Crime & Safety
MI Husband Arrested After Wife's Disappearance At Sea In Bahamas
Police said the woman and her husband were riding a small dinghy when he said she fell overboard and was carried out to sea.
The husband of a missing Michigan woman in the Bahamas was arrested in connection with her disappearance, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said late Wednesday.
Police said the 59-year-old man was arrested shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday in Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands, and was being questioned.
They did not release any other details, including whether he was charged.
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Lynette Hooker, 56, of Lenawee County, has been missing at sea since her husband, Brian Hooker, told police she fell from their small dinghy and was swept away by the ocean current last weekend in the Bahamas, according to police.
Brian told police they were riding to Elbow Cay on the Bahamian island of Abaco when Lynette fell overboard. He said the strong currents carried her out to sea, and he lost sight of her, according to police.
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Brian said Lynette also had the keys to the boat, so he had to paddle back to shore hours later, where he told a person what had happened, according to reports.
Lynette's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told multiple national news outlets that she believes something may have happened to her mom.
She said that Brian has a history of being violent towards her mother, including threatening to "throw her overboard."
Just hours before he was arrested, Brian posted to Facebook that he was "heartbroken" over his wife’s disappearance.
"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," he wrote in the message.
Through his lawyer, Brian has denied any wrongdoing and rejected claims made by Lynette Hooker’s daughter, NBC News reported.
"Mr. Hooker categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing and in particular the allegations recently made by Karli Aylesworth. He has been cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation," the statement read.
Bahamas and U.S. officials and volunteers were still searching for Lynette as the investigation continues.
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