An American woman reportedly swept out to sea Saturday after falling from a dinghy boat during a Bahamas trip with her husband has been identified.
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Lynette Hooker, 55, was on an 8-foot boat with her husband Brian, 58, when she went overboard. The woman’s daughter and the Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue confirmed her name to NBC News on Tuesday.
“My sole concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure a full and complete investigation is performed into her disappearance,” Karli Aylesworth said in a statement.
Authorities in the Bahamas spent the weekend and Monday searching for Hooker, but have not yet found her. Richard Cook, team lead with the Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue, told NBC News on Tuesday that it is now a recovery operation.
The FBI did not immediately return a request for comment.
The U.S. Department of State said it was aware of reports of a missing woman in the Bahamas and is “working with Bahamian authorities to provide assistance.”
“Due to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment at this time,” a spokesperson said.
The couple, from Michigan, left Hope Town, Bahamas, around 7:30 p.m. Saturday, headed to Elbow Cay, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said in a statement.
They had documented part of their Bahamas trip on their TikTok and Instagram pages called “The Sailing Hookers.” In their last TikTok post, the couple had sailed to Great Guana Cay.
The husband told police that his wife had the keys to the dinghy boat when she fell into the water. He said he had to paddle for hours before reaching Marsh Harbor Boat Yard early Sunday morning, where he told someone what had happened, police said. That person alerted authorities.
Cook said on Saturday night, the wind was between 18 and 22 knots, and it was dark out. There have been strong onshore winds along the East Coast due to the passage of a cold front.
It appears the couple had been in the Bahamas since February. On Feb. 11, the couple had posted a TikTok video of them sailing on the water.
“Heading to the Bahamas #saillife,” they captioned the video.
Other posts showed the husband and wife out of the water, snorkeling, and at the beach.
