Everything we know after woman vanishes from Holland America cruise as police issue major update

Police have issued a major update after a US woman disappeared from a cruise ship last week.

The Netflix documentary about missing woman Amy Bradley who vanished near Curaçao earlier this year has seen renewed interest in cruise ships and their mysteries.

Earlier this month, an 18-year-old high school student Anna Kepner died onboard a Carnival Cruise ship.

Now, all eyes are on the Caribbean once more after a 55-year-old American woman has become the latest to disappear.

Ann Evans, a passenger on the Holland America ship Rotterdam, was reported missing on Thursday November 20 during a stop in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.

She reportedly left the ship at 10 am for an organized island tour.

The cruise ship was docked in St Martin when Ann Evans went missing (Majaiva/Getty Images)

It is believed she got off the tour bus in Marigot, on the French side of Sint Maarten, and never returned, as per her missing person's report. They directly addressed Evans, should she see the alert, telling her to contact her family or authorities and confirm she is safe.

Naturally, the case had quickly gained traction online, as questions mounted about what exactly happened after Evans left the tour. And on Thursday (November 27), police issued a major update on the situation.

They revealed that a woman matching Evans’ description checked into a hotel on the French side using her passport. She has also reportedly been spotted in the area around the hotel.

Police are now working with both French and Dutch authorities to confirm whether the woman is indeed Evans.

Ann Evans was a Holland America Line passenger (Aquatarkus/Getty Images)

Sint Maarten located in the northeastern Caribbean, around 190 miles east of Puerto Rico. The south of the island is Dutch territory while the north belongs to the French.

With 34 square miles of land mass, it is the smallest inhabited island in the world shared by two nations.

A Holland America Line spokesperson told Newsweek: "A guest on Holland America Line’s Rotterdam did not return to the ship on November 20 following a visit to Philipsburg, Sint Maarten.

"We notified local authorities immediately and we are working closely with them to confirm the guest’s whereabouts.

"Rotterdam is on a 12-day Caribbean voyage which departed Fort Lauderdale November 16.”

According to its website, the cruise liner's Rotterdam ship hosts 2,668 guests across six types of cabins, from the Inside through to the Neptune Suite.

The island is visited by roughly two million cruise tourists each year, according to Panama magazine. Travelers are drawn to the island's white sand beaches, nightlife and duty-free shopping.