IL DIAMOND & TIONDA BRADLEY: Missing from Chicago, IL - 6 July 2001 - Age 3 & 10

Family of Missing Chicago Sisters Hold Out Hope on 20th Anniversary of Disappearance

It’s been 20 years since Tionda and Diamond Yvette Bradley were reported missing to the Chicago Police Department, and law enforcement agencies are releasing new age progression photos in hopes of solving the long-standing mystery.

www.nbcchicago.com

Family of Missing Chicago Sisters Hold Out Hope on 20th Anniversary of Disappearance​

It’s been 20 years since Tionda and Diamond Yvette Bradley were reported missing to the Chicago Police Department, and law enforcement agencies are releasing new age progression photos in hopes of solving the long-standing mystery.

On July 6, 2001, Tionda, 10, and Diamond, 3, were reported missing to police. According to the girls’ mother, a note purportedly written by Tionda was found, which stated that the girls were going to the store and to the playground.

The girls never returned, and exhaustive searches turned up nothing.

According to law enforcement, the girls’ family have expressed doubts that the note was actually written by Tionda, saying that the grammar and spelling seemed “too advanced” for her age. The family says that the girl may have been coerced into writing the note on the day of their disappearance.

'I believe ... they're still alive': On 20th anniversary of Bradley sisters' disappearance, family keeps hope

Relatives of Tionda and Diamond Bradley gathered on Chicago's South Side to set off balloons and pray for answers in the sisters' 2001 disappearance.

www.azcentral.com

'I believe ... they're still alive': On 20th anniversary of Bradley sisters' disappearance, family keeps hope​

As they have for the past two decades, Tionda and Diamond Bradley's relatives gathered on Chicago's South Side on Tuesday to release balloons and pray for answers in the sisters' 2001 disappearance.

Tionda and Diamond Bradley, 3 and 10 at the time, went missing from their third-floor apartment July 6, 2001, leaving behind just one clue – a strange hand-written note family says was uncharacteristic of Tionda. The girls' disappearance spurred one of the largest manhunts in the Chicago's history, and investigators have gone as far as Morocco to look for them.

Twenty years later, the family still has hope someone will come forward with information.



MEDIA - DIAMOND & TIONDA BRADLEY: Missing from Chicago, IL since 6 July 2001 - Age 3 & 10

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Diamond's photo is shown age-progressed to 19 years. Diamond has a scar on the left side of her head in her hairline.

NCMEC - Have you seen this child? TIONDA BRADLEY

Nickname/Alias: Honey Bun
Diamond has really course hair in texture and were wearing barettes and or ponytail holders.
Diamond has deep set eyes.
Diamond has a scar on the left side of her head in her hairline.

NamUs - The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Charley Project - Diamond Yvette Bradley – The Charley Project



Tionda's photo is shown at 26 years. Tionda has a quarter sized scar on her left forearm.

NCMEC - Have you seen this child? TIONDA BRADLEY

Nickname/Alias: Martha White, Tione
Head Hair Description: sometimes curly but may be worn straight, with a grade of hispanic texture.
Quarter size scar from a burn on her left forearm.

NamUs - The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Charley Project - Tionda Z. Bradley – The Charley Project

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Tionda was last seen at her family's residence in the 3500 block of South Lake Park Avenue in Chicago, Illinois on July 6, 2001. Her mother departed for work at approximately 6:30 a.m. Tionda and her younger sister, Diamond, stayed at the house during the morning. Their mother, Tracey Bradley, discovered that the girls were not inside their residence when she returned at approximately 11:00 a.m.

Tionda apparently left a note stating that she and Diamond planned to walk to a nearby school and store. Tionda was enrolled in summer classes at Doolittle Elementary School at the time, but school officials said that she was absent the day of her disappearance.

Several neighborhood children told authorities that they saw Tionda and Diamond playing outside of their residence at approximately 12:00 p.m. Neither child has been heard from again. An extensive search of the surrounding areas produced no clues as to their whereabouts.

Tionda is described as having a shy nature when dealing with strangers. Her hobbies include running track and dancing. She uses the term "Girl" often and pronounces "bye-bye" as "baby-bye."

Authorities said that Tracey was not cooperating with investigators in relation to her daughters' cases. She shoved a police officer who requested that she accompany him to the precinct to discuss new leads in March 2002. Tracey was placed in handcuffs and taken to the station, where she briefly spoke with investigators. Her attorney arrived shortly thereafter and stopped the interview.

Authorities said that Tracey missed several scheduled appointments with detectives in the past. Tracey's spiritual advisor told the media that officers had violated her rights by forcibly taking her to the precinct. Authorities said that Tracey was physically combative and they needed to restrain her in handcuffs.

Tracey's mother voluntarily took a polygraph exam shortly after Tionda and Diamond disappeared as a matter of cooperation. She is not being called a suspect in her daughters' disappearances. Authorities are interviewing most of the girls' relatives and friends once again as the investigations continue. They searched the children's great-grandfather's Wisconsin home but found no evidence.

