$10,000 reward offered for information about Blaine woman who went missing 30 years ago

Kristi Miller, Pioneer Press
·4 min read

A $10,000 reward has been offered for information about the disappearance of a Blaine woman 30 years ago.

At the time Tamara Bradley disappeared in 1994, she was 30 years old. She left a 5-year-old son, who is now 35.

Bradley’s sister Therese Olsen believes that Bradley was murdered and now is asking the public for help in finding her sister’s remains so there can be some form of closure.

“Our mom kept vigil for Tamara every day of her life until she passed away (in December 2019),” Olsen said. “For nearly 30 years, Tamara’s killer has lived a life of relative freedom while she was denied hers. Without a body, there can be no closure, only futile hope. The emotional pain we endure is a form of psychological torture.”

Olsen gave the following details of her sister’s disappearance:

On Friday, Sept. 30, 1994, Bradley left work. A colleague who saw her said the 30-year-old was in a good mood and had talked about her plans to look for housing in Stillwater over the weekend.

On her way home from work, she stopped on her normal route along East River Road in Fridley to buy cigarettes at a convenience store. This was the last known sighting of Bradley.

Her 5-year-old son spent weekends with his noncustodial father in Blaine. On Friday afternoons, Bradley would swing by and visit her son, who was with his father’s family. But on that Friday, she never arrived.

On Sunday, Oct. 2, she didn’t pick up her son as scheduled. When Bradley’s mother found out, she called hospitals and impound lots looking for Bradley or her car. On Monday morning, their mother called Olsen. She was distraught and said, “Terri, I can’t find Tami.”

“It’s the kind of phone call you never want to get,” Olsen said. “My sister vanished and inexplicably left behind her 5-year-old son who was in the care of his noncustodial father. As details began to emerge, it quickly became clear to us that Tamara was a victim of foul play and there were suspects and witnesses.”

Bradley was officially reported missing on Monday, Oct. 3, 1994.

The next day, Bradley’s silver 1988 Buick Century Custom sedan was found “suspiciously parked in a tow-away zone in front of the Minneapolis Greyhound Bus Terminal, where it could easily be stolen,” Olsen said.

When Bradley’s car was found, her sister said, the doors were unlocked, the keys in the ignition with her house keys on the same keyring, three paychecks and a child-support check were on the dashboard and the driver’s seat was fully extended back.

“To accommodate a tall person,” her sister said, noting that Bradley was 5 feet, 3 inches tall and weighed 135 pounds.

“She wasn’t the last person to drive her car,” Olsen said.

Bradley’s bank card was “found on the walkway of the Camden Bridge (in Minneapolis) that crosses the Mississippi River.”

“There is no evidence that Tamara bought a bus ticket and got on a Greyhound bus. There is less evidence that Tamara left of her own accord,” her sister wrote.

Bradley worked in accounting at Federal Foam Technologies.

The CEO and president of the company, Wyman Smith, offered a $10,000 reward for information leading “to the recovery of Tamara’s remains or the filing of criminal charges against any person(s) involved in her disappearance.”

“This year marks the 30th anniversary of her disappearance and foul play is suspected,” Smith wrote, saying Bradley was a valued employee of his company.

Noting that Bradley’s son grew up without knowing his mother, Smith wrote that “Tamara’s family believes there are people who know the circumstances around Tamara’s suspicious disappearance and where her remains are located.”

Police say her disappearance is still considered an active missing-persons case.

“Tami Bradley was reported missing after not returning home from work almost 30 years ago,” wrote Capt. Mark Boerboom, public information officer with the Blaine Police Department.

The department has “revisited the case file and reached out to other experts for outside examination several times over the years,” he said.

Any information “even if you think the information may not be important, could help in finding Ms. Bradley,” he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Orin Christensen at 763-717-2665 or email ochristensen@blainemn.gov, or submit your tip through crimestoppersmn.org.

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