Some true-crime documentaries can lean towards being pretty salacious. They are released for mere shock value or for the over-the-top reactions they’ll inspire in audiences (Tiger King, Don’t F**ck With Cats, and Chimp Crazy come to mind). But there are also documentaries that can really change your way of thinking. Super Size Me changed the way Americans look at fast food, An Inconvenient Truth opened a lot of eyes to the dangers of climate change, and Blackfish ensured we never viewed Sea World the same way again. A recent Netflix docuseries called Amy Bradley Is Missing is raising awareness about the potential danger that lurks on cruise ships. By telling the story of a real-life woman who went missing on a vacation with her family, the three-episode series might make you think twice before stepping foot on a ship.

‘Amy Bradley Is Missing’ Recounts the Heartbreaking Story of a Vanished Woman

In 1998, Amy Bradley was a 23-year-old woman who had a promising life ahead of her. She had graduated from college and had just moved into her first apartment on her own. Her father and mother, Ron and Iva, had won a cruise vacation through work, and decided to take Amy and her 21-year-old brother, Brad, on the trip with them. The four of them set sail on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas ship, having an amazing time at each port and living it up on the ship.

However, halfway through the trip, Amy simply vanishes from the stateroom she shared with her family. Brad and Amy had enjoyed a lively dance party up in the ship’s disco that night, and had headed back to the stateroom in the early morning hours. They sat on the balcony of their room, talking, and then Brad went to bed, leaving Amy sitting on the balcony. About an hour or so later, Ron remembers waking briefly to see Amy still out on the balcony alone. Shortly after, he wakes up for good, and Amy is gone.

The mystery stumps investigators from the very beginning, mainly because there are several possibilities of what could have happened to Amy. Did she decide to end her own life and jump overboard? Did she accidentally fall over the railing that morning? Both of these seem unlikely since Amy’s body never washed ashore in Curaçao, where the ship was just about to dock that morning. Investigators immediately began looking into whether Amy could have been abducted or lured off the boat by a passenger or by a crewmember. Each episode of the series digs into the many theories of what could have happened to Amy, featuring heartbreaking interviews with her family and friends, who are still devastated by the tragedy today.

‘Amy Bradley Is Missing’ Has Several Twists You Won’t See Coming

One of the aspects that makes the docuseries so compelling is that there are many twists within the storytelling. It is far from a straightforward tale, and there are several moments where you might think you’ve solved the mystery, only to realize it was a moment of misdirection. The feeling of frustration and hopelessness that mounts every time it seems like they’re getting closer to finding Amy, only to discover how fruitless it’s been, is akin to what Amy’s loved ones and the investigators have experienced in the nearly 30 years since her disappearance.

In one particularly haunting moment, a former girlfriend of Amy’s talks about how Amy sent her a message in a bottle before she even went on the cruise. It was supposed to be a cute way of writing her a letter, but now the gesture is seen as a chilling foreshadowing of her fate. Even some of the lines in the letter (like being “stranded” at sea) take on an eerie vibe now that we know what possibly could have happened to her. Amy Bradley Is Missing utilizes these moments to make Amy’s true-crime story even more fascinating and layered.

Netflix’s ‘Amy Bradley Is Missing’ Brings Up the True Dangers of Cruise Vacations

It’s not just the maddening search for Amy that comes across in the series. The storytelling also makes it clear how a crime like this can happen on a cruise ship. Everyone from the former crew of the ship to the FBI agents on the case helps to explain how easy it is for crimes to occur in this setting. They note that cruise ships are like their own towns, with thousands of people trapped in a confined space. However, the difference is that the people in charge of security answer to cruise lines (which is an industry that brings in billions of dollars every year). This makes it easy for staff to cover up whatever crimes do take place, which is a possibility in Amy’s story. When you add in the fact that many crewmembers are likely not given background checks when hired (since they’re often hired in countries with less strict hiring practices) and guests are typically imbibing pretty heavily, you have a recipe for disaster.

Throughout Amy Bradley Is Missing it’s inherent just how much Amy’s family and friends miss her to this day. Her family, particularly Iva, has dedicated their lives to solving the mystery of what happened to Amy. Amy’s personality shines through in home videos and pictures shared throughout the documentary, and by the end of the series, you’ll want to take up the search to find her yourself. But it’s not just people who knew Amy who are now invested in the search. A dogged Internet community of armchair detectives also share their efforts in solving the case.

Some people have been so affected by Amy’s disappearance and by the docuseries, that they’re attempting to affect positive change in the world of cruise ships. A recent Change.org petition is calling for an “Amy Alert” to be instituted on cruise ships that would immediately alert passengers to a missing person onboard. It’s unclear whether this could have saved Amy, but it could save people in the future. With tight storytelling (no bloated filler episodes here), Amy Bradley Is Missing offers plenty of drama, heartbreak, and twists to keep you captivated the entire time. But it might result in you thinking twice about booking any cruises after you watch it.