The US Coast Guard on Wednesday launched a criminal investigation into the disappearance of an American woman who went overboard near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.
Authorities are searching for Lynette Hooker, 55, after she went overboard late Saturday night while she was on a dinghy boat with her husband, Brian Hooker.
Brian Hooker, 59, said his wife fell from the boat late Saturday night during inclement weather and rough seas.
Earlier Wednesday, Lynette Hooker’s daughter shared a voicemail her stepfather left her after her mother disappeared.
Brian Hooker did not sound distressed or upset.
“I found the flotation device that I threw to mom after she went overboard,” Brian Hooker said.
AUDIO:
Lynette Hooker’s daughter is sharing a voicemail she says her stepfather left after her mother vanished during a boat trip in the Bahamas as she questions his account of what happened at sea. Authorities have now shifted to a recovery operation for the 55-year-old Michigan… pic.twitter.com/3WrSAZYLZ3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 8, 2026
On Wednesday evening, police took Brian Hooker into custody for questioning.
NBC News reported:
A man was in custody Wednesday in connection with the disappearance of an American woman whose husband said she fell from a boat in the Bahamas, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Earlier Wednesday, an official with the U.S. Coast Guard said the military branch opened a criminal investigation into her disappearance.
The official declined further comment about the weekend disappearance of Lynette Hooker, 55.
Brian Hooker has said his wife fell in the water Saturday night during rough seas on a dinghy ride from Hope Town to Elbow Cay.
The police force said a 59-year-old American was being questioned after being taken into custody shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday in Marsh Harbour, a town in Abaco Islands.
The police force did not identify the man in its news release, nor did it name Lynette Hooker, but provided details about the case the aligned with information about her disappearance.
Local authorities said Tuesday that the effort to find her was a “recovery operation.”
Brian Hooker, the husband of Lynette Hooker, who went missing in the Bahamas during a nighttime boat ride with him, is speaking out for the first time as the search enters its fourth day. pic.twitter.com/eMb1Fas3sf
— CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) April 8, 2026
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