Coast Guard divers arrive in Bahamas to search for missing American Lynette Hooker

U.S. Coast Guard divers have arrived in the Bahamas as the agency resumes its search for missing American woman Lynette Hooker, who disappeared in April after her husband said she fell from a boat, an official said Tuesday.

The Coast Guard divers arrived in Hopetown, and the search was expected to start Tuesday evening, a U.S. official familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Hooker, 55, disappeared on April 4, and her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities that she fell from a boat, officials have said.

Brian Hooker, 59, was initially arrested by Royal Bahamas Police Force on April 8 but was released from custody five days later without being charged.

He has said he did not harm his wife and has returned to the United States.

“I’ve never harmed Lynette, and I would never harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette,” Hooker told NBC News in April after he was released from custody.

Brian Hooker has said that his wife fell into the water during a dinghy ride near Elbow Cay on April 4.

He said that his wife had the keys to the engine when she went overboard, and he paddled the boat to shore and told someone what happened, who then contacted police, authorities said.

Brian Hooker has been cooperating with officials on the investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance, his attorney, Terrel A. Butler, has said.

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