Tionda and Diamond Bradley disappearance still haunts Chicago twenty four years later in 2025

On July 6, 2001, ten-year-old Tionda Bradley and her three-year-old sister Diamond Bradley disappeared from their apartment in Chicago. Their mother, Tracey Bradley, who has been at the center of questions in the Tionda and Diamond Bradley case, left early for work and expected to return later that morning to find them at home. Instead, she walked into an empty apartment and found a short handwritten note.

The note, now known as the Tionda Bradley note, said the sisters had gone to the store and to the playground. Relatives doubted the message was genuine. As aunt April Jackson later told Black and Missing, “Her writing a full letter with correct grammar? It’s not appropriate for her,” pointing out that Tionda was enrolled in summer school to improve her reading and writing skills at the time.

Police would later describe the disappearance of Diamond and Tionda Bradley as the largest missing-child search in Chicago’s history, with thousands of buildings and vacant lots searched in the days after the girls vanished, according to the Chicago Police Department and the Charley Project.

What happened to Tionda and Diamond Bradley in 2001?

ABC News reported that the Bradley family lived in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, where Tracey Bradley was raising four daughters. Ten-year-old Tionda Bradley was described as responsible and shy, while her three-year-old sister Diamond was quiet with a warm smile. Their older siblings, 12-year-old Rita and 9-year-old Victoria, had stayed with their grandmother the night before, as they were not going on the upcoming family trip planned for the weekend.

Tracey left for work around 6:30 a.m., leaving Tionda and Diamond asleep. She told them not to go outside or open the door for anyone. Tracey’s boyfriend, George Washington, picked her up that morning. He had been at the apartment earlier before driving her to her job.

Family members later told investigators that around 8:17 a.m., Tionda left a voicemail for her mother. In it, she said George was at the door and asked if she should let him in. Relatives noted she used his full name. They pointed out the girls called a trusted neighbor with the same name by a nickname, suggesting the visitor was likely Tracey’s boyfriend.

Websleuths forum discussions highlight that relatives confirmed a voicemail was left around 8:17 a.m. on Tracey Bradley’s phone. In it, Tionda said George was at the door and asked if she should let him in. Family members later recalled hearing the recording, but it was never preserved as police evidence.

CNN transcripts quoted Shelia Bradley-Smith saying “several family members heard the voice message” and that one of Tracey’s sisters accessed the phone to play it. Some relatives speculated that the voicemail may have been lost or deleted, though investigators never confirmed that.

Oprah Daily reported that when Tracey returned home at 11:30 a.m., her daughters were gone. On the back of the couch she found a short note written in unusually neat handwriting. It said the girls had gone to the store and playground.

Relatives immediately doubted the message, saying it was unusual for Tionda. She had never left a note before and was expected to call her mother if plans changed. It was summer break, and although enrolled in a Doolittle Elementary program, there were no classes that day and her attendance was perfect.

Tracey began searching for her daughters herself. She went door to door, called friends and family, and checked the school and nearby parks herself. A grocery store receipt later showed she borrowed money from a neighbor and bought food at 12:21 p.m., possibly to prepare for a trip or for relatives helping with the search.

Some neighbors criticized her decision to stop and buy groceries while the girls were missing. Tracey explained she hesitated to involve police because she feared child protective services might remove her other daughters if they learned she had left Tionda and Diamond home alone. That fear delayed an official report.

Family members and neighbors joined the search that afternoon. Some children said they saw Tionda and Diamond at the school playground earlier that morning, but the accounts were never confirmed. Others claimed sightings near the apartment complex between noon and 3 p.m., though police could not verify their accuracy.

By around 7 p.m., the Bradleys finally contacted police to report the girls missing. Officers initially logged the case as a runaway. The decision outraged relatives, who said neither girl would have left voluntarily.

How was the Tionda and Diamond Bradley case investigated by police and the FBI?

Police and federal agents quickly expanded the search. Officers, firefighters, and volunteers entered more than 5,300 abandoned buildings. They checked vacant lots, dumpsters, and basements, while other crews searched sewers, lagoons, and rivers. At landfills, teams sifted through 42 tons of garbage. Nearly one hundred registered sex offenders in the area were interviewed within days.

Flyers with the girls’ photos were plastered across storefronts and light poles. The case eventually reached front pages and national broadcasts, but relatives said it took persistent pressure to secure that coverage, arguing that children from wealthier or whiter neighborhoods received immediate attention while their community had to fight for it.

