Search for Michigan woman missing in Bahamas to resume, reports say
The search for a Michigan woman who went missing in the Bahamas under mysterious circumstances will resume in previously unsearched Caribbean waters, according to newly published reports.
U.S. investigators plan to seek permission from Bahamian authorities to search the Sea of Abaco for 56-year-old Lynette Hooker, CBS News reports, citing a U.S. official familiar with the investigation. The new search site is based on newly obtained GPS data pulled from an electronic device belonging to Lynette's husband, 59-year-old Brian Hooker.
The investigation into the disappearance is led by the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, ABC News reported.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard didn't immediately return a message from The Detroit News seeking more information about the renewed search effort.
CBS News reported authorities sought to renew the search after forensic evidence appeared to contradict her husband's account of where he was the night Lynette Hooker disappeared.
Brian Hooker was taken into Bahamian police custody on April 8, four days after he told authorities his wife disappeared during a nighttime dinghy ride near Elbow Cay.
He was released without charges on April 13, after multiple rounds of questioning.
Hooker told investigators that he and Lynette were taking a late-night dinghy ride when rough water caused their 8-foot boat to capsize, Bahamian police said. He said the couple became separated in the dark.
He told officers his wife had gone overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel's engine to shut off, authorities said. When he was unable to find her, he paddled the dinghy ashore and reported her missing.
Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, said her mother and stepfather are avid travelers who had been in the Bahamas for about a month before she disappeared. She has questioned Brian's story, noting that her mother was a strong swimmer.
The couple had been married about 25 years, Aylesworth said. One of the Hookers' neighbors in the Lenawee County village of Onsted described their marriage as turbulent, with a long history of fighting.
After he was released from police custody, Brian Hooker told CBS News that he wants to believe the Lynette is still alive and that he "won't be able to stop looking" for her.
_____
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 10:04 PM.