disappearance

“I guess it was too much closeness. We decided to call it quits. I’m not going back,” Lynette Hooker shared with a friend in early 2024, months before she disappeared in waters off Abaco.

“I quit my awesome career, sold my house and gave away everything I own to cruise,” she wrote, reflecting on a life she had left behind, CBS reported.

“It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him,” she said in another message.

According to her mother, the relationship between Lynette and her husband, Brian Hooker, was complicated. “They loved each other but were not good for each other,” she said, describing a cycle of breakups and reconciliation. She alleged that when Brian Hooker drank, he could become “mean” and “hurtful,” and recalled instances where Lynette was physically harmed.

In a WhatsApp message weeks later, a friend reached out to Lynette after noticing a shift: “Looks like things are on the up and up.”

By late February, the couple had reconciled.

Lynette’s mother said their life at sea appeared picture-perfect and seemingly full. But the private messages tell another story.

Now, Lynette’s story has taken a tragic turn.

Lynette remains missing after Brian reported that she went overboard during a nighttime boat ride on April 5. Authorities have since launched a criminal investigation, and he has been questioned by police. His attorney has said he denies wrongdoing and is heartbroken, seeking release to assist in the search.

As the search for Lynette Hooker continues in Bahamian waters, another struggle is unfolding within the family, still trying to make sense of what happened.

Bahamian authorities have made it clear that Lynette’s husband, Brian Hooker, is not accused of any wrongdoing. The case remains an active investigation.

But for Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, the questions have not gone away.

“For one, I don’t understand how she got the key,” she said.

According to police, Lynette, 55, went missing after reportedly falling overboard from a small dinghy during a nighttime trip in Abaco.

Her husband said the couple had left Hope Town around 7:30 p.m., heading toward Elbow Cay, when she fell into the water. He told investigators she had the engine key at the time, and that strong currents carried her away.

But for Aylesworth, that detail is difficult to reconcile.

“Brian’s always driving. So he basically is in charge of the key. So the fact that my mom had it doesn’t make any sense.”

In the hours after the incident, Brian Hooker left a voicemail for his stepdaughter.

“Hello, honey, it’s Dad… they found the flotation device that I threw to Mom when she fell overboard,” he said.

Aylesworth describes her mother as experienced, someone who had spent more than a decade sailing and who was a confident swimmer.

She shared that she wants a full and thorough investigation, saying she struggles to fully accept the sequence of events as described.

Aylesworth also noted that her mother and stepfather had been separated in recent years before reconnecting.

After the incident, authorities say Brian Hooker was left in a powerless vessel without the key.

He paddled through rough conditions, eventually reaching shore hours later, around 4 a.m., where he made his way to the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard and contacted police.

The daughter of missing American woman Lynette Hooker wants answers to her mother’s disappearance.

Karli Aylesworth is caught in a state of uncertainty, seeking clarity and truth.

“I have been privy to very little information,” she said in a statement. “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.”

Authorities and volunteer teams in Abaco have now transitioned from an active search and rescue effort to a recovery operation, according to officials on the ground.

It marks a difficult shift for loved ones and for a community that had been hoping for a different outcome.

According to police, Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, was reported missing after an evening boat trip off the coast of Abaco.

She and her husband had left Elbow Cay in a small dinghy, heading back to their yacht, Soulmate, when worsening weather conditions met them at sea.

Investigators say she fell overboard during the journey. Strong currents carried her away, and she was last seen in the water as her husband struggled to regain control of the vessel after it lost power.

He eventually made his way to shore hours later and alerted authorities.

In the days before her disappearance, Lynette and her husband shared glimpses of their life on the water, moments that now feel especially poignant.

They documented their arrival in Abaco, describing the sea as “very entertaining,” and spoke of settling in, writing, “Not going anywhere for a while.”

There were quiet scenes of everyday life, walking along docks, sailing between cays, preparing for dives captured in simple moments.

Not long after, uncertainty followed.

For Aylesworth, and those who love Lynette, the journey is understanding what happened.

LGBTQ Pastor Marcus Payne II and the congregation of Lighthouse Church of Chicago are holding nights of prayer, hoping for the safe return of Taylor Casey to Chicago, Illinois.

“Our community is broken and distraught right now during this time,” Payne said at a press conference in Chicago, in honor of Taylor’s birthday.   Payne, Taylor’s family and friends pleaded for the government’s assistance in finding the 42-year-old last seen in the Bahamas.

“She is a vital heartbeat, the heart pulse of our people.”

Taylor, a transgender woman, visited the Bahamas for a four-week yoga training course at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Center on Paradise Island. She was last seen on June 19. Now Bahamian investigators are trying to piece together the puzzle of her mysterious disappearance.

Her phone found roughly 56 feet below water could not be accessed by investigators and her US passport has not been found, police said.

Taylor’s mother, Collette Seymour has called for assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and, she is now pressuring US elected officials to do more to find her child who celebrated her 42nd birthday on Thursday.

Taylor served actively in her church where she was on the hospitality team and “regularly participated in monthly meals [and] community conversations throughout the week.”

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Lighthouse Church of Chicago is an LGBTQ-affirming church, whose mission Payne said is to be passionate about social justice and the gospel of Jesus Christ, “through, empowerment, entertainment and education.”

“Taylor’s fashion sense, her sense of curiosity towards the world, how she saw the world as beautiful and saw God through it, is something our community is all right now, missing deeply and truly,” Payne said.

The church has organized prayer calls for Taylor and is sharing updates on social media.

