World

(LONDON) — Even as a fragile two-week ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. holds – sparing about 90 million Iranians from the immediate threat of bombardment – many Iranians at home and abroad say they still face an intensifying wave of threats from the Islamic Republic regime as it continues cracking down on dissent.

The leaders of the Iranian regime have escalated measures to silence any kind of protests and criticisms against their policies both inside the country and across its diaspora, Iranians and observers inside the country and abroad told ABC News.

Shiva, a London-based Iranian journalist, says she has received direct threats from Iranian security forces, been labelled a “traitor” and had her assets in Iran confiscated. Shiva and other Iranians who spoke with ABC News in recent days asked not to be identified by their real names because of security concerns.

She is one of more than 400 Iranian journalists and artists abroad whose assets in Iran have been seized by the Islamic Republic for allegedly supporting what authorities describe as “hostile foreign actors,” according to a judiciary statement issued on April 11.

Since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, the Islamic Republic judicial authorities have repeatedly said that they would adopt extreme measures against those who “collaborate with the enemy” – a broad accusation that they usually use against protesters. 

The measures range from harsh sentences by the judiciary including death sentence and lengthy prison terms on protesters at home, to seizing local assets belonging to dissidents abroad.

Despite the threats against her, Shiva says she is most concerned about her family who live in Iran and could face harassment by authorities because of her reporting, she told ABC News on Wednesday.

Having covered the situation of human rights violations in Iran, she added that she is “extremely worried” about the situation of the imprisoned protesters in the country.

“What worries me is my family, and the people inside Iran,” Shiva said, “the voices of people inside the country are not being heard – those who are at risk of execution, those who are being silenced.”

A judicial authority told the state media on Tuesday that such moves are aligned with the new legislation of the country made to intensify penalties for espionage and cooperation with countries that are deemed as “hostile” to Iran including Israel and the United States.

Arrests, prison situation and executions

In the months before the war with the U.S. and Israel began in late February, the Iranian regime committed massacres to suppress a series of nationwide protests in the country while imposing an internet blackout to prevent voices of protesters and families of the victims from being heard by the world, and to disrupt their communication with one another, according to the U.S. and international observers.

According to the U.S.-based Human Rights News Agency (HRANA), over 7,000 people – including at least 6,488 protesters – were killed in the protests which had been ignited over the severe economic hardships with dramatic fall of the country’s currency in the last days of December 2025. ABC News could not independently verify those figures.

Security forces arrested more than 50,000 people across the country, HRANA reported. Two Iranian lawyers and several human rights activists told ABC News at the time that those behind the bars did not have access to basic rights including having access to a lawyer or a fair transparent trial.

Rule of fear

The situation got even worse for dissidents in Iran after the U.S. and Israel started the war on the country, Iranians told ABC News, following President Donald Trump’s Feb. 28 address to Iranians, in which he said that they can “take over” their government once the U.S. and Israel are finished.

“The hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said in that address as the war began. 

Iran’s police chief, Gen. Ahmad-Reza Radan warned Iranians in a March 11 interview on state TV that they would be shot dead if they came to streets to protest. “If people take to the streets to protest, we will do what we did to the enemy. Our hand is on the trigger,” Radan said.

During the war, main squares and streets of cities were again taken over by the police, armed forces and plain clothes security agents of the regime as several Iranians from Tehran, Isfahan, Rasht and other cities of the country told ABC News. The forces would not only control the streets on checkpoints, but would use loudspeakers to play religious and revolutionary propaganda songs.

“At night, I see the regime forces marching on the streets of my neighborhood,” Saghar, a resident of west Tehran, told ABC News after the war began.

“When I hear their voices, I feel like I want to scream,” she said. “I see them from the window and I get so angry that I like to throw everything I can at them. Why don’t I have a share of the streets of my city? Everywhere is under their control.”

Behind bars in an unknown location 

The anger is even more fierce for many families of victims and prisoners of the protests.

