers: — The command center: how a grieving family organized themselves into an investigative operation within hours — The uncles' cruise: retracing the same route the week after Amy disappeared — and what the harbor master's records showed about another ship that left ahead of schedule — The search: Mentar's account of the air and sea operation, and what the absence of any physical evidence actually means — The return to Curaçao: following tips across the island, including through the backcountry in the middle of the night on roads that barely deserved the name — Deshy: the taxi driver who walked up to Ron and Brad outside a hotel and said their daughter did not fall from that ship — and named three places to look — The pipes and the shack: a desolate corner of the island, steel pipes in the ground, a makeshift pallet — and an empty Tic Tac container that has never left Brad's memory — The stoplight: the moment Brad heard something in the night that he has never stopped believing was Amy calling his name — Coming home again: what it costs to leave the island a second time with no answers Brad Bradley and Tom are heard throughout, sharing firsthand accounts that no other source in this series can offer. If you have information about Amy's disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. The FBI reward is now $100,000. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #TheyWentBack #BradleyFamily #BradBradley #RonBradley #IvaBradley #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #MissingPersons #Curacao #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #CruiseShipDisappearance #FBIReward #JohnMentar #Netflix #AmyBradleyIsMissingNetflix #DocumentarySeries #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #UnsolvdCases

    24 min
  5. Amy's Boyfriend Speaks: Who Amy Bradley Was and Why She Would Have Fought to Survive | Witness Wednesday: Tom

    APR 22 ·  BONUS

    Amy's Boyfriend Speaks: Who Amy Bradley Was and Why She Would Have Fought to Survive | Witness Wednesday: Tom

    Most tellings of Amy Bradley's story begin on the ship. This one begins three months earlier — in Richmond, Virginia, at a holiday work party in December 1997, where Amy handed Tom her phone number and gave him a kiss goodnight. They dated from that night until she went on the cruise. Three months. Long enough for Tom to meet her family, become close to Ron and Iva, make plans for her birthday in New York, and understand exactly who Amy was — not as a missing person, but as a person. In this Witness Wednesday episode, Tom joins host Kevin Hall for a conversation that fills in the part of Amy's story that gets compressed or skipped entirely in most accounts: the life she was building in the months before she disappeared. This interview covers: — How Tom and Amy met, how their relationship developed, and what he says made her unlike anyone he'd dated before — her independence, her strength, the fact that she didn't need anything from him except his time — The life Amy was building: a new apartment she was still decorating, a promotion to server at one of Richmond's top restaurants, a dog named Bailey who structured her entire schedule, plans to go back to school for a master's degree — Why the suicide theory has never made any sense to anyone who knew her — and what Tom says about the specific plans they had together in the weeks after the cruise — What Tom was doing when he got the call, how he found out, and what it was like to be at the Bradley home when the family walked through the door — The trip back to Curaçao: why Tom went, what the island was actually like beyond the tourist areas, and what he came to understand about how someone could have taken Amy — Why he still believes Amy is alive — and why, if she hasn't reached out, it's because she's protecting the people she loves — What he says to Ron and Iva when they talk, and why after 28 years he thinks about Amy every single day Tom's perspective is one this series couldn't have had any other way. He knew Amy as a person — not a case, not a headline, not a disappearance. And what he describes is someone with every reason to fight to survive. If you have information about Amy Bradley's disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. The FBI reward is now $100,000. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #WitnessWednesday #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #MissingPersons #BradleyFamily #RonBradley #IvaBradley #BradBradley #RichmondVirginia #CruiseShipDisappearance #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #FBIReward #Curacao #DocumentarySeries #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #PersonalSafety #UnsolvdCases

    34 min

  6. APR 20 ·  BONUS

    When the System Fails, the Family Moves | Mini Episode: Between Jurisdiction 101 and They Went Back

    Episode 4 explained the system. Now comes the harder part — applying it to the Bradleys. When you understand how maritime jurisdiction actually works, what it means that there's no independent law enforcement on a cruise ship, and that the first people on scene are employees designed to protect the company — it's difficult to unknow that. And then you think about Ron making his first report to the ship's purser. Iva asking for an announcement. The family requesting that passengers be held on board. Every one of those requests going through a system that was not designed to find their daughter. It was designed to keep the ship moving. That's not a villain. That's a structure. And as maritime attorney Michael Winkleman put it after 20 years inside that system: it gives families very little. And what it does give them is slow. The Bradleys didn't wait for slow. In this mini episode, host Kevin Hall bridges Episode 4 and Episode 5 — closing out the weight of the jurisdictional framework and opening into what the family actually did in response. Because what they did is the story. Within hours of getting home, the Bradley home had become a command center. Letters went to senators and congressmen. Tip lines went up. And within a week, Iva's brothers had made a decision that deserves to be named for what it was: they booked the same cruise. The same ship. The same route. The same ports. They got back on the Rhapsody of the Seas and sailed the waters the Bradleys had just come home from — not to vacation, but to search. Three and a half weeks later, the family went back to Curaçao. Brad was there. Tom was there — Amy's boyfriend, heard for the first time in Episode 5. They searched the island in the middle of the night on roads that barely deserved the name. They held a press conference. A taxi driver approached them outside a hotel and said things that have never left the family. And one night, at a stoplight, Brad heard something. That moment belongs in Episode 5, in Brad's own words. It's Tuesday. If you have information about Amy's disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. The FBI reward is now $100,000. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | MMA Amazon Affiliate #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #MissingPersons #BradleyFamily #RonBradley #IvaBradley #BradBradley #TheyWentBack #Jurisdiction101 #MichaelWinkleman #MaritimeLaw #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #CruiseShipDisappearance #Curacao #FBIReward #DocumentarySeries #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #UnsolvdCases