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He urged elected officials to help find Taylor. “Government needs to move urgently.”

The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) acknowledged though they have found Taylor Casey’s phone, they have not recovered her US passport.

“Officers diligent search efforts led to the discovery of Taylor’s journal and the retrieval of her cell phone from nearby waters. In addition, other personal effects have been found; however, her American passport has not been located,” the authorities said in a statement.

Before the statement, the RBPF seemed tightlipped on the investigations only stating they had spoken to the family, as they and the Bahamas tourism officials attempt to mitigate fallout in the tourism industry.

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Taylor’s mother Collette Seymore and friend, Emily Williams have expressed a lack of confidence in the local police and advocated for support from the US government. The pair returned to Chicago after meeting with authorities in the Bahamas.

“I had to return home without her (Taylor). This is every mother’s worst nightmare. I felt an urgent need to return because, without US Government support, we may never find out what happened to my Taylor,” Seymore said of her 41-year-old daughter.

Taylor came to the Bahamas on June 2 to become a certified yoga instructor. She attended the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Center on Paradise Island where she lived. She is believed to have attended sessions until June 19. It was late that evening when she was last seen.

Seymore also said that reports are that an unidentified man wandered onto the property where Taylor stayed and may have had contact with her.

The man reportedly wore a Celtics baseball cap and was dressed in a black outfit. He claimed he was from Chicago and was interested in taking a yoga class then proceeded to follow her onto the property.

Seymore said the authorities failed to inform her of the encounter, though a statement was given to them by the retreat’s manager.

Police, however, have not confirmed this.

Taylor’s friend Williams also accused authorities of not thoroughly searching the retreat’s premises. She said they “scolded” her for taking pictures because they instead wanted to respect guests on vacation.

“What’s more important–finding Casey or people enjoying vacation?” she asked.

The sister of a missing American free diver who went missing in Bimini waters said she will not give up finding her brother, even though the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard called off the search.

In hopes that he is still alive, in a message to him she said, “Ryan, we will never stop looking for you.”

Nicole Proulx said Ryan went missing on Friday around 6 pm, while free diving in Bahamian waters near the Bimini Barge Wreck, approximately 1.5 miles west of Bimini Inlet, wearing a green UV hooded shirt, heather green athletic shorts, red dive fins, redfin keepers and green snorkels.

He was never found, but a blue pole, red fins, and green shorts were discovered in the surrounding waters on Sunday.

After the US Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defence Force suspended the search on Sunday, friends launched a GoFundMe, seeking $60,000 to find the 31-year-old former police officer. As of Monday, more than $30,000 was raised.

“Any money raised will go towards helping fly the volunteer dive team in this effort to bring Ryan home in an honorable manner that he deserves… If Ryan is found prior to this rescue trip, the money will go directly to his family. Any money left after the team goes over will go to the family also,” friend Shelby Morin said.

She described Ryan as a “friend and just an amazing guy.”

Ryan who is from Connecticut, left Palm Beach County Marina, Florida for Bimini last Thursday with a crew including his wife, after free diving around a sunken boat, when he disappeared.

The U.S. Coast Guard deployed two helicopters and a search plane to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in the search but came up empty. After aircraft crews searched over 673 square miles for Ryan, the Coast Guard suspended the search.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the Proulx family,” Lt. Cmdr. Matt Spado, Coast Guard liaison officer, said in a tweet. “The decision to suspend the active search efforts pending further development is one we never take likely.”

Steve Diffenbacher, a friend said Ryan was a U.S.C.G. licensed boat captain and diver and often ran boats from the Northeast down to South Florida for clients who wanted to transport their boats.

While Cameron Robbins remains missing in Bahamian waters, his family wrote an obituary to eulogize the 18-year-old. He is described as “funny and kindhearted, but also intense and driven.”

“Though he left this world far too soon, he lived a life full of good friends and family,” the tribute reads.

Robbins, an American high-school graduate, was last seen swimming in dark waters near Anthol Island in the Bahamas, but soon disappeared, making international headlines and spurring an intense search and rescue effort by Bahamian authorities and US Coast Guards.

The Robbins family retraced his steps in the area he was last seen on last week Wednesday and now accepts that he met his demise, returning to Louisiana last Sunday.

Now the family is preparing a memorial for the young baseball athlete, set for July 4 at 4 pm at Broadmoor United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge.

Robbins who was adopted at birth, loved fishing, and had just returned from a weekend fishing trip on the Louisana Gulf Coast with his father and brother before he left with friends on the graduation trip to the Bahamas, his family said.

“He was a tough player, battling back from multiple injuries, known to pitch through separated shoulders and broken hands. He hoped to continue his baseball career at the college level.”

Robbins was also vice president of the youth group at St Andrew’s United Methodist where he served.

Since his disappearance, many speculated that Robbins was killed by sharks, a theory based on an image seen in a video when he swims away from the boat that he reportedly jumped from.  The area he was last seen is also territory for the predators, and previous shark attacks occurred there.

“Had they found a piece of clothing or any kind of clue, that would cause them to extend that 48-hour period, but if they don’t get any kind of indication then that’s usually when they call it off,” said United Cajun Navy Vice President Brian Trascher after the search was called off on Friday.

“It took a lot of strength for them to go out there and stay for a few days. When we offered to take them out in a boat to the area where he went overboard and some of the areas they were searching… They went, which I know had to be very emotional for them, but they went and by Sunday they decided they wanted to go home.”

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to Christian Homes and Family Services, an adoption agency.