“New hope in the case of two Chicago sisters who have been missing for almost two decades now. Diamond and Tanda Bradley were last seen near their southside apartment back in 2001. Well, recently, a woman contacted their family with a surprising claim. Here’s John Garcia with the story that’s new at 4:30.”
“She pretty much said that she’s T, and she showed me pictures of some children that one is supposed to be hers and the other one is supposed to be Diamond.”
In 2001, 10-year-old Tonda Bradley and her three-year-old sister Diamond vanished from their home, seemingly without a trace. Their disappearance sparked one of the biggest manhunts in Chicago history. Today, we are going to focus on their story.
Tander and Diamond Bradley were born to Tracy Bradley and lived in an apartment in Bronzeville, Chicago, Illinois. Diamond’s father was said to be a man named George Washington. Washington was involved in a dispute with Tracy over his possible paternity. Despite this, he and Tracy were on and off for a long time. Tonda’s father remains unconfirmed and unclear.
Tracy Bradley was the single mother of four girls. And Tracy’s family always helped out babysitting and supporting her as she raised her daughters. As well as her family, there was a neighbor and good friend of Tracy who lived in the same building, and he supported her, too. His name was also George—George Senior.
10-year-old Tonda was described by one of her sisters as very outspoken and honest around her family. Someone that had a strong sense of right and wrong and was very intelligent for her age. Around people she didn’t know, however, she was much more reserved. Tonda loved nothing more than writing, riding her bike, dancing, and gymnastics, putting herself up to be in every school talent show.
Younger sister Diamond was three. She followed her older sister Tonda and mother around everywhere. Her sister Rita said she would jump from couch to couch and had bundles of energy. Tonda was fiercely protective of her little sister, and the pair had a very close relationship.
On July 5th, 2001, Tanda and Diamond’s other two sisters, Rita and Victoria, left the apartment to stay with their grandmother for the night. Tracy stayed home with Tanda and Diamond. Allegedly also at the apartment was Washington, who spent the night there, too. They had all been planning a camping trip and were set to celebrate Victoria’s birthday in a couple of days.
The following morning, July 6th, according to Tracy, she awoke before 6:00 a.m., kissed both of her girls goodbye before leaving for work at Robert Taylor Park, where she prepared lunches for children in a summer program. She said she left the apartment secure and locked, and Tonda was asked to watch over Diamond and, as always, was given strict instructions not to open the door to anybody.
Washington also left with Tracy and dropped her off at work. Most reports state that Tracy and Washington left the apartment at around 6:30 a.m. Tracy used a phone at work to call the apartment sometime between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m., but the call went unanswered. She said she was concerned but told herself her girls must have fallen back to sleep.
When Tracy’s shift finished just before noon, she returned to the apartment with Washington again after he had picked her up. She called out her daughters’ names but got no response. Tanda and Diamond were nowhere to be seen. Tracy panicked and asked Washington to help her look for the girls, but he left and drove away in his car.
A small pile of clothes was left on the couch alongside a handwritten note. It was written by 10-year-old Tonda. The note said that she and Diamond had gone to the nearby school playground and a local store and would be back soon. Tracy said her girls would never have left the apartment without her telling them they could, and they wouldn’t have opened the door to any unknown person, and the rest of the Bradley family agreed.
Tracy said she searched for hours that day, panicking that if she phoned the police, she would be in trouble for leaving her children alone, and this may have resulted in her other girls being taken away. However, at around 6:30 p.m., 12 hours after she had last seen them, she called 911. She initially panicked and told the police that she had simply taken a nap and woken up to realize they were missing. But after more questioning, she told them that she had left them alone to go to work.
At the time of the girls’ disappearance, Tonda was enrolled in summer school classes at Doolittle Elementary School, but school officials confirmed she was definitely absent that day. Several children in the neighborhood stated the sisters were seen playing outside their apartment at around 12:00 p.m. Other children told the police they saw the two girls at the school playground at around lunchtime. Authorities didn’t fully feel these claims could be substantiated, however, and worried the children that said they saw the girls may have got the days and times confused.
In the beginning of the investigation, a rotating crew of 100 detectives worked around the clock searching everywhere from sewers and lagoons to abandoned buildings and factories. They questioned more than 100 registered sex offenders in the area, and more than 30 relatives were interviewed and then re-interviewed. Almost a thousand tips came in. Psychics claimed to know the location of the girls’ bodies, while other people said the girls were being held as sex slaves in a small town in Illinois. Another tip said that the man who some people think may be Tanda’s father, who was from Morocco, had kidnapped both girls and taken them overseas. But all of these leads went nowhere.