    5 min

  7. APR 17

    Episode 4: "Jurisdiction 101" (12-Part Amy Bradley Series)

    When Amy Bradley was reported missing, the family's request to hold passengers on board was denied. A ship wide announcement was delayed 30 minutes. And the FBI, despite having legal jurisdiction, didn't board the ship for nearly 48 hours. By then, the ship had completed its entire itinerary. Amy's cabin had been cleaned. Witnesses had scattered. The physical environment of March 24th was gone. This wasn't a single dramatic failure. It was a structure. And Episode 4 explains exactly how it works. Host Kevin Hall walks through the jurisdictional framework that governed the response to Amy's disappearance, with expert analysis from maritime attorney Michael Winkleman woven throughout. Winkleman is a partner at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman — a firm that has recovered more than $500 million on behalf of passengers and crew and was instrumental in passing the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010. This episode covers: — How a missing daughter becomes a jurisdictional question — and why that transition costs critical time — Flag state, port state, and FBI authority all applying simultaneously — and why none of them moved fast enough — Why Royal Caribbean's ships sail under foreign flags and what that costs passengers when something goes wrong — No independent law enforcement: why cruise ship security exists to protect the company, not the passenger — The information imbalance: cruise lines control total access while outside authorities have to ask permission to board — What the CVSSA changed in 2010 — and where the gaps remain — What families actually have legally when something goes wrong at sea — Don't leave your common sense at the port The full Winkleman interview is available as a standalone Witness Wednesday episode in the MMA feed. If you have information about Amy's disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. The FBI reward is now $100,000. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #Jurisdiction101 #MichaelWinkleman #MaritimeLaw #CruiseShipSafety #CruiseShipDisappearance #FlagsOfConvenience #CVSSA #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #MissingPersons #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #BradleyFamily #FBIReward #WitnessWednesday #DocumentarySeries #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #CruiseShipLaw #UnsolvdCases

    23 min
  8. Witness Wednesday: Michael Winkleman on Jurisdiction

    APR 15 ·  BONUS

    Witness Wednesday: Michael Winkleman on Jurisdiction

    When a passenger goes missing on a cruise ship, the first people on the scene aren't law enforcement. They're cruise line employees whose job is to protect the company. There is no independent law enforcement on cruise ships. And by the time the FBI arrives, the cruise line has already controlled every piece of information, every access point, and every hour of the critical early window. That's not a conspiracy. It's a structure. And maritime attorney Michael Winkleman has spent more than 20 years working inside it. Michael is a partner at Lipcon, Margulies & Winkleman in Miami — one of the most experienced maritime law firms in the country. His firm has recovered more than $500 million on behalf of passengers and crew, and was instrumental in passing the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2010. He's handled El Faro, the Costa Concordia, and has made 100+ national TV appearances on cruise ship law. In this interview: — How jurisdiction works at sea — flag state, port state, and FBI authority all applying simultaneously, and why it creates what he calls a very muddy picture — Why cruise lines register in the Bahamas instead of the US — and what that costs passengers when something goes wrong — The information imbalance: cruise lines control total access to the ship and evidence while outside authorities have to ask permission to board — What the CVSSA changed in 2010 — and where the law still falls short — What families actually have legally when something goes wrong — Why the industry is, in his words, dramatically under-regulated — What he tells everyone before they go on a cruise: don't leave your common sense at the port Recorded as part of MMA's 12-part series on Amy Bradley, who disappeared from the Rhapsody of the Seas on March 24, 1998. The FBI reward is now $100,000. Clips from this interview appear in Episode 4. This is the full conversation. If you have information about Amy's disappearance — 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. Tips can be submitted anonymously. 100% of Invisawear commissions go to the Bradley family's GoFundMe. 10% off through the link in the show notes. Support the show at no extra cost through our Amazon link. amybradleyismissing.com | Amy Alerts petition | tips.fbi.gov | Invisawear | Bradley family GoFundMe | Amazon #AmyBradley #AmyLynnBradley #AmyBradleyIsMissing #WitnessWednesday #MichaelWinkleman #MaritimeLaw #CruiseShipSafety #CruiseShipDisappearance #CVSSA #Jurisdiction #FlagsOfConvenience #RhapsodyOfTheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #MissingPersons #MidnightMysteryArchive #TrueCrimePodcast #InvestigativePodcast #ColdCase #BradleyFamily #FBIReward #DocumentarySeries #TrueCrimeDocumentary #InvisaWear #CruiseShipLaw #UnsolvedCases

    21 min
See All (105)

Trailers

4.4
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

What happens when people vanish and the systems meant to find them fall short? Midnight Mystery Archive investigates unsolved disappearances, cold cases, and historical mysteries through primary sources, original research, and a commitment to evidence over speculation. New episodes weekly.

Information

  • Creator
    The Midnight Mystery Archive
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    105
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Midnight Mystery Archive

You Might Also Like