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| A satellite image of the Bahamas in the West Indies (Image: Getty Images) |
Police in the Bahamas are searching for an American woman who disappeared after reportedly falling overboard from a small boat while on a holiday with her husband.
Her husband told authorities that she went missing on Saturday at about 19:30 local time (00:30 BST) after falling out of an 8ft (2.4m) hard-bottom dinghy and being swept out to sea by strong currents.
The woman's husband told police that he and his wife left Hope Town for Elbow Cay on the Bahamian island of Abaco on Saturday evening when she fell overboard, taking the boat's keys with her.
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The Royal Bahamas Police Force stated in a social media statement that it is conducting an investigation and that multiple agencies are looking for the woman. "She apparently bounced out of the boat," Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue chief Troy Pritchard told CBS News, the BBC's US news partner.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force stated that "strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her." On Sunday, around 04:00 local time (09:00 BST), the husband, who is also a citizen of the United States, paddled the boat to shore and reached the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard. The husband told a person in the boat yard that his wife was missing, and that person then informed the authorities.
According to a statement provided to CBS News by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, "U.S. counterparts, volunteers, the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force are assisting with this." CBS News reports that local authorities identified the missing woman as Lynette Hooker of Michigan. In a March 2025 travel advisory, the US State Department warned of potentially deadly boating issues in the Bahamas.
The advisory stated that "injuries and deaths have occurred" and that "boating is not well regulated" on the islands.
Source: BBC
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