Police in the Bahamas said Wednesday they have arrested the husband of 55-year-old Michigan woman Lynette Hooker, who vanished during a boat trip around the islands.
Authorities said the 59-year-old man, Brian Hooker, was arrested in Abaco and is being questioned. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that police have opened a criminal investigation. It’s not immediately clear if he has been charged, but he was taken into custody as a suspect, police confirmed.
He was arrested “for additional questioning based on some probable cause we have,” Royal Bahamas Police Force Assistant Commissioner Advardo Dames told Reuters.
Brian Hooker “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing” in his wife’s disappearance, his lawyer, Terrel Butler, said in a statement. “He has been cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.”
The suspect had previously told the authorities that his wife fell off the hard-bottomed rubber dinghy the pair were travelling on over the weekend.
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The woman and her husband were travelling from Hope Town to Elbow Cay at about 7:30 p.m. when she disappeared, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a news release on Sunday.
“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” it said.
Her husband, Brian Hooker, paddled for hours back to shore, where he told authorities she fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the engine to shut off.
Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, told the AP on Wednesday she was “glad” the arrest had been made, but that she wants to hear what her son-in-law, who has been married to her daughter for more than 20 years, has to say.
“I’m going to be interested in what he says, because I haven’t heard from him in almost two days,” Hamlett said.
“Our family grew up on water and so Lynette her whole life has been near lakes, on boats, sailing and swimming,” Hamlett said. “It would be a miracle if (she’s rescued), but I’m still counting on one.”
Aerial view of Hope Town, Great Abaco Island, Bahamas.
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In an interview on Tuesday, Karli Aylesworth, Lynette’s daughter, told NBC News that her mother was an experienced sailor, making it unlikely she would “just fall” off the dinghy.
She also claimed that the married couple had a tumultuous relationship and a history of arguing, especially if they had been consuming alcohol.
The couple, both avid sailors with years of experience, documented their journeys on social media as “The Sailing Hookers.”
On Wednesday morning, Brian Hooker wrote on Facebook that he is “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.”
“Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart,” he wrote. “We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”
The U.S. Coast Guard has also joined the investigation and interviewed Aylesworth on Wednesday, according to her lawyer, Ron Marienfeld.
“We are pleased to see it is being investigated, and hopefully more answers will come to give the family some closure,” Marienfeld said via email.
Bahamian police said search operations and investigative efforts remain active.
— With files from The Associated Press
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