Police reclassified the case from a possible runaway to missing and endangered after relatives pressed them, citing the girls’ ages and the suspicious circumstances. Investigators worked from two anchors: the note left on the couch and playground sightings that morning. Every interview and lead was built outward from those two details.

Local children and a school guard recalled seeing the sisters at the playground. One said a light-skinned man in a trench coat spoke briefly with Tionda. That account pushed detectives, and later a journalist, to Morocco after speculation about a North African man believed for years to be Tionda’s father.

Relatives said the man, once believed to be Tionda Bradley’s father, had paid child support until the summer of 2001, when he discovered he was not her biological father. Some feared retaliation or even abduction abroad. FBI agents traveled to Morocco to investigate. No evidence surfaced. Like many tips over the years, the lead closed without producing results.

Attention turned back to Tracey Bradley, the mother of Tionda and Diamond Bradley, and her 37-year-old boyfriend George Washington. On July 6 and 7, they spent more than 22 hours being questioned separately and both took polygraphs. Police said they passed. A private investigator for the family said his results were inconclusive. He was never named a suspect but drew scrutiny.

Detectives noted conflicting accounts from him about his movements on July 6. Relatives said Tionda’s voicemail mentioned him at the door, which could have made him one of the last to see the sisters. He denied the call existed. The recording was never preserved, and the unanswered question has lingered since.

A forensic search of his car revealed hairs in the trunk matching Tionda and Tracey. He said he sometimes hid the girls there to sneak them into drive-in theaters without paying. Detectives doubted the explanation, noting the nearest theater was far from the city. The discovery left questions investigators could not fully resolve.

Receipts showed he purchased 42-gallon contractor bags, neoprene gloves, and bleach on July 7, the day after the girls went missing. When police searched his garage, some of the bags were missing, and bottles of bleach were found. Investigators raised questions about disposal or cleanup but had no direct link to the children.

Neighbors and local teens reported seeing him burn something in a 55-gallon drum behind his house on July 6. They said he later loaded the barrel into his car and left. He denied burning anything and said he did not own a burn barrel. Coworkers confirmed he had access to industrial drums.

He told police he was renovating and dumping construction debris in a park that day. Detectives searched but found nothing conclusive. Scorch marks were later observed on the roof of his garage near the reported burn site. The evidence raised suspicion but did not move the case toward charges.

Detectives also noted he made more than forty phone calls on July 6. Details of the calls were never shared. Without the voicemail, without the barrel, and without physical remains, the case against him stayed circumstantial. Prosecutors said the evidence could not hold in court, leaving investigators without a path forward.

In 2021, he told USA Today he had nothing to do with the disappearance, saying, “I just know that I had nothing to do with it.” He said he gave police photographs, home videos, and his car and house keys, but believed investigators and relatives unfairly blamed him when no other answers emerged.

Great-aunt Shelia Bradley-Smith has long believed he was responsible and pressed prosecutors to take action. Prosecutors declined, citing circumstantial evidence. A law enforcement source later said the file was not strong enough for trial. No grand jury was convened. The case against him has never progressed, and he was never charged.

Police also reviewed other leads. A registered sex offender who knew the family had even dedicated a self-published book to Diamond and Tionda. He was investigated and cleared. A neighbor who sometimes babysat was questioned, but no link to the disappearance was found. Each lead collapsed under scrutiny.

Tracey Bradley’s role was also debated. Police initially praised her for more than 22 hours of questioning. A week later, a deputy superintendent told reporters he could not confirm her cooperation. In 2002, detectives called her in again. She resisted and was briefly detained after allegedly shoving an officer before being released.

Her attorney stopped further questioning. Detectives said she missed follow-ups. Family members said she was traumatized and afraid of being accused. Authorities never named her a suspect. The girls’ grandmother even took a polygraph and passed. Still, the strained relationship between Tracey and investigators may have slowed progress in the early weeks.

By the end of 2001, the case went cold. The task force eventually shrank from more than one hundred detectives to one part-time cold case investigator by 2021. Several of the original detectives passed away. A retired investigator later admitted so much was mishandled early that later teams had to start over completely.

That detective said he could not rule anyone in or out, calling the file unusual because even basic lines could not be confirmed. The missing voicemail, lack of physical evidence, and conflicting accounts left investigators without a clear path forward. The disappearance remained open but never moved closer to resolution.

The Bradley family kept the case in public view. They held nightly vigils for forty days and later marked anniversaries every July. They spoke at press conferences, plastered updated flyers, and during the pandemic printed masks with the girls’ photos. Their work ensured attention never faded even as official leads dried up.

