In a surprising turn of events, a woman has come forward, asserting that she is Diamond Bradley, one of the two sisters who vanished from a residence on Chicago’s South Side in 2001. Sheliah Bradley-Smith, the girls’ great aunt, shared this development with the public.
At the time of their disappearance, Diamond was merely three years old, while her sister Tionda was ten. The incident occurred in an apartment near 35th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, leaving their family distraught for over two decades.
Bradley-Smith recounted how she awoke to a series of missed calls from her son before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, along with a few from an unknown number. Returning her son’s call, he informed her that a woman claiming to be Diamond had reached out to him on Instagram. He had facilitated contact between the woman and Bradley-Smith.
Initially skeptical due to previous hoaxes, Bradley-Smith advised the woman to approach the police. However, the woman’s polite response stirred a glimmer of hope in Bradley-Smith, despite her fluctuating emotions over numerous false claims throughout the years.
On the same day, the woman voluntarily spent two hours at a police station and later visited the FBI to undergo DNA testing, aimed at confirming her identity as Diamond. Bradley-Smith revealed that an FBI agent informed her that the test results might take anywhere from two to 14 days. Requests for comment from the FBI remain unanswered at present.
Expressing her astonishment, Bradley-Smith acknowledged the woman’s initiative in seeking out the FBI. She pondered whether the woman genuinely believed she was Diamond or if there were underlying mental factors at play.
While the woman did not provide any explanation for her belief, Bradley-Smith refrained from probing further, considering the ongoing FBI investigation. Over the years, the family has encountered twelve individuals claiming to be one of the missing sisters, each disproven through investigations conducted by a private investigator or the family’s own online efforts.
In 2021, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released updated age-progressed photos of the sisters on the 20th anniversary of their disappearance. The FBI’s website offers a reward of up to $10,000 for any information regarding the whereabouts of the Bradley sisters.
Anyone with relevant information about the Bradley sisters’ disappearance is urged to contact the Chicago Police Department at (312) 747-5789, the FBI Illinois at (312) 421-6700, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1 (800) THE-LOST.
Bradley-Smith recalled to CBS News admitted to experiencing a whirlwind of emotions and expressed her hopes that this time the woman truly is Diamond, potentially providing long-awaited answers and closure to the family.