Shailin Asadollahi, sister of an Iranian prisoner, told ABC News during the war that her family had no information at the time about the whereabouts of her brother Ali Asadollahi, a dissident poet, who was jailed by the regime. Asadollahi and many other prisoners had been transferred to locations unknown to their families after the war began, she said, creating a dire fear among families about their loved ones’ safety and wellbeing.

“I am so distressed and worried. I feel I struggle to even breathe when I think about where my brother is when bombs constantly fall over the city,” she told ABC News. “But Ali told us upon his arrest that no matter what happens to him we need to be the voice for all prisoners, not just him.”

“It is not just about us knowing where they are,” Shailin said. “Even a few prisoners who have called their families have said that they hear the bombs but don’t know where they are,” she added.  

Following the destruction of some of the main judicial facilities of the country in the U.S.-Israeli attacks and closure of some state organizations, an Iranian lawyer in the country told ABC News that it had become almost impossible to get any update from the status of prisoners.

“Neither families nor us as lawyers know who to call and where to follow up the situation of the prisoners as no one from the judiciary is responsive,” the lawyer told ABC News. She asked not to be named over security concerns.

New arrests 

Iranian authorities also appeared to accelerated arrests during the war and the current ceasefire on a range of charges, including espionage and actions against national security. The intelligence ministry and the IRGC intelligence forces publish news of recent arrests in different cities almost every day.

In one of the latest cases, 22 people were arrested in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, the semi-official Tasnim News agency reported, quoting the police.

Collaboration with the “enemy media” is one of the common charges for those who are arrested. The Iranian police chief said in March that 500 people were arrested for sending information to “the enemy and anti-Iranian media.” Hundreds more have been arrested since then according to the daily reports from Iranian authorities.

Record number of executions, observers say 

HRANA said on April 2 that the implementation of death sentences in Iran has entered “a new and deeply alarming phase.” During the war, at least 10 political prisoners have been executed, and there is “a noticeable acceleration in executions,” HRANA reported.

Amirhossein Hatami, an 18-year-old protester, was one of those 10 protesters. He was executed on April 2, on charges related to the nationwide protests in the country in January, according to Mizan News Agency, the official news outlet of the country’s judiciary. The report added that Hatami was allegedly involved in burning a government property.

Amnesty International, writing on social media, described Hatami’s trial as “grossly unfair.”

Two other protesters, Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast, who had been arrested for the same case were later executed three days later, Mizan reported. 

A source close to one of the four prisoners’ families told ABC News that that these protesters along with two others arrested on this case had been moved from the prison’s general ward and their lives are under imminent threat of execution.

The recent execution of protesters comes despite Trump’s warnings to Iranian authorities before the war that continuing to execute protesters could trigger a strong response.

“The war was never about Iranian protesters and Iranian people’s rights,” Shadi, an Iranian woman from Rasht posted on her Instagram story in April along with the news of the recent executions.

“If Trump cared about us and our lives, there would be one point about human rights situation in Iran in their 15-point proposal,” she wrote. “But there is no mention of Iranian people in there. It is all about the oil and Iran’s proxies aboard and the Strait of Hormuz.”

At least 1,639 people were executed by the Iranian regime in 2025, which was 68% more than the year before and highest number recorded since 1989, according to a joint report by Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Paris-based Together Against the Death Penalty (EPCM), on April 13.  

Stifling journalism and activism

While Iranian journalists abroad like Shiva who have tried to do their jobs are now facing growing threats and potential punishment from the regime, journalists and activists inside the country face even harsher restrictions. Many are unable to speak openly about people’s suffering from the scars of war and state repression.

“Tyranny, war, sanctions, executions and imprisonment, all are tools for the destruction of Iran and the annihilation of its people’s lives,” Zia Nabavi, a dissident activist in Iran, wrote on his Instagram story in March.

Nabavi has spent more than a decade in prison for his activism and is one of many dissidents who believe the war will not bring about positive outcomes for Iranians.