Shelia Bradley-Smith told Fox 32 she could not imagine two girls simply vanishing, saying, “Somebody knows exactly what happened to them.” She remained firm that they were taken and continues to speak each year, urging the public to remember the sisters and share any information that might finally move the case forward.

What do theories say about Tionda and Diamond Bradley’s father, mother, and George Washington?

The note on the couch has always been central. The FBI said Tionda wrote it and was not under duress. Relatives disagreed. They argued the wording was unusual for a ten-year-old still enrolled in summer school, and believed an adult may have coached her to leave it behind.

Great-aunt Shelia Bradley-Smith told ABC7 Chicago she believed the abduction was carried out by “somebody personal that knew their mom.” Tracey’s boyfriend drew the most suspicion. Relatives pointed to his shifting accounts, the disputed voicemail, and his purchases of bleach and contractor bags. Police questioned him but never brought charges.

Another possibility raised was a stranger taking advantage of the girls being home alone. Witnesses said they may have been seen outside that morning. Investigators interviewed nearly one hundred registered sex offenders and checked tips about suspicious vehicles. None of those leads produced evidence that could explain how both children vanished undetected.

International leads also surfaced. A man in North Africa who once believed he was Tionda’s father had been paying support until he learned otherwise in 2001. Fearing retaliation, some relatives speculated he could have taken the children abroad. FBI agents investigated in Morocco, but nothing tied him to the disappearance.

Other theories suggested an accident and a cover-up. Some believed the girls may have been harmed at home or nearby and someone panicked. The extensive searches of rivers, landfills, and abandoned buildings made this unlikely, but investigators kept the possibility in mind when no stronger evidence emerged from other leads.

Contradictions have fueled uncertainty. Accounts of screams, a van near the alley, and babysitting arrangements involving relatives were all investigated but never confirmed. A retired detective later admitted the case remained unusual because almost every reported detail was challenged by someone, leaving no clear explanation to move forward.

What are the latest Tionda and Diamond Bradley updates in 2025, including DNA results?

In the absence of answers, the Bradley family never stopped searching. “It’s hard to go through life knowing that you have loved ones out there that you have no idea where they are,” said Aunt April Jackson, who continues to work on child safety efforts in the community.

Relatives organized searches across the Midwest, handed out flyers, and followed up on tips. Each July 6 they hold a vigil for Diamond and Tionda, asking for their safe return or for closure. The anniversaries keep attention on the case when official leads slow or stall.

In 2019, a young woman in Texas claimed to be Diamond Bradley. She provided a DNA cheek swab and fingerprints and described memories of being in a car with Tionda before being separated. DNA results disproved the claim. Another impostor surfaced that same year, reopening wounds and offering no answers.

“It’s been heartbreaking. It will lift you up and slam you back down,” Sheliah Bradley-Smith said of those false alarms. The family returned to waiting and pushing for information, determined to keep the sisters’ names visible to anyone who might remember something useful.

In 2021, on the twentieth anniversary, the case was assigned to a new cold case homicide detective and remained open. Agents coordinated on a new tip that was not made public. The following years brought fresh attention through documentaries and podcasts, including ID’s Disappeared, which introduced the case to new audiences.

Age-progressed images have become a key tool. In July 2025, new renderings showed Diamond as a 23-year-old woman and Tionda as a 30-year-old woman. The updates noted identifying features, including Tionda’s quarter-sized scar on her left forearm and Diamond’s scar on her scalp, in hopes someone might recognize them.

Private investigator P. Foster, who has worked with the family since the beginning, said, “We’re looking for that next small piece, and I do believe somebody out there has that information.” The family believes updated images and steady public reminders can still prompt a crucial tip.

Two decades after the disappearance, uncertainty remains. “Nobody’s prosecuted. Nobody’s in jail. But the girls are still gone,” Sheliah said at a recent vigil, urging prosecutors to revisit the case if new evidence emerges. Chicago police said Area One detectives will follow up on every tip. “At this juncture, there are no new leads.”

If you’re interested in other unresolved disappearances, you can also read about the Kelly Disney case in Oregon and the disappearance of Beatriz Winck in Brazil. Both families, like the Bradleys, are still waiting for answers years later.

Anyone with information about the disappearance of Diamond and Tionda Bradley is urged to contact the Chicago Police Department’s Area One Special Victims Unit at 312-747-8380. Tips can also be submitted to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or through the online tip form at tips.fbi.gov. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can be reached at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

Common questions people still ask about the Bradley sisters