The husband of a lady who was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy has been arrested, in keeping with the Royal Bahamas Police Drive.
Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, and her husband, Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope City on the Abaco Islands for Elbow Cay round 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, in keeping with the Royal Bahamas Police Drive.
The couple was en path to their yacht, “Soulmate,” when unhealthy climate triggered Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband instructed authorities.
Brian Hