Shanta Knowles, the?Police commissioner of The Bahamas?, said on Monday that a 59-year old Michigan man had been?released? by police after his wife went missing while sailing in The Bahamas.

The arrest of Brian?Hooker by the Bahamian Police on April 8, after he had been initially questioned about his role as a possible witness to the disappearance, led to his release.

Terrel Butler has denied that he did anything wrong. Butler claimed that Hooker, who was previously questioned by police in Abaco, was then transferred to Grand Bahama. This is the second-most populous island of the archipelago.

Police said that Hooker's 55-year-old wife, Lynette, was missing on April 4 while they were travelling from Hope Town to Elbow Cay.

Police say that Lynette was sailing with her husband in a 8-foot-long (2.4-metre) hard-bottomed dinghy called "Soulmate" when she fell overboard and lost the keys to the boat. Brian, according to police, paddled back to shore when he lost sight of his wife.

According to the report, after?arriving on land, he informed a person of the incident, and the?police alerted.

His lawyer stated that in the days following, police searched the Soulmate by boat with?Hooker, and that he was still handcuffed despite the dangerous sea conditions.

Butler stated that Hooker sustained an injury during the search when he "lost footing and fell out of bounds." Butler said Hooker suffered a sprain and abrasion on his knee.

Butler stated that he was taken to Grand Bahama Hospital where he received medical treatment. (Reporting and editing by Caitlin Reese and Chris Reese in Washington)

(source: Reuters)