A missing American who reportedly went overboard in the Bahamas has been identified as a Michigan woman
Police say they are looking for an American woman who went missing on Saturday in the Bahamas. The woman’s husband told authorities that his wife had gone missing after falling off their boat and washed into the sea.
The missing woman was identified Monday as Lynette Hooker of Michigan, according to Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Her husband, Brian Hooker, reported that he and his wife, both of US origin, left Hope Town for Elbow Cay on the Bahamian island of Abaco around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. They left in an 8-meter-long boat, police said.
Search and rescue efforts have turned into a search and rescue operation, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said on Wednesday.
Brian Hooker told police that his wife fell overboard with the keys to the boat, which turned off the engine. He said that the strong waves took him out to sea, and he was not seen again, according to the police. Brian Hooker rowed the boat to shore, arriving a few hours later at the Marsh Harbor Boat Yard at 4 a.m. Sunday.
“Obviously he got out of the boat,” Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief Troy Pritchard told CBS News on Monday.
Lynette Hooker was wearing a black bathing suit at the time, officials said.
Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, said she had “very little information” about her mother’s case and called for a “deep review of the facts and circumstances” surrounding it.
“My concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure there is a full and thorough investigation into her disappearance,” Aylesworth told CBS News.
“There have been issues in the past that have been presented to me, which may be important to any serious investigation,” he said. “If this was really an accident, I can understand it and live with it. However, the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident need to be reviewed in detail before that can be determined.”
Aylesworth he told CBS News that Brian and Lynette Hooker had separated and gotten back together in recent years. Brian Hooker declined to answer questions about the investigation when contacted by CBS News on Tuesday but has addressed his wife’s disappearance in a statement on social media.
“I am saddened by the recent boating accident at sea which was unexpected and strong winds caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small boat near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas,” he said. “Despite the hard efforts to reach him, the winds and currents have separated us too much. We are still searching for him and that is my focus.”
He also thanked the authorities and volunteers who participated in the search effort.
Police say Brian Hooker told his other wife he was missing when he arrived at the boat yard, and that person notified authorities. Police continued to search the surrounding area, with the assistance of members of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and Hope Town fire officials.
“Our American partners, volunteers, the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force are assisting with this,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force told CBS News in a statement. The US Coast Guard Miami Sector also provided air support to Bahamian authorities in their search on Sunday.
Police are asking members of the public who may have information related to this investigation to report what they know to law enforcement, or submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers.
The US State Department warned of potentially deadly problems for boaters in the Bahamas in a travel advisory issued in March 2025, saying “boating is not well regulated” in the islands, and “injuries and deaths have occurred.” The advisory also warned that watercraft, such as jet skis, may come from unlicensed operators who “sometimes ignore weather forecasts.” It encouraged travelers to “constantly follow local weather and marine warnings.”
