Family says missing Michigan woman’s husband account conflicts with investigators

The U.S. Coast Guard ended its expanded search for Lynette Hooker on June 9 after divers, remotely operated underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial systems and a cadaver dog swept a new area in the Sea of Abaco. Investigators had moved the search after GPS or location data from the boat, or from one of Brian Hooker’s devices, conflicted with his account of what happened the night his wife vanished.

Lynette Hooker, 55, has been missing since the evening of April 4, when she and Brian Hooker left Hope Town in an 8-foot dinghy, bound for their sailboat, the Soulmate, near Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands. Brian Hooker told authorities that Lynette Hooker fell overboard, that strong currents pulled her away, and that the dinghy’s keys went overboard as well, cutting engine power and leaving him unable to reach her. Family members say that version does not match investigators' account of what happened.

Bahamian authorities arrested Brian Hooker on April 8 and held him for questioning for five days before releasing him without charges on April 13. His attorney, Terrel A. Butler, said Hooker denied wrongdoing. U.S. officials later said the Coast Guard would reopen the search based on the location data, while the FBI processed evidence in Quantico, Virginia. The Hookers’ eight-foot dinghy was also taken for forensic examination.

Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, said she doubted Brian Hooker’s story from the start and gave DNA to investigators. Darlene Hamlett, Lynette Hooker’s mother, has said she believes foul play may have been involved and has suggested Lynette Hooker may have returned to the sailboat before disappearing.

Brian Hooker shared maps with friends and boaters showing the route he said the dinghy took and the spot where Lynette Hooker went overboard. He later messaged a friend that the wind pushed him away and that he drifted for hours before reaching shore. Hooker at one point said he would remain in the Bahamas until his visa expired, before his attorney later said he had left because his mother was ill.

The couple had documented their sailing life on social media and on a YouTube channel called The Sailing Hookers.