Husband arrested after claiming American woman fell overboard in Bahamas
· Toronto Sun
A man who said his wife fell from a boat into Bahamian waters over the weekend has been arrested.
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Brian Hooker, 59, was taken into custody in connection with the disappearance of Lynette Hooker, 55, his attorney Terrel A. Butler said in a statement, per NBC News .
This comes after the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a news release that a man had been arrested on Wednesday evening in Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands, and was being questioned.
Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, had raised alarms , telling various media outlets that it didn’t “make any sense” that her mother would “just fall” overboard, and demanded a “thorough investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.
Brian has denied his stepdaughter’s allegations in the statement made by his lawyer.
“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 by Butler said, adding that there would be no further comments.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed it had opened a criminal investigation into Lynette’s disappearance.
Brian said Lynette fell from their eight-foot dinghy during their ride from Hope Town to Elbow Cay on Saturday night, and he “lost sight of her” when strong currents carried her away.
He wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he is “heartbroken” that his “beloved Lynette” fell overboard, blaming the “unpredictable seas and high winds.”
He added: “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.”
Local authorities said Tuesday that efforts to find Lynette were not a “recovery operation.”
The Michigan couple are experienced on the water and have been sailing for more than a decade, Aylesworth said.
Brian told police that Lynette had the keys to the boat when she went overboard, which caused the dinghy’s engine to shut off, according to a police statement.
However that didn’t sit right with Aylesworth.
“I don’t understand how she got the key,” Aylesworth told CBS News. “Brian’s always driving. So he basically is in charge of the key. So the fact that my mom had it doesn’t make any sense.”