American man arrested after woman, 59, 'vanishes' from boat during Bahamas getaway
It comes as couple's daughter called for 'full investigation' into circumstances surrounding tragedy
An American man has been arrested in the Bahamas after a woman vanished at sea on Saturday.
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The 59-year-old man, who has not been named by authorities, was questioned by police in Abaco, the second largest island in the Bahamas, after he was detained by the Royal Bahamas Police force.
It comes after the US Coast Guard separately confirmed on Wednesday that a criminal investigation has been launched into the disappearance of 55-year-old Lynette Hooker off the coast of the West Atlantic archipelago.
Lynette had been travelling with her husband Brian in an 8-foot motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay on Saturday night when she disappeared, according to officials.
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The arrest comes after Brian spoke out on Wednesday stating he was "heartbroken" by his wife's disappearance.
He said: "I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused by beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas.
"Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus."
His intervention came after Lynette's daughter Karli Aylesworth called for a full investigation into her mother's disappearance claiming "prior issues" had come to her attention.
"If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it.
"However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined," she told Fox News.
She said her mother was an experienced sailor and swimmer and that she could not understand how she fell from the boat.
The Daily Mail reported that Britain only contacted Karli, his stepdaughter, about her mother's disappearance a full day after Lynette went missing.
"So more than 24 hours later. We don’t know why. We don't know if he was busy looking,'" a source told the newspaper.
"We just don’t know. Karli has not really been back in contact since because she finds the circumstances a little suspicious."
Brian told police that his wife fell from the boat while travelling from left Hope Town to Elbow Cay while holding the keys of the boat leading the engine to shut off.
He paddled to shore and approached the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard at about 04:00 local time (09:00 BST) on Sunday before informing an individual who told authorities of his wife's disappearance.