Some believe that war against the Islamic Republic could lead to regime change. But Nabavi and others argue it would instead erode the fragile space needed to pursue social freedoms and equal rights, reducing public demands to survival amid the devastation caused by conflict.

Nabavi believes that those who impose executions, sanctions and wars on Iranians are different, but “the arrival of one does not mean the departure of another,” as they are all “life-killing,” he wrote.

“They can walk hand-in-hand to escort us toward the darkest possible fate,” Nabavi added in his Instagram story.

Despite the pressures – from war, censorship and ongoing security threats – journalists like Shiva say they will continue their work, documenting events and sharing stories about Iran.

“The Islamic Republic is trying to extend its censorship and intimidation beyond its borders. But it cannot silence me here,” Shiva said.

“They have already taken away my ability to return home, but they cannot take away my voice,” she said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — More than two weeks after American Lynette Hooker went overboard and disappeared in the Bahamas, her daughter is speaking out to ABC News.

“It still feels surreal,” Karli Aylesworth said. “… This feels like something you just watch in a movie, but it’s my life.”

Aylesworth’s mother, Lynette Hooker, has been missing since the evening of April 4 when Aylesworth’s stepfather, Brian Hooker, said she went overboard. The couple had departed Hope Town for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay, when bad weather caused her to fall off their dinghy, Brian Hooker told authorities.

Brian Hooker, 58, was arrested on April 8 and questioned by police. He was released on April 13 without charges.

Brian Hooker told ABC News on April 14 that he was staying in the Bahamas with a “sole focus” of finding his wife, “no matter how likely or unlikely that is.”

But Brian Hooker then left the Bahamas, his attorney said on April 15, noting that his mother is not well.

Aylesworth and her boyfriend said they doubted Brian Hooker’s story from the beginning and are now left with more questions than answers.

“I don’t understand how she drowned or got floated away,” Aylesworth said. “It just made me be more, ‘Why didn’t he do this? Why didn’t you do that? Why did that happen?'”

Aylesworth said she met with the Coast Guard and the Bahamian authorities, who allowed her to visit the sailboat her mother and stepfather called home.

“I went and got some of her belongings, like a headband. I got her ‘L’ necklace that she used to always wear. I got a picture frame I made for her, something that my grandma sewed for her,” she said.

“It was really hard because it was almost eerie, because I felt like she was going to, like, come out of the corner or something,” she said. “… Just knowing that she’ll never, I don’t know, it’s just hit me like a freight train that she’s not there.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TOKYO) — A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck on Monday off Japan’s northeastern coast, the U.S. Geological Survey said, prompting authorities to issue tsunami warnings and advisories along parts of the coast.

“Based on the preliminary earthquake parameters,” USGS said, “hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300 km of the earthquake epicenter.”

The Japan Meteorological Agency said tsunami warnings were in place for some of the coast along the Pacific, along with lesser advisories and forecasts farther away from the quake’s center.

“Residents in areas where tsunami warnings have been issued should immediately evacuate to higher ground or evacuation buildings and other higher, safer locations,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said.

The tsunami waves that were expected to have been the highest struck the coast within hours, with the largest one registering about 80 cm, or about 2.5 feet, but officials said they had not ruled out further waves. Official warnings were still in place, although the U.S. weather officials said in an update that, based on available data, “the tsunami threat from this earthquake has now passed.”

Preliminary U.S. data pinpointed the quake about 100 km, or about 62 miles, off the eastern coast of Miyako, USGS said. Light rumbling could be felt as far away as Tokyo. A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck nearby about 40 minutes afterward, according to USGS data.

The Japanese agency held a press conference on Monday, during which it identified the quake as having been a 7.5 magnitude one. The depth was 10 km, or about 6.2 miles. It occurred at 4:53 p.m. local time, the agency said.

A tsunami warning was issued under twenty seconds after the initial earthquake, an official said. Officials warned people to stay on the alert for about week, as an equal or lesser than quake may occur. The risk was especially elevated for the next two or three days, officials said.

