Who Kirk Detweiler Is & What Happened To The Cruise Director After Amy Bradley’s Disappearance

Netflix’s new crime docuseries, Amy Bradley Is Missing, includes interviews with various people who give their perspective on one of the most infamous disappearance cases in history, including a cruise director named Kirk Detweiler. The three-part docuseries explores the 1998 disappearance of Amy Lynn Bradley while she was vacationing on a cruise ship with her family to Curaçao.

On March 24, 1998, Amy Bradley was reported missing from the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship after she was last seen by her father sleeping out on a balcony. Despite multiple investigations and conspiracy theories into her disappearance across the years, Amy Bradley has never been found, and her true fate remains unknown.

The latest in Netflix’s large list of documentaries, the three-part miniseries contains interviews with Amy Bradley’s family, friends, and investigators who each provide insight into who Amy was as a person and her life prior to her disappearance. The Netflix miniseries also explores how long Amy Bradley has been missing and the potential sightings reported throughout the years.

One person who was interviewed for the docuseries was Kirk Detweiler, a cruise ship director who gave his own perspective on Amy Bradley’s disappearance and what happened the day she went missing. Detweiler’s presence in Amy Bradley Is Missing proved controversial in highlighting the flaws in the initial investigation into the disappearance.

Kirk Detweiler Was The Cruise Director For The Ship Amy Bradley Went Missing On

Kirk Detweiler Worked As A Cruise Director For 25 Years

On March 21, 1998, Amy Bradley, along with her parents and younger brother, boarded the Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship, which was part of the Royal Caribbean International Cruise line; the cruise was an all-expenses-paid bonus from her father’s job. The cruise director on board the ship at the time was Kirk Detweiler, who had worked on various ships since 1986.

In Amy Bradley Is Missing, Kirk Detweiler describes his work as a cruise director as a role where they are “the face of the ship” and it is their duty to ensure that all the guests are healthy and happy, and during the evening, “dances with the old ladies.” Throughout his career at sea, Detweiler had worked on different ships for the Royal International Caribbean cruise line.

Detweiler recounts what happened on the day that Amy disappeared, stating that he was “getting ready to make [his] appearance on the gangway,” when he heard the announcement requesting Amy to come to the front desk. According to the documentary, despite the family’s desperation to prevent anybody from disembarking until Amy was found, Detweiler allowed the doors to open and for the passengers to leave the ship at Curaçao.

About three hours after Amy was reported missing, while at dock, Detweiler allowed “a Charlie drill” to take place within the cruise ship; over a period of 45 minutes, the entire ship was searched with “800, 900 people doing it.” After the search determined that Amy was not on board, Detweiler stated that the staff came to the belief that Amy “either jumped or fell overboard.”

Kirk Detweiler’s Career After Amy Bradley’s Disappearance & Where He Is Today

Detweiler Now Works In Ohio As A Cinema Director

Kirk Detweiler

In the aftermath of Amy Bradley’s disappearance and the initial investigation, Kirk Detweiler continued to work as a cruise director until he quit his position in 2011. In 2019, he began working as an entertainment director on a cruise line in Mumbai, India, until it was permanently shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic (via The Tab).

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According to the Marion Star, as of 2021, Kirk Detweiler now works as the executive director of the Marion Palace Theater in Ohio. In an interview, Detweiler described his role as “in charge of scheduling, maintenance, human resources” and also stated that since his childhood, the Marion Palace Theater “has always held a special place in [his] heart.”

Detweiler also stated that he was able to bring his “30 years of experience in the entertainment industry” to his new position at the Marion Palace Theater. He also admitted that while he does miss certain aspects of working on a cruise line, he finds that “it’s nice to go home every night.”

Why Kirk Detweiler Is Receiving Backlash For His Appearance In Netflix’s Amy Bradley Is Missing Doc

Detweiler Is Being Criticized For His “Cruel” Behavior Throughout The Docuseries

In the Netflix docuseries, Amy Bradley’s parents and brother recall how they tried to get the ship locked down until Amy could be found. Guest relations manager, Brett Hunter, recalled how “pretty desperate” the family was to find where Amy was. Kirk Detweiler recalled that he was “spritzing his hair” at the time he was called to assist.

Since his appearance in the docuseries, Kirk Detweiler has received harsh criticism for his apparent lack of concern over Amy’s well-being and his reported refusal to listen to her family’s request to lock down the ship. Some believe that Detweiler’s decision impacted the investigation and allowed potential evidence to leave the ship (via Candid Cruise & Travel).

Detweiler was also harshly criticized for his “cruel” comments about how “life goes on” and his dismissal of Amy’s disappearance as “one family’s unfortunate incident.” Amy Bradley Is Missing raises the questions of whether he could have done more to assist Amy’s family and how his ultimate decision to continue on with the cruise potentially impacted the investigation.

Sources: The Tab, Marion Star, Candid Cruise & Travel

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