Amelia Bambridge’s mother wants her daughter’s case reopened
LINDA BAMBRIDGE WANTS THE DEATH OF HER DAUGHTER REINVESTIGATED
Saying goodbye to my 21- year-old daughter Amelia at Gatwick airport, I felt excited for her, but nervous. “Don’t worry, Mum, I’ll be fine,” she said, giving me a hug. It’s natural for any parent to worry about their child going off on a gap year. However, I was confident Amelia would be fine. For two years, she’d been saving and had spent months planning her itinerary. Her first stop would be Vietnam, where her dad Phil lives. We separated in 2008, and he’d visit the UK about once a year, so Amelia was excited to spend time with him. After that tearful, but happy, goodbye at Gatwick in October 2019, I went back home to Worthing and Amelia kept in touch daily. For two weeks, she and Phil travelled around Vietnam and Cambodia, before he flew back to Vietnam, leaving Amelia in Phnom Penh. Her next stop was Koh Rong – a tiny island off Cambodia. The next day, Amelia sent a text to say she had arrived safely, and that she’d bumped into an old school friend –they’d reconnected over Facebook. On 24 October, she said she was going to a beach party that evening, her last night on the island. “Have fun! Lots of love xx,” I texted
The next day at 3pm, I got a message from Amelia’s school friend. He said Amelia hadn’t shown up to catch the 12pm ferry, and no one had seen her since 3am at the beach party. It was now 10pm on Koh Rong, so she’d been missing for 14 hours. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. Trying not to panic, I called the hostel in Koh Rong, but was horrified when the owner didn’t seem concerned – they had moved Amelia’s belongings, so another guest could check in. It was impossible to get more information, and being stuck on the other side of the world was too much to bear. “I’ve got to go to Cambodia and find her,” I told Amelia’s siblings, who were as worried as me. We packed our suitcases and took the next flight to Cambodia. We met Phil on Koh Rong, as well as Amelia’s brother Harry, 29, who came from LA. During the long flight, I tried not to break down, reasoning that maybe Amelia had got lost on the way back to her hostel and suffered a fall.
By the time I arrived, Amelia had been missing for 72 hours, and Harry and Phil were assisting with the search. But as far as I could see, the local police weren’t taking the case seriously enough.
The British Foreign Office had sent an interpreter, but they offered little more help. Amelia’s bag containing her purse, phone and bank cards had been found on rocks on the beach near where the party
was held – the last time she’d been on her phone was 3.23am. Security footage showed Amelia and her friends walking to the party at 9pm, but there was none of her returning.
Over the next few days, six local men, some of whom worked in the bars, were questioned but released without charge. Several times, we asked the police to see the interview transcripts, but we never got them. The suspicion was that Amelia had drowned, and divers were scouring the shoreline. Back home, Amelia’s sisters Sharon, 35, and Georgie, 20, were raising awareness on social media, and the UK press was circulating her story. Then, six days after Amelia’s disappearance, Harry phoned. “I’m sorry,” he said. “They’ve found Amelia’s body.” I went numb as he explained she’d been found 30 miles off shore by local fisherman. I’d been clinging to hope that Amelia would turn up alive – now my worst nightmare had come true. Harry and Phil identified Amelia’s body, and over the next two days, an Australian coroner performed an autopsy and concluded Amelia died from accidental drowning. He reassured us there were no signs of a struggle or other injuries, which brought some comfort. But something didn’t seem right, so we requested samples be sent to the UK for toxicology tests. As Amelia’s body had been in the water so long, we had to cremate her in Phnom Penh before we returned to the UK. Back in Worthing, we held a church service, where hundreds of people came to pay their respects. The grief hit us all hard.
In March 2020, the toxicology report revealed Amelia had ecstasy and MDA in her system when she died. There was also GHB, known as the “date-rape drug”. I’m now convinced her drink was spiked – I imagine it made her feel unwell, so she went down to the rocks to sit for a while and fainted before getting swept away.
With the help of Sussex Police, we sent the toxicology reports to the Cambodian police, urging them to reopen the case, but we’ve heard nothing back. The beach parties on Koh Rong have a reputation for drug use and other illegal behaviour, but the authorities seem to turn a blind eye to it. There’s no police station on the island, nor emergency services – nothing but hostels promoting beach parties. Sadly, backpackers go to these islands thinking that they’re safe. Our family believe someone is responsible for Amelia’s death, and we’re determined to find out what happened. That’s why we are calling on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to pressure Cambodian police into revisiting Amelia’s case. We also want to warn other backpackers travelling to this region to be more vigilant. We’ve been through hell, and I don’t think we’ll ever come to terms with it. I can’t even bring myself to scatter her ashes yet. But despite losing her in such terrible circumstances, our happy memories of Amelia will never fade.