In brief
Brian Hooker, a Michigan man, has been released from Bahamian police custody after his wife, Lynette, disappeared following a boating accident. Authorities are investigating the circumstances around her disappearance, which Hooker claims was an accident. With over 20 years of marriage and shared sailing experiences documented online, the couple's case has raised questions and garnered attention.
Police in the Bahamas have released a Michigan man who said his wife disappeared after falling overboard from a small boat in waters off the island nation, authorities said Monday.
Brian Hooker, of Onsted in southern Michigan, had been in police custody since April 8 after being questioned by authorities. He told CBS News shortly after his release that he wants to believe his wife is still alive and plans to go back out to look for her as soon as possible.
“I won’t be able to stop looking,” Hooker said, getting emotional.
Law enforcement freed him after consulting with prosecutors who recommended against filing charges at this time, with investigations underway.
Brian Hooker told police that Lynette Hooker, 55, fell overboard the night of April 4 as they were traveling in an 8-foot (2.4-meter) motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a group of small islands on the eastern end of the Bahamas. He said Lynette had the boat’s keys, causing its engine to shut off and forcing him to paddle ashore.
“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement.
After reaching shore, Brian Hooker alerted someone about his wife’s disappearance early the following day, according to authorities.
Hooker has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler. She did not immediately respond to an email Monday from The Associated Press requesting comment on Brian Hooker’s release.
The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by authorities in the Bahamas.
The couple has been married for more than 20 years and chronicled their adventures sailing around the Caribbean on their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page. They posted videos in 2023 of buying a sailboat they named Soul Mate in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, and then embarking on a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico from the port town of Kemah, Texas.
Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. She noted the couple had been sailing for years on their voyages.
The couple has had a history of contention; Brian and Lynette Hooker accused each other in 2015 of assault, according to a police report obtained by NBC. Brian Hooker, intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told police at the time that his wife had struck him multiple times in the face, the report said. He said Lynette also was drunk. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. A warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear “who started the assault.”
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Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu and Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama contributed to this report.
