HOLIDAY FROM HELL

Desperate Search Underway for Woman Whose Husband Says She Got Lost at Sea

He said he was forced to “paddle the vessel to shore” after she went overboard while clutching the boat’s keys.

Authorities in the Bahamas are searching for an American woman reported missing after her husband told police she was swept away during an evening dinghy ride. The couple, both U.S. citizens, departed Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday aboard an 8-foot-long, hard-bottom dinghy bound for Elbow Cay. According to a Facebook post from the Royal Bahamas Police Force on Sunday, the man’s wife “fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel’s engine to shut off.” The statement adds that “strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” and that the man “then paddled the vessel to shore.” The woman’s husband managed to reach Marsh Harbour Boat Yard, on a neighboring island, near 4 a.m. Sunday, alerting someone there who contacted authorities. A search involving police, the Royal Bahamas Defense Force, and Hope Town Fire & Rescue remains ongoing as of Monday morning. The FBI and U.S. Embassy in Nassau have not yet commented on the case.