The Diamond & Tionda Bradley case refers to the disappearance of two African-American sisters, Diamond (age 3) and Tionda (age 10), who went missing from their apartment in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, on July 6, 2001. Despite extensive investigations and numerous tips, the girls have not been found, and their case remains unsolved. In 2023, an Investigation Discovery special revisited the case, bringing together retired detectives to examine the cold case. In recent years, there have been several false claims of individuals coming forward saying they are one of the missing sisters, adding to the family’s emotional rollercoaster.
The location of The Bradley sisters, as well as the circumstances surrounding their disappearance, remains unknown. The FBI is offering a reward of $10,000 for information regarding the current whereabouts of Tionda and Diamond Bradley.
Diamond and Tionda Bradley
Tionda Bradley, born on January 20, 1991, was a 10-year-old African-American girl with black hair and brown eyes. She stood 4’2 tall and weighed 70 pounds at the time of her disappearance. Tionda had a burn scar on her left forearm, about the size of a quarter. She was last seen wearing green ponytail holders and had a scrape on her left calf. She was known to be shy with strangers and enjoyed running track and dancing.
Diamond Bradley, born on November 25, 1997, was a 3-year-old African-American girl with black hair and brown eyes. She stood 3’0 tall and weighed 40 pounds at the time of her disappearance. Diamond had a scar on the left side of her scalp and had deep-set eyes. She was last seen wearing purple ponytail holders in her hair. She was described as timid but loved to talk.
The case of Diamond and Tionda Bradley remains unsolved, and their family continues to search for answers.
Background
At the time of their disappearance, the Bradley family resided in their Bronzeville apartment near 35th and Cottage Grove in Chicago, Illinois. Tracey Bradley, aged 32, shared the apartment with her four daughters: Rita, aged 12, Tionda, aged 10, Victoria, aged 9, and Diamond, aged 3. Tracey was employed at the nearby Robert Taylor Homes apartment complex, where she worked to prepare breakfast and lunch for residents. On the night of July 5, 2001, daughters Rita and Victoria stayed overnight at their grandmother’s residence.
Disappearance and Investigation
The Bradley sisters, 3-year-old Diamond and 10-year-old Tionda, were last seen at their third-story apartment on the morning of July 6, 2001.
Around 6:00 am that morning, Tracey Bradley’s boyfriend, George, arrived at her apartment to pick her up for work. Before leaving, Tracey reminded her daughters, Diamond and Tionda, not to go outside and not to open the door for anyone.
While at work, Tracey attempted to call home three times between 8:00 and 9:00 am, but received no answer, which was unusual. Phone records revealed that several calls from other numbers to the apartment also went unanswered that morning, along with two hang-ups.
Upon returning home from work at 11:30 am, Tracey discovered a note left by Tionda, stating that she and Diamond had gone to the store and then to the school playground. However, neither Diamond nor Tionda have been seen since.
Concerned, Tracey began reaching out to neighbors and family members, inquiring if anyone had seen the girls. Soon after, she and her extended family commenced a thorough search of the neighborhood and surrounding areas in hopes of locating the missing sisters.
After several hours of searching yielded no results, Tracey reported her daughters’ disappearance to the Chicago Police Department just before 7:00 pm.
Despite an extensive search effort involving hundreds of volunteers, law enforcement agencies, and the FBI, no clues regarding the whereabouts of the Bradley sisters were discovered. The investigation became the largest missing-persons search in Chicago’s history, with over 800 tips leading to no significant breakthroughs.
Police, FBI agents, and volunteers scoured the streets, sewers, abandoned buildings, and factories for weeks without success. Even interviews with dozens of individuals, including nearly 100 registered sex offenders, yielded no useful information.
On the morning of the girls’ disappearance, Tionda left a voicemail on her mother’s cell phone at 8:30 am, mentioning someone named “George” at the door and asking for permission to let him in. However, Tracey didn’t receive this message until after the girls had vanished.
The identity of “George” remains uncertain, as both Tracey’s boyfriend at the time (also Diamond’s father) and a neighbor who occasionally babysat for them were named George.
Suspicion surrounds a note allegedly left by Tionda, as family members find the handwriting too mature for her age and believe she may have been coached into writing it. The note, now in the FBI’s possession, has never been publicly disclosed.
Receipts from July 7, 2001, indicate that Tracey’s boyfriend, George, purchased contractor bags and gloves. When investigators searched his home, they found missing bags from the roll and couldn’t locate the gardening gloves. Additionally, a neighbor reported witnessing him burning something in a drum and loading it into his car’s trunk, though he denies this claim.
Authorities discovered Tionda’s hairs on a blanket inside George’s car trunk, which he attributes to an incident where he allegedly hid the girls during a drive-in movie outing to avoid paying admission. Phone records show an unusual number of calls made by George on July 6, 2001, with notable gaps in activity during key periods.
Despite suspicions and circumstantial evidence, George maintains his innocence and has retained legal representation, citing pressure from authorities and the media.
While police haven’t named any suspects, they consider all friends, family, and acquaintances as persons of interest in the ongoing investigation.
Woman Claims to be Diamond
In 2023, a woman in Texas stepped forward, asserting that she was Diamond Bradley. The FBI responded by collecting DNA samples, cautioning the family that results could take up to six months.
Given the family’s history of 12 previous hoaxes and false alarms, they expressed cautious optimism as they awaited the outcome of the DNA testing. However, the subsequent update revealed that the DNA did not match Diamond’s, leaving the family still searching for answers.
