3 Missing Women Lost Abroad
Vacations should be a relaxing respite and an escape from ordinary life - but for these three women, that escape came at a high price.
Let's dive into three cases of women who mysteriously disappeared while on vacation.
Natalee Holloway
It should have been the trip of a lifetime for young Natalee Holloway. At 18 years old, she traveled from her home in the United States to Aruba for a high school graduation trip. Holloway and her friends partied on the beach and did everything normal teenagers would do.
Then on May 30, 2005, Holloway suddenly disappeared.
Upon hearing the news, Holloway's parents immediately flew to Aruba to search for their daughter. That's when they discovered Joran van der Sloot, an Aruban local, had met Holloway at the casino attached to Holloway's hotel and left with her in the early morning - the last time anyone had seen her.
After nearly 25 years of changing his story about what happened that night, in October 2023 Van der Sloot finally confessed to the murder of Natalee Holloway. He said he became angry when she refused his sexual advances, and so he bludgeoned her and crushed her skull with a cinder block, finally dumping her body in the ocean. It has still never been found.
Van der Sloot is currently serving 20 years of prison time in Peru.
Brittanee Drexel
In April 2009, 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel told her parents she would be staying with a friend locally for a few days - but instead she took a secret spring break trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Then, on April 25, 2009, Drexel disappeared.
Her boyfriend became concerned when he stopped receiving texts from her. Security footage captured the last sign of her leaving her hotel that fateful day.
For the next 13 years, her disappearance remained mostly a mystery. However, during that time, authorities identified a person of interest, based on the moment in which Drexel's cell phone pings moved from a walking speed to a driving speed. Authorities determined that must have been the moment someone kidnapped Drexel. Using video footage, they identified a vehicle that matched that location - and questioned its owner, Raymond Moody.
Finally, in May 2022, Moody confessed and led police to Drexel's remains in the woods - 35 miles from the hotel where she was last seen.
In October 2022, Raymond Moody confessed to raping, kidnapping, and murdering Drexel, and the courts sentenced him to life in prison.
Amy Lynn Bradley
In March 1998, 23-year-old Amy Lynn Bradley and her family embarked on a Caribbean cruise on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas. They had just stopped in Aruba and were en route to Curaçao when Amy and her brother Brad both stayed out late to enjoy the ship's nightlife.
According to their cabin's digital key timestamp, Brad returned to the room at 3:35 a.m., followed soon after by Amy. The two chatted for a bit, and then Brad went to sleep. At that point, Amy stayed awake, seated on the cabin balcony.
The next morning, no one could find Amy. Extensive searches of land, ship and ocean ensued - to no avail.
Years later, on March 24, 2010, authorities finally declared Amy legally dead. They speculated that she died either by falling overboard or by suicide - but of course, no one knows for sure.
The disappearance of these three women provides a cautionary tale of the dangers that can accompany travel - especially for women. While these particular cases ended in tragedy, they also remind us of the hope and resilience of the families and communities that surrounded these three women.
References: 3 chilling true crime cases of women who went on vacation and never returned | Natalee Holloway | Raymond Moody pleads guilty to killing missing teen Brittanee Drexel, sentenced to life in prison