The U.S. Tsunami Warning System said a “destructive” Pacific-wide tsunami was not expected “and there is no threat to Hawaii.”

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The daughter of Lynette Hooker, an American woman who is missing in the Bahamas, has arrived on the islands with her boyfriend to help with the search after her stepfather, Brian Hooker, left the country.

Karli Aylesworth and her boyfriend, Steve Hansen, said they gave a statement to Bahamian police and plan on retracing her mother’s last steps.

“They’re just not releasing information because it’s an ongoing investigation, which we understand,” Hansen told ABC News.

“We seem frustrated because of the fact that we haven’t found her yet, and we would hope by now we would have,” he added.

Aylesworth’s mother, Lynette Hooker, has been missing since the evening of April 4 when Brian Hooker said she went overboard. The couple had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay, when bad weather caused her to fall off their dinghy, Brian Hooker told authorities.

Brian Hooker, 58, was arrested on April 8 and questioned by police. He was released on Monday without charges.

Brian Hooker told ABC News on Tuesday that he was staying in the Bahamas with a “sole focus” of finding his wife, “no matter how likely or unlikely that is.”

He said at the time that he planned “to go back to the boat, and then hire or beg people to help me go find some areas to search.”

But Brian Hooker then left the Bahamas, his attorney said on Wednesday, noting that his mother is not well.

Hansen said he and Aylesworth were surprised to learn her stepfather left.

“We’re not gonna say that he doesn’t deserve to see his mother before she dies, but we’re just saying Karli didn’t get that option. Karli didn’t get the option to see her mother before she died,” Hansen said.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force said in a statement Thursday that the search and recovery work is ongoing, with operations involving “extensive shoreline patrols, sea patrols, aerial drone surveillance, and submersible drone operations.”

ABC News’ Brian Andrews contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(VENICE, Italy) — One of the world’s most iconic cities could be heavily impacted by climate change and sea level rise in the coming years, leading researchers to search for solutions on how to protect it.

Venice, the historic Italian city known for its canals that serve as water traffic corridors, has been said to be sinking for nearly a century. The site within the vicinity of the Venetian Lagoon has flooded increasingly over the past 150 years, according to a paper published in Scientific Reports on Thursday.

Historically, there have been 28 events in which seawater flooding impacted at least 60% of the city, according to the paper. Eighteen of those events have taken place in the last century.

Piero Lionello, a professor of atmospheric physics and oceanography at the University of Salento in Italy and native Venetian, has noticed an uptick in flooding events throughout his lifetime, he told ABC News.

“The rate has been quite impressive the last three decades,” he said.

Climate experts are now calling for long-term planning to protect the city from rising sea levels over the next several centuries.

The Venetian Lagoon is a “special system” because it is so connected to the Adriatic Sea, said Lionello, the lead author of the paper.

Proposed strategies to prevent flooding as sea levels rise include movable barriers, ring dikes — which are circular or oval-shaped embankments designed to protect localized areas from floodwaters — or even closing the Venetian Lagoon and relocating the city, according to the paper.

Currently, the city is defended by a trio of movable barriers at the edge of the Venetian Lagoon. The MOSE project, installed in the 1990s, is a system of mobile flood barrier shields as tall as a five-story building that can be raised to separate the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea during high tides.

The system allows the waterways of Venice to function normally during high tide and has prevented flood disasters from storm surge. But it won’t be sufficient in the future, Lionello said.

“The present system, it will certainly be become inadequate,” he said.

The existing movable barriers may be effective against sea level rise up to 1.25 meters, or about 4.1 feet, according to the paper. But this benchmark is likely to be exceeded by the year 2300 under a low-emissions scenario due to rising global temperatures and ground subsidence — the gradual sinking of the ground — the researchers said.

Dikes may be necessary to protect Venice’s city center from the rest of the lagoon, according to the paper. The dikes would consist of walls surrounding the city, separating it from the lagoon, Lionello said.

Construction of dikes could cost between $600 million and $5.3 billion, according to the paper.

