Is foul play suspected for missing woman who went overboard in Bahamas?
· Toronto Sun
The daughter of a missing Michigan woman who went overboard in the Bahamas during a nighttime boat ride with her husband is calling for a “thorough investigation” into her disappearance.
Visit tr-sport.bond for more information.
Lynette Hooker, 55, and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had left the Abaco Inn in Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday on an eight-foot dinghy and headed to their yacht when Lynette fell out of the boat with the key to the vessel, causing the engine to shut off, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Brian told authorities that “he lost sight of her” when strong currents carried her away, and he was forced to paddle the small boat back to shore, where he reported his wife missing around 4 a.m. on Sunday.
Person of interest?
Now, Karli Aylesworth, Lynette’s daughter and Brian’s stepdaughter, is desperately seeking answers after learning of “prior issues.”
“There have been prior issues brought to my attention, which may be important for any thorough investigation. If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it,” Aylesworth said in a statement, per Fox News .
“However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined.”
She added: “While the Royal Bahamian police are investigating this matter, I would also appreciate any involvement of the federal, state or local authorities to look into the circumstances of this tragic situation.”
Aylesworth said she has been “privy to very little information,” noting that her “sole concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure a full and complete investigation is performed into her disappearance.”
‘Doesn’t make any sense’
The big question she has is how her mother had the keys to the boat when she went into the water.
“For one, 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.”
Brian left Aylesworth a voicemail message after the incident, which she played for the outlet.
“Hello, honey, it’s Dad. I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they found the floatation device that I threw to Mom when she fell overboard,” he can be heard saying in the voicemail.
Aylesworth said that Brian, who declined to speak with the outlet, and her mother had split up in recent years but got back together.
Brian is ‘heartbroken’
Brian has since broken his silence in a Facebook post on Wednesday, writing 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.”
He detailed: “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.”
Brian has not been accused of any wrongdoing, Bahamian authorities told CBS, and the situation remains a search-and-rescue mission.