Authorities in the Bahamas have taken a man into custody in connection with the case of a Michigan woman who was reported lost at sea.
Authorities said the man is “currently being questioned” in connection with the disappearance of 56-year-old Lynette Hooker of Onstead, in Lenawee County. According to USA Today, the arrested man is Lynette’s husband, Brian Hooker.
The arrest comes four days after Lynette Hooker went missing during an evening boat ride from Hope Town to Elbow Cay.
Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, previously told The Detroit News she found her mother’s disappearance “suspicious.”
“It’s just hard to believe that she would just fall overboard,” she said, noting that her mother and stepfather were avid boaters who had been living on their vessel during a monthlong stay in the Caribbean.
A person who answered Aylesworth’s phone Wednesday night said they did not yet have confirmation that Brian Hooker was the man in police custody.
Royal Bahamas Police identified the man held as a 59-year-old American man who was brought into custody Wednesday evening in the town of Marsh Harbour, on the island of Abaco.
Brian Hooker had reported to the Royal Bahamas Police Force that he and his wife departed from Hope Town at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday aboard an 8-foot dinghy, destined for Elbow Cay.
Officials said he told police that Lynette went overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel’s engine to shut off. He reported that she was carried away by strong currents until he could no longer see her.
Brian Hooker paddled the dinghy to shore, which took hours, police said.
He arrived at the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard around 4 a.m. on Sunday. There, he informed a person about the incident. That individual then alerted the police, according to authorities.
“I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas,” Brian Hooker wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. “Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”
The couple had documented their sailing trips to places like Miami Beach, Key West, Lake Michigan and the recent trip to the Bahamas for years on their social media accounts.
But Aylesworth has described the couple’s relationship as volatile and told news outlets it involved domestic violence, USA Today reported.
Royal Bahamas police said search-and-rescue efforts have included professional divers, drone technology and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The effort is now considered a “recovery operation,” a Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue official told NBC News.
Lynette’s loved ones have set up a GoFundMe effort to assist with expenses related to the ongoing search or to help lay her to rest if she is found.
Police have asked anyone with information about the case to contact 911, Crime Stoppers, their nearest police station or other authorities.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan man arrested in wife’s disappearance during Bahamas boat trip
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