A “super levee” that could cost more than $35 billion to construct may be needed to close the lagoon and protect the land that is already below sea level.

If sea levels rise enough, it may be necessary for the city’s residents and historic landmarks to be moved inland, the researchers said. Relocating the city could be necessary beyond a 4.5-meter, or nearly 15-foot, sea level rise, which is projected to occur after 2300 under a high emissions scenario, according to the paper. Relocating the city could cost up to $118 billion, according to the researchers.

This solution is the most “provocative” and would involve moving individual buildings and monuments inland, Lionello said.

“You can preserve a building. You can have different solution to keep people living there, but it will be a completely different Venice from the Venice that we have now,” Lionello said.

The system of mobile barriers has been working overtime, according to officials. The MOSE barriers were lifted from the seabed to stop water from the Adriatic Sea from entering the lagoon 31 times during a six-month period between October 2023 and April 2024.

Climate scientists have predicted a steady rise in sea levels in the Adriatic Sea — with the lagoonal ecosystem in Venice experiencing relative sea level rise of about 2.5 millimeters per year, a 2021 study found.

Over the past 60 years, high tides in the Venetian Lagoon have become more frequent.

Between 1870 and 1949, 30 high tides exceeded 1.1 meters — or 3.6 feet — the level above which the MOSE barrier system is activated, according to the Venice Tide Study Center. There were 76 such high tides between 2015 and 2024 alone.

Rapid action to protect the city of Venice from climate change is “essential,” especially since the construction of large-scale interventions could take decades, the researchers said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(LONDON) — At least 16 people were killed and another 100 were injured in Ukraine as Russia targeted the country with a “massive” drone and missile attack on Wednesday and into Thursday morning, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia launched almost 700 drones and 19 ballistic missiles, along with cruise missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Ukraine shot down about 636 drones and “some” of the missiles, he added, saying, “Unfortunately, not all.”

At least 16 people were killed across Ukraine, officials said. Zelenskyy said at least 100 people had been reported wounded “as of now.”

“Tragically, there are fatalities in Odesa, Kyiv, and Dnipro,” he said in a social media post. “Among those killed is a boy — he was 12 years old. My condolences to the families and loved ones.”

Most of the missiles targeted Kyiv, the capital, the president said, but damage and deaths were also reported across the country. Some missiles or drones that made it through Ukraine’s defenses struck and damaged residential buildings, Zelenskyy said.

“Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions,” Zelenskyy said. “Russia is betting on war, and the response must be exactly that: we must defend lives with all available means, and we must also apply pressure for the sake of peace with the same full force.”

Russia has chosen to “deliberately terrorise civilians” with its attacks on residential areas, Antonio Costa, the European Council president, said on Thursday. The EU would continue to “increase pressure” on Moscow, he said.

“Russia must stop this war of terror,” Costa said. “A comprehensive, just, and lasting peace for Ukraine based on the principles of the U.N. Charter and international law must be achieved.”

Russian officials said on Thursday that Ukraine launched its own barrage of drones targeting several areas in Russia. Moscow said its military downed more than 200 drones. At least one Ukrainian drone struck a port on Russia’s Black Sea coast, along with other coastal cities, the local governor said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The husband of a woman who was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy was questioned again by police on Monday as he awaits any charging decision in connection with her disappearance, according to his attorney.

Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, has been missing for over a week. She and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities.

Brian Hooker was arrested on Wednesday in connection with his wife’s disappearance and interviewed by Bahamian police for approximately three hours on Friday. Police subsequently requested an extension to give them until Monday evening to make any charging decision, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler.

He was questioned by police again on Monday for about an hour, according to Butler, who said investigators did not present any new evidence. She also said police have not given Brian Hooker any updates on the search for his wife since his arrest. 

Police have until 7:20 p.m. ET Monday to charge or release him, according to Butler.

Butler said Brian Hooker is considered a suspect in his wife’s disappearance and denies any wrongdoing.

Following his initial interview on Friday, Butler said Brian Hooker was “questioned in relation to causing harm, which resulted in her death.”