Some investigators theorized that Diamond and Tionda were taken by a North African man who had paid child support for one of them until the summer of 2001, when he learned he was not her father. FBI agents went to Morocco to investigate the lead, but did not find any evidence that the Bradley children had been there.

Police believe Tionda would have contacted her loved ones by now if she could have; they think both children are either deceased or have been taken out of the country.

The Bradley sisters' cases remain unsolved.

Tionda Z. Bradley – The Charley Project

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

43 unsolved missing cases the FBI needs fresh leads on

While the search for Gabby Petito is over, thousands more cases need the same attention. Here's an FBI list of 43 unsolved missing persons cases.

www.usatoday.com

43 unsolved missing cases the FBI needs fresh leads on
Amid the disappearance of Gabby Petito that has captured the nation's attention, FBI officials say hundreds of thousands of people go missing every year. In May, the FBI conducted an internal audit and compiled a list of 43 unsolved cases of people under the age of 21 that the agency says need fresh leads. Some date back decades. Here's the list.

Diamond Yvette Bradley was 3 and Tionda Z. Bradley was 10 when they went missing from Chicago, Illinois, on July 6, 2001. Read about their story here, see age-progressed photos and more.
PROVIDED BY THE FBI

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Missing Sisters Diamond And Tionda Bradley To Be Honored At Vigil Wednesday In Bronzeville

The case generated national attention, but the girls have not been found since going missing in 2001. Their family "continues to cling to the hope that one day they may be found."

blockclubchicago.org

Missing Sisters Diamond And Tionda Bradley To Be Honored At Vigil Wednesday In Bronzeville​

A vigil will be held Wednesday night for Diamond and Tionda Bradley, the young Bronzeville sisters who went missing 22 years ago.

A vigil for the girls will be held 5 p.m. Wednesday at 4800 S. State St., near where the Robert Taylor homes used to be, according to organizers. The girls’ mother, Tracy Bradley, and others will speak.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

National show to spotlight missing Bradley sisters from Chicago

It has been 21 years and three months since the Bradley sisters went missing from their Chicago home, and there's been no sign of them since.

www.fox32chicago.com

National show to spotlight missing Bradley sisters from Chicago​

It has been 21 years and three months since the Bradley sisters went missing, and there's been no sign of them since.

This week, producers of a national true-crime show are hoping that changes.

"This is just another opportunity, we hope, to reach the right person who has the right lead and will have the courage to finally come forward," said Michelle Sigona, Senior Producer of Investigation Discovery's In Pursuit with John Walsh. "That's the goal."


On Wednesday, In Pursuit with John Walsh — featuring the same man behind America's Most Wanted — will feature the Bradley sisters and share age-progression photos to a national audience, depicting what the now 30-year-old Tionda, and the now 23-year-old Diamond, may look like.

"You just never know who you're going to reach," said Sigona. "Especially with these age progressions, especially if they're living in a different community. Especially if they didn't know they were missing at the time."

Over the years, the Bradley family has held vigils, run social media pages devoted to their disappearance, and searched for clues, but are still in limbo after more than two decades. Could an appearance on a national show change that?

"There's always hope," said Sigona. "John Walsh has helped to recover over 60 missing children over these years."

 

[GrandmaBear]

The girls weren't inside when mom returned but neighbors saw them playing in their yard at 12?? That makes no sense.

Mom combative and not helpful.

Mom left children home alone (not the first that ever had to do that but pretty young).

Older child was in summer school but was absent that day. How is it she was to attend if she was watching her younger sister?

There must be more to this one. Was there a bf in the home, fathers involved, custody disputes?

It isn't likely a ten and three year old fell in a river together or anything. Someone took them and/or did something to them.

The little bit here doesn't have mom being very helpful. Is her timeline factual and her whereabouts? Still, two children of vastly different ages, not that typical nor easy to take and not be seen, etc. I wouldn't think.

If neighbors saw them playing in their front yard then did they notice anyone else there or when mom came home, etc., etc. This is broad daylight and there are neighbors...

 

[Summer_Breeze]

Woman claims to be one of Bradley sisters who disappeared from Bronzeville home over 20 years ago

In 2019, another woman lied about being Diamond Bradley.

abc7chicago.com

ByLiz Nagy
Friday, May 19, 2023 11:16PM

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There has been a possible break in a Chicago missing persons case that's more than 20 years old.

Diamond and Tionda Bradley were 3 and 10 years old when they went missing in 2001. Now, a woman is claiming that she is Diamond, who would now be 25 years old.

ABC7 spoke with the Diamonds' great-aunt, Sheliah Bradley-Smith, who said that woman turned in a cheek swab and fingerprints to the FBI.

"A young lady reached out on Facebook," said Bradley-Smith. "She believes she is Diamond Bradley, my missing niece."

Bradley-Smith had many long phone calls with a young lady who lives in Harris County, Texas this week.

"She pretty much said that she remembered being in a car and being around Tionda for a while, but then she said she was taken away and never saw her again," Bradley-Smith said.

Tionda and Diamond Smith disappeared from their family's Bronzeville apartment in the summer of 2001, nearly 23 years ago.

Over the years, the family has encountered numerous false-tips. Most recently, there was a young woman in Texas, in 2019, who also claimed to be Diamond.

