Key facts
- Names: Tionda Z. Bradley (10) and Diamond Yvette Bradley (3)
- Born: Tionda circa 1991; Diamond circa 1998
- Ages at disappearance: 10 and 3
- Last seen: July 6, 2001
- Location: Bronzeville, Chicago, Illinois (family apartment near 35th and Cottage Grove; last seen near 3526 South Lake Park Avenue)
- Height / build: Tionda — quarter-sized scar on left arm; Diamond — scar on left side of head at hairline
- Status: Still missing — FBI reward of up to $10,000
- Case numbers: NamUs MP2394 (Tionda); NamUs MP2419 (Diamond)
- Investigating agency: Chicago Police Department; FBI
The note on the back of the couch
When Tracey Bradley came home from work on the morning of July 6, 2001, the apartment was silent.
Her two youngest daughters — Tionda, 10, and Diamond, 3 — were supposed to be there. Tracey had left for her job at the nearby Robert Taylor Homes complex around 6:30 that morning, where she prepared breakfast and lunch for residents. Her older daughters, Rita, 12, and Victoria, 9, had spent the night at their grandmother’s. Tionda and Diamond had the apartment to themselves.
On the back of the couch, Tracey found a note. It said, in essence, that the girls had gone to the store and to the school playground nearby. It was believed to have been written by Tionda.
But something about it was wrong. Family members would later tell Dateline that the spelling and grammar seemed too perfect, too advanced, for a 10-year-old. And it wasn’t like Tionda to leave a note at all — if she were going somewhere, she would have just called her mother.
The girls were gone. Twenty-five years later, they are still gone.
Who they were
The Bradleys lived in Bronzeville, on Chicago’s South Side — a working family in a third-floor apartment near 35th and Cottage Grove. Tracey Bradley, then 32, was raising four daughters. Tionda was the responsible one, the second-oldest, the kind of kid her family trusted. Diamond was three years old — a toddler.
The next day was supposed to be Victoria’s birthday. Her sisters Rita and Victoria were at their grandmother’s for the night. Tionda and Diamond would never make it to the party.
The largest search in Chicago history
What followed, investigators have said, may have been the largest missing-persons search in Chicago’s history — and one of the longest continuous searches in the nation.
Hundreds of Chicago police officers, federal agents, and civilian volunteers spent days checking sewers, lagoons, abandoned buildings, and factories across the South Side. They interviewed nearly 100 registered sex offenders living in the area. Divers went into the water. Dogs worked the neighborhood. Surveillance recordings from area stores were examined for any confirmed footage of the girls. None was found.
There were strange, painful false leads. Reports of possible playground sightings. A disputed voicemail attributed to Tionda. Over the years, several people claimed to be one of the sisters; each claim was disproven. The FBI put up a reward of up to $10,000 for information on the sisters’ whereabouts. To mark the 20th anniversary in 2021, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released age-progression photos: Tionda at 30, Diamond at 23.
“To have to wait in limbo like this,” the girls’ great-aunt Sheliah Bradley Smith said. “Nobody said nothing. Nobody’s prosecuted. Nobody’s in jail. But the girls are still gone.”
“We’re still in limbo,” she told Dateline. “Nobody has said anything. Nobody has been arrested. Nothing. But the girls are still gone.”
The family has said they believe there were primary suspects — one, possibly two family members — who had access to the girls the day they vanished. No one has ever been charged.
Theories: what might have happened
Abduction by someone known to the family. This is where the family’s own suspicion has settled: that one or two people with access to the apartment took the girls, and that the too-perfect note was written to buy time. Supporting it: the note’s oddly advanced wording, the absence of any confirmed sighting at the store or playground, and the sheer completeness of the vanishing from a busy neighborhood in daylight. Undercutting it: no suspect has ever been named publicly, no forensic evidence has been announced, and no one has been charged in a quarter-century.
Abduction by a stranger. Possible — two small girls, a third-floor apartment, a summer morning. But a stranger would have had to enter the apartment, take both children without a sound, and leave a note in a child’s hand. Investigators examined that scenario exhaustively in the first weeks and found nothing to sustain it.
The note is genuine. If Tionda really did write the note and the girls really did go to the store and playground, then something happened to them out in the neighborhood — and the massive search simply missed it. Against this: no confirmed footage or witness ever placed them at either location.
Have information?
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information on the current whereabouts of Tionda and Diamond Bradley. Contact the Chicago Police Department at (312) 745-5020, the FBI Chicago Field Office at (312) 421-6700, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST). In an emergency, dial 911.
Timeline
- Circa 1991 / 1998 — Tionda and Diamond Bradley are born in Chicago.
- July 5, 2001 — Sisters Rita and Victoria spend the night at their grandmother’s.
- July 6, 2001, ~6:30 a.m. — Tracey Bradley leaves for work; Tionda and Diamond are home.
- July 6, 2001, late morning — Tracey returns to find the girls gone and a note on the couch.
- July 2001 — One of the largest missing-person searches in Chicago history; sewers, lagoons, and abandoned buildings checked.
- 2001–present — FBI $10,000 reward posted; false claims of identity disproven; no arrests.
- July 2021 — NCMEC releases age-progression photos for the 20th anniversary.
- Today — Still missing.
FAQ
Are Tionda and Diamond Bradley still missing?
Yes. As of October 2026, the Bradley sisters have been missing for 25 years. Both remain listed as missing by the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Were Tionda and Diamond Bradley ever found?
No. Despite one of the largest searches in Chicago history, no confirmed trace of either sister has ever been found.
How old would Tionda and Diamond Bradley be today?
Tionda was 10 in July 2001 — she would be 35 in 2026. Diamond was 3 — she would be 28 in 2026.
What did the note say?
The note, believed to have been written by Tionda, said the girls had gone to a nearby store and school playground. Family members told Dateline the wording seemed too advanced for a 10-year-old, and that Tionda would normally have called her mother rather than leaving a note.
Is there a reward in the Bradley sisters case?
Yes. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information regarding the current whereabouts of Tionda and Diamond Bradley.
How can I help?
Share this case file. Contact the Chicago Police Department at (312) 745-5020 or the FBI Chicago Field Office at (312) 421-6700 with any information.
Sources
- Official / law enforcement: Federal Bureau of Investigation — case listings for Tionda Bradley and Diamond Bradley (reward up to $10,000); NamUs MP2394 and MP2419; NCMEC age-progression releases (2021).
- News: Dateline (20th-anniversary coverage, via family interviews); Chicago-area coverage of the 2001 search.
- Reference: Unsolved Black Cases — “Diamond and Tionda Bradley” case file (unsolvedblackcases.com).
- Media: Voices Left Behind podcast (“Tionda and Diamond Bradley: A Note Was Left Behind,” 2026); The Missing Found podcast (Bradley sisters episodes).
Found an error? Tell us via the About page and we will fix it promptly and note the change here. Last verified October 2026.