FBI/TikTok Diamond Bradley (l) and a screenshot from the TikTok video of the Texas woman.
Diamond Bradley is a missing Chicago, Illinois, girl who disappeared in 2001 with her sister, Tionda, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A woman from Texas has come forward in a TikTok video to claim she is Diamond Bradley. The girl was 3 when she disappeared and would be 25 in 2023.
“No matter what we hope, think, doubt, wish, or pray; only the DNA will confirm or deny if she’s my missing niece Diamond Bradley,” the girls’ great-aunt, Sheliah Bradley-Smith wrote on Facebook. “Either way the search continues.” The DNA test is pending, according to the family.
“Attention immediate BLOOD FAMILY MEMBERS ONLY. When these DNA results come in, no matter the results, I will set up a ZOOM MEETING with ALL IMMEDIATE BLOOD RELATED FAMILY MEMBERS ONLY,” Bradley-Smith wrote.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Diamond Bradley & Her Sister, Tionda Bradley, Disappeared After Tionda Left a Note Saying the Girls Were Going to the Store & a Playground, the FBI Says
FBIDiamond Bradley.
On July 6, 2001, Diamond Yvette Bradley, then 3, and her sister Tionda Bradley, then 10, “were reported missing to the Chicago Police Department, Chicago, Illinois, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The FBI added, “According to their mother, a note written by Tionda was found, stating that the two girls were going to the store and to the school playground. An extensive search of the area and surrounding neighborhood met with negative results.”
The FBI missing person’s page for Diamond Bradley says: “At the time of her disappearance, Diamond Bradley had a medium complexion and wore her hair in braided ponytails. She was last seen wearing purple ponytail holders in her hair. She has a scar on the left side of her scalp, has deep-set eyes, and is described as timid but loves to talk.”
There is a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Bradley’s whereabouts, the FBI says. The FBI’s page for Tionda Bradley says, “At the time of her disappearance, Tionda Bradley had a light complexion, a slim build, and wore her hair in long ponytails. She had a burn scar on her left forearm about the size of a quarter. Tionda was last seen wearing green ponytail holders in her hair, and had a scrape on her left calf. She is described as being shy with strangers, and loved to run track and dance.”
2. The TikTok Video Has Been Viewed More Than 600,000 Times
Bradley-Smith shared a TikTok video on Facebook and wrote, “Thank you to everyone that have sent messages, called, and texted regarding the TIKTOK video being circulated and know that we are fully aware of the video. I am in contact with her and DNA was collected yesterday by the FBI. Due to the sensitivity of this matter, please allow time for the DNA results to be completed. Continue praying and hoping for the best.❤❤”
The video shows a woman looking at a news story about Diamond Bradley with a police car in the background. “This is Diamond Bradley, can I see your scar?” a woman says in the video, which then appears to zoom in to show a scar.
“Here with Diamond Bradley,” a person says in the video, which was posted on the TikTok page @imherbigtootieee. That video has been viewed more than 688,000 times.
3. The Harris County, Texas, Woman in the Video Wrote Bradley’s Great-Aunt on Facebook & Said She Believes She is Diamond Bradley, Reports Say
The Bradleys’ great-aunt, Sheliah Bradley-Smith, told ABC 7 that the woman from Texas reached out to her on Facebook and told her that “she believes she is Diamond Bradley, my missing niece.”
Bradley-Smith told ABC 7 that the woman, who lives in Harris County, Texas, had given her DNA and fingerprints to the FBI.
“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 to ABC 7, saying she had spoken to the woman by phone.
4. The Bradley Family Was the Victim of a Hoax in 2019, Reports Say
In 2019, a different Texas woman claimed to be one of the sisters, but the family determined that she had lied, according to ABC 7.
ABC 7 posted a now-deleted Facebook post from the family that read,
With agonizing regret, the search for MISSING DIAMOND AND TIONDA BRADLEY CONTINUES. Unfortunately the information provided on social media from this group of scammer are NOT MISSING DIAMOND AND OR TIONDA BRADLEY. We hope that all will continue to provide any tips as to the whereabouts of Diamond and Tionda Bradley. We thank you the Community, the Law Enforcement Community, the News that covered this heartbreaking HOAX. We further thank the Private Investigator and all tips that were provided to expose those responsible for this CRUEL AND EVIL ACT.
5. The FBI Has Not Commented on the Claims
According to ABC 7, the FBI told the television station that “Department of Justice policy prohibits them from commenting on any investigation that may or may not be occurring.”
CBS News reported that the Texas “woman told the aunt she recently escaped from whoever was holding her against her will. Diamond had a scar on her forehead from injury – and the woman has a scar in a similar area.”
Daily Mail reported that the recent TikTok video was filmed in Houston, Texas.
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