Investigators believe whoever was involved knew the girls and, in turn, the girls trusted the person or persons implicitly. Their aunt Faith agreed and said that Tonda would not have opened the door for a stranger. In Chicago in 2001, at the time the girls went missing, there had only been five cases of abductions at the hands of strangers within the 15 years prior. Statistically, and with all the information put together, many people just didn’t believe it was a random abduction.
One day, when Tracy was being questioned by Chicago police, a vital piece of evidence was brought to light. Tracy had left her phone with family members while she was speaking with detectives, and a few people decided to check her voicemail. A voicemail had been left on the phone by 10-year-old Tonda on the morning she and her sister had disappeared. On that morning, Tracy’s cell phone wasn’t with her, according to family members. It was with Tanda and Diamond’s grandmother. It is understood that the voicemail said:
“Mama, this is T. Mom, pick up the phone. George is at the door. Can I open the door? He said that we’re going to Jewels to pick up the cake there. We’re coming to pick you up from work.”
This cake was for her sister Victoria’s birthday. That was the following day. It is unclear whether Tonda was referring to George Washington or the family’s neighbor George Senior, but George was the name heard on the recording by 10 family members. For unknown reasons, this voicemail would…
For unknown reasons, the sender, once cooperative, suddenly stopped engaging with the police and no longer wanted to give information.
In 2017, private investigator James Miller, who had dedicated so many years to trying to find the girls, passed away after a battle with cancer. Tander and Diamond’s family were devastated and didn’t feel it would be as easy as someone simply carrying on on his behalf due to the amount he had personally put into the case.
“Revy, it’s hard to believe that it’s been 18 years since Diamond and T Bradley went missing. In part because their family has kept their disappearance in the public eye, holding yearly vigils on this date, hoping that one day the tip will come in that finally brings them home. The sisters’ disappearance is still one of Chicago’s biggest unsolved mysteries.”
“Lord, we thank you. Lord, we thank you.”
And yet, it’s a mystery their family refuses to let go of, gathering as they do year upon year on this date to remember them. Their story kept in the public eye to remind people that Diamond and T were never found, in the hopes that someday someone with knowledge of what happened to them will break their silence.
“I can go out on a limb and say we have a pot on a stove, but the pot on the stove, in order to get it cooking, we need the gas. And there’s somebody out there that has that information that we consider to be the gas to get this… get this, uh, this criminal prosecution or give us information on where these girls are at. The information is out there.”
Detective Ed Carroll, a Chicago police veteran for 26 years, worked the case on and off until his retirement in 2013. He said:
“Almost every case I’ve ever worked, especially the violent crimes, you’re always able to either include someone or exclude someone, and this was the only case I worked in my entire career where I couldn’t exclude anyone or include anyone.”
In 2019, Shalia posted on the Missing Diamond and Tonda Bradley Facebook page, pleading for the girls to come home. Shalia said a woman responded saying, “We’re trying.” Through a series of messages, Shalia said she went on to say that she was Tonda and that she and Diamond had been together this entire time, that they both have kids, and Diamond is in college. The woman was willing to take a DNA test to prove she was Tonda.
“New hope in the case of two Chicago sisters who have been missing for almost two decades now. Diamond and Tanda Bradley were last seen near their Southside apartment back in 2001. Well, recently, a woman contacted their family with a surprising claim. Here’s John Garcia with the story that’s new at 4:30.”
“She pretty much said that she’s Tanda, and she showed me pictures of some children that one is supposed to be hers and the other one is supposed to be Diamond.”
The woman in Texas goes by the name Lelay Rodriguez on Facebook. She communicated with me earlier today when I asked if she is Tanda Bradley. She said yes. She does not say whether she is going to get a DNA test but asked me not to contact her anymore. She went on to say that she was Kanda, that her and Diamond had been together all this time. They both have children. Diamond is in college.
“So I was asking questions about, you know, birthmarks, scars, what happened, how did you end up there? I think she detected that I was skeptical, and she got a little upset. She did.”
“She says, ‘Uh, unto you of all people should know this is me.’”
But this was nothing more than a cruel hoax. Every year, the family holds a vigil on the anniversary of their disappearance to honor the girls and hopefully spark more interest in the case.
“Dominant.”
“Tot.”
Disclaimer : This content may be created by AI for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
