A 55-year-old American woman is missing and presumed drowned after falling overboard from a small boat in the Bahamas over the weekend, authorities reported Monday.
Lynette Hooker, a Michigan resident, was on an evening boat trip with her husband Brian when she was thrown from their 8-foot dinghy by rough seas Saturday night. The couple had departed Hope Town on Abaco around 7:30 PM, heading toward Elbow Cay when the incident occurred.
According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Hooker was wearing a lanyard with the boat's keys when she went into the water, causing the dinghy to lose power. Her 58-year-old husband told authorities the current swept her away before he could reach her, and he lost sight of her in the darkness.
"He had to paddle the dinghy to shore," police reported, noting that Lynette Hooker was not wearing a flotation device at the time of the accident.
Brian Hooker finally reached Marsh Harbour Boat Yard on Grand Abaco Island around 4 AM Sunday—more than eight hours after his wife went overboard—and alerted authorities. The island lies approximately one hour's flight east of Miami, Florida.
Richard Cook, lead of the Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue team, told media outlets that the search effort has transitioned to a recovery operation, indicating rescuers believe Hooker likely drowned.
Bahamian authorities continue to search the waters where the incident occurred, though hope for finding Hooker alive has diminished with each passing hour. The couple had been returning to their yacht when the tragedy unfolded during what should have been a routine evening trip between islands.