 

[Guess Who]

Woman claims to be one of Bradley sisters who disappeared from Bronzeville home over 20 years ago

In 2019, another woman lied about being Diamond Bradley.

abc7chicago.com

ByLiz Nagy
Friday, May 19, 2023 11:16PM

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There has been a possible break in a Chicago missing persons case that's more than 20 years old.

Diamond and Tionda Bradley were 3 and 10 years old when they went missing in 2001. Now, a woman is claiming that she is Diamond, who would now be 25 years old.

ABC7 spoke with the Diamonds' great-aunt, Sheliah Bradley-Smith, who said that woman turned in a cheek swab and fingerprints to the FBI.

"A young lady reached out on Facebook," said Bradley-Smith. "She believes she is Diamond Bradley, my missing niece."

Bradley-Smith had many long phone calls with a young lady who lives in Harris County, Texas this week.

"She pretty much said that she remembered being in a car and being around Tionda for a while, but then she said she was taken away and never saw her again," Bradley-Smith said.

Tionda and Diamond Smith disappeared from their family's Bronzeville apartment in the summer of 2001, nearly 23 years ago.

Over the years, the family has encountered numerous false-tips. Most recently, there was a young woman in Texas, in 2019, who also claimed to be Diamond.

At least she was willing to do what it takes to find out.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

DNA test will show whether Texas woman is missing Chicago girl

It has been 22 years since Diamond and Tionda Bradley went missing from their Bronzeville home. The three and 10-year-old girls simply vanished without a trace.

www.fox32chicago.com

Bradley sisters disappearance: Family gathers on anniversary of when girls went missing in Bronzeville​

It has been 22 years since Diamond and Tionda Bradley went missing from their Bronzeville home. The three and 10-year-old girls simply vanished without a trace.

On Thursday, the family gathered as they continue to search for answers.

"It's the same hurt, the same hurt feelings as we did in 2001," said Great Aunt Sheliah Bradley-Smith.


Back in May, the woman came forward claiming she might be Diamond Bradley, with the same obvious scar on her head. The FBI has since started the process of checking DNA samples on the woman to see if she is in fact, Diamond Bradley.

"We're hoping that this is Diamond at the end of the day, but we're not going to fully be prepared that it is, and it’s not because at the end of the day, we still have one of my other nieces that's been missing," said April Jackson, the sisters’ Aunt.

The Texas woman has undergone cheek swabs and fingerprinting, but the Bradley family has been told results could take up to six months.

 

[GrandmaBear]

DNA test will show whether Texas woman is missing Chicago girl

It has been 22 years since Diamond and Tionda Bradley went missing from their Bronzeville home. The three and 10-year-old girls simply vanished without a trace.

www.fox32chicago.com

Bradley sisters disappearance: Family gathers on anniversary of when girls went missing in Bronzeville​

It has been 22 years since Diamond and Tionda Bradley went missing from their Bronzeville home. The three and 10-year-old girls simply vanished without a trace.

On Thursday, the family gathered as they continue to search for answers.

"It's the same hurt, the same hurt feelings as we did in 2001," said Great Aunt Sheliah Bradley-Smith.


Back in May, the woman came forward claiming she might be Diamond Bradley, with the same obvious scar on her head. The FBI has since started the process of checking DNA samples on the woman to see if she is in fact, Diamond Bradley.

"We're hoping that this is Diamond at the end of the day, but we're not going to fully be prepared that it is, and it’s not because at the end of the day, we still have one of my other nieces that's been missing," said April Jackson, the sisters’ Aunt.

The Texas woman has undergone cheek swabs and fingerprinting, but the Bradley family has been told results could take up to six months.

SIX mohths? And that's without the fact this first came up in May. Why is it some areas can have DNA results in no time flat and others take forever? It isn't right.

I mean I get there are small departments, not all areas have access to experts, coroners, labs, etc. that bigger areas do and so forth. We waited four months for an expert autopsy of a part (man that's hard to say) of my grandbaby's body, but initial autopsy was done and then sent off to where they contract as there isn't enough need for an in house expert in the county. BUT no one should have to wait that long to simply find out if this is her or not. That's ridiculous. Paternity tests are fast. This isn't a cause of death, it is a determination of if she could be the missing girl! How quick was the recent claim of being Madeline McCann processed? I mean really. All areas should have the same access and time frame. It's such an unfair world.

 

[GrandmaBear]

If this is her, I have some serious questions. This case has never made sense. I don't have an opinion but it is an odd one that just never made much sense. Unusual.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Bradley sisters disappeared from Bronzeville home 23 years ago

Family and friends honored Diamond and Tionda Bradley as Saturday marked 23 years since the sisters disappeared.

abc7chicago.com

Bradley sisters disappeared from Bronzeville home 23 years ago​

Family and friends honored Diamond and Tionda Bradley as Saturday marked 23 years since the sisters disappeared.

A large group gathered at Taylor Park on Chicago's south side to say a prayer for the Bradley sisters.

"We're still praying... having hope that Diamond and Tionda return home to our family and friends," the sisters' mother, Tracey Bradley, said.