“He definitely denies causing her death and he’s still asking about her and is hopeful that she will be recovered,” she continued, saying they have not been informed of any evidence that her body has been recovered. 

The attorney said Brian Hooker is “heartbroken” over the disappearance of his wife of 25 years and that his arrest has been “traumatic.”

His arrest came after multiple sources told ABC News a criminal investigation had been opened into whether there was any wrongdoing in the case. The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the probe, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

In a statement posted to social media last Wednesday, Brian Hooker said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” near Elbow Cay.

“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,” he said.

Brian Hooker told police that his wife was holding the boat key when she went overboard, causing the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to shut off, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. He subsequently paddled the boat back to shore, arriving at a marina at around 4 a.m. on April 5, and reported his wife overboard, police said.

The Hookers documented their sailing travels on social media under the name “The Sailing Hookers.”

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has called for a “full and complete investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.

She told ABC News her stepfather, Brian Hooker, told her that her mom “fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or something, and he doesn’t know if she got it or not.”

Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, told ABC News she hopes “we find the truth” amid the investigation and alleged the couple have had a volatile relationship. 

“I just want the truth to come out and I’m hoping that they can do that, and I hope they find her and that that will help clear up all of this,” she said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The husband of a woman who was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy is being questioned by police following his arrest in connection with his wife’s disappearance, his attorney said Friday.

Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. The couple was en route to their yacht, Soulmate, when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities.

Brian Hooker has not yet been charged following his arrest on Wednesday, his attorney confirmed to ABC News on Friday. He is being interviewed by police and there may be a charging decision afterward, the attorney, Terrel Butler, said. Police can hold him for up to 48 hours before seeking an extension, she said.

Brian Hooker has been cooperating with authorities in the ongoing investigation, his attorney said. He was injured after falling into the water while assisting police in a search of the Soulmate boat on the night of his arrest, according to Butler. He has since been treated for his injuries, which included an abrasion, she said.

The attorney said Brian Hooker is “heartbroken” over his wife’s disappearance and that his arrest has been “traumatic.”

“Brian appears completely heartbroken and deeply distressed. His primary concern and source of intense frustration is his inability to continue the search for his wife of 25 years,” Butler said in a statement after visiting her client at the police station on Thursday. “The trauma of her disappearance, coupled with his current detention as a suspect, has left him in an extremely fragile state.”

He “categorically denies the allegations made against him,” Butler said in an earlier statement.

The arrest came after multiple sources told ABC News a criminal investigation had been opened into whether there was any wrongdoing in the case.

The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the probe, according to a source familiar with the investigation. 

The search is ongoing for Lynette Hooker, according to police.

Her husband told police the strong currents on Saturday took her out to sea, authorities said. She was holding the boat key when she went overboard, causing the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to shut off, police noted.

Her husband spoke out for the first time on Wednesday, saying he is “heartbroken over the recent boat accident.”

In a statement posted to social media, Brian Hooker said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” near Elbow Cay.

“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,” he said.

Brian Hooker subsequently paddled the boat back to shore, arriving at around 4 a.m. Sunday to a marina, where he reported his wife overboard to an individual who then alerted police, authorities said.

The search and rescue operation has been conducted by land, sea and air and involved multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.  

Brian Hooker thanked the agencies “who have worked tirelessly in an ongoing effort to bring Lynette back to us.” 

“Thank you to everyone for keeping Lynette in your thoughts and for your support of our family during this difficult time,” he said.

Butler said Brian Hooker will not be making any further statements to the media amid the ongoing investigation.

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has called for a “full and complete investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.

She told ABC News her mother is fit and a good swimmer, and described what her stepfather told her about his wife’s disappearance.

“He said that my mom’s missing and that she fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or something, and he doesn’t know if she got it or not,” she said.

“I just hope we find her,” she added.

The Hookers are avid sailors, documenting their travels on social media under the name “The Sailing Hookers.”

The U.S. State Department is “aware of reports regarding a missing American near Elbow Cay” and is “working with Bahamian authorities to provide assistance,” a spokesperson for the agency said Monday.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The husband of a woman who was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy has been arrested, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

The couple was en route to their yacht, “Soulmate,” when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities.

Brian Hooker was arrested Wednesday evening and was being questioned in connection with his wife’s disappearance, police said. No further details were released.

According to his attorney, Brian Hooker has been “cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.”

The husband “categorically denies the allegations made against him,” the attorney, Terrel Butler, said in a statement on Thursday.

“Mr. Hooker cannot provide further comments to the media or the public at this time while the investigations are ongoing,” Butler added. “It is crucial to mention the importance of maintaining the integrity of the legal process.”

The arrest comes after multiple sources told ABC News a criminal investigation had been opened into whether there was any wrongdoing in the case.

The U.S. Coast Guard will be leading the probe, according to a source familiar with the investigation. 

The search is ongoing for Lynette Hooker, according to police.

Her husband told police the strong currents on Saturday took her out to sea, authorities said. She was holding the boat key when she went overboard, causing the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to shut off, police noted.

Her husband spoke out for the first time on Wednesday, saying he is “heartbroken over the recent boat accident.”

In a statement posted to social media, Brian Hooker said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” near Elbow Cay.

“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,” he said.

Brian Hooker subsequently paddled the boat back to shore, arriving at around 4 a.m. Sunday to a marina, where he reported his wife overboard to an individual who then alerted police, authorities said.

The search and rescue operation has been conducted by land, sea and air and involved multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.  

Brian Hooker thanked the agencies “who have worked tirelessly in an ongoing effort to bring Lynette back to us.” 

“Thank you to everyone for keeping Lynette in your thoughts and for your support of our family during this difficult time,” he said.

The investigation and search efforts are ongoing, police said Tuesday.

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has called for a “full and complete investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.

She told ABC News her mother is fit and a good swimmer, and described what her stepfather told her about his wife’s disappearance.

“He said that my mom’s missing and that she fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or something, and he doesn’t know if she got it or not,” she said.

“I just hope we find her,” she added.

The Hookers are avid sailors, documenting their travels on social media under the name “The Sailing Hookers.”

The U.S. State Department is “aware of reports regarding a missing American near Elbow Cay” and is “working with Bahamian authorities to provide assistance,” a spokesperson for the agency said Monday.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The husband of an American woman reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy has spoken out for the first time, saying he is “heartbroken over the recent boat accident.”

The search is ongoing for Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

She and her husband, Brian Hooker, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

They were en route to their yacht, “Soulmate,” when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities. The strong currents took her out to sea, authorities said. She was holding the boat key when she went overboard, causing the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to shut off, police noted.

In a statement posted to social media on Wednesday, Brian Hooker, 58, said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” near Elbow Cay.

“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,” he said.

Brian Hooker subsequently paddled the boat back to shore, arriving at around 4 a.m. Sunday to a marina, where he reported his wife overboard to an individual who then alerted police, authorities said.

The search and rescue operation has been conducted by land, sea and air and involved multiple agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.  

Brian Hooker thanked the agencies “who have worked tirelessly in an ongoing effort to bring Lynette back to us.”

“Thank you to everyone for keeping Lynette in your thoughts and for your support of our family during this difficult time,” he said.

The investigation and search efforts are ongoing, police said Tuesday.

Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has called for a “full and complete investigation” into her mother’s disappearance.

She told ABC News her mother is fit and a good swimmer, and described what Brian Hooker told her about his wife’s disappearance.

“He said that my mom’s missing and that she fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or something, and he doesn’t know if she got it or not,” she said.

“I just hope we find her,” she added.

The Hookers are avid sailors, documenting their travels on social media under the name “The Sailing Hookers.”

The U.S. State Department is “aware of reports regarding a missing American near Elbow Cay” and is “working with Bahamian authorities to provide assistance,” a spokesperson for the agency said Monday.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.