Mystery Sailors May Have Clues to Bahamas Disappearance

Federal investigators are now spotlighting a mystery sailboat in the case of a Michigan woman who vanished in the Bahamas a month ago. The Coast Guard Investigative Service is asking the public to help identify the owners or occupants of a sailboat believed to have been anchored near Lynette and Brian Hooker's vessel, Soulmate, in Aunt Pat's Bay off Elbow Cay on April 4, per CBS News. Officials say whoever was aboard that boat may have seen something relevant to their probe.

Lynette, 55, disappeared during what her husband has described as a nighttime dinghy ride in the Abacos; he says she toppled from the 8-foot dinghy with the keys, the engine died, and he paddled for hours to shore. He was detained by Bahamian authorities but released without charges, and denies any wrongdoing. He has since left the Bahamas. Lynette's daughter Karli Aylesworth has questioned her stepfather's story. In an April 18 update on GoFundMe, where she's raising money to support the search, Aylesworth said she had "retraced their steps from that day and it just makes the story sound more sketchy to me."

CBS News reports Coast Guard investigators are now broadening their focus beyond the dinghy route, actively scheduling interviews and seeking potential witnesses around Soulmate's anchorage. The Coast Guard's Southeast Sector shared two photos of the unidentified sailboat on Tuesday, per MLive, asking that tips about the vessel or Lynette's disappearance be submitted, anonymously if desired, via the CGIS Tips app.