The daughter of an American woman who was reportedly swept out to sea during a boat ride with her husband in the Bahamas over the weekend said in an interview with NBC News that her mother was unlikely to \u201cjust fall\u201d overboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Karli Aylesworth described her mother, Lynette Hooker, 55, as an experienced mariner and a fit person who was unlikely to \u201cjust fall\u201d off the boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that\u2019s what her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, said happened during a dinghy ride Saturday night from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, according to local authorities. Aylesworth said her stepfather provided the same account to her during a brief Sunday phone call in which, she said, he sounded \u201cmonotone and relaxed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was in shock,\u201d she said. \u201cI was like, my mom\u2019s missing? Like, what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian Hooker has not responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aylesworth described the couple\u2019s relationship as volatile, saying they have a \u201chistory of not getting along, especially when they drink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The couple, from Michigan, have been sailing for more than a decade, starting with a small two-person sailboat and moving to a larger vessel they bought in Texas, Aylesworth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They sailed around the Gulf of Mexico, she said, and eventually got to the Bahamas. She said they sold their home a few years ago and lived full-time on the boat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They documented part of their Bahamas trip on their TikTok and Instagram pages called \u201cThe Sailing Hookers.\u201d In their last TikTok post, the couple had sailed to Great Guana Cay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They left Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, headed to Elbow Cay on an 8-foot, hard-bottom dinghy, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement. The statement did not name Brian Hooker but cited his account of what happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The husband told police that his wife had the keys to the boat when she fell into the water, causing its engine to shut off, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said he had to paddle for hours before he reached Marsh Harbor Boat Yard early Sunday. He told someone what had happened, and that person alerted authorities, according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Richard Cook, team lead with Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue, said the wind was 18 to 22 knots and it was dark out Saturday night. There have been strong onshore winds along the East Coast because of the passage of a cold front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cook said Tuesday that the effort to find Lynette Hooker was now \u201ca recovery operation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The State Department said earlier that it was aware of reports of a missing woman in the Bahamas and that it was \u201cworking with Bahamian authorities to provide assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDue to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment at this time,\u201d a spokesperson said Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FBI did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It appears the couple had been in the Bahamas since February. On Feb. 11, the couple posted a TikTok video of them sailing on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHeading to the Bahamas #saillife,\u201d they captioned the video.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other posts showed them out of the water, snorkeling and at the beach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aylesworth said she reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force but has not heard back. The agency told NBC News that it has no further updates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pretty distraught that this is even happening,” Aylesworth said. “I\u2019m still in shock. Like, it\u2019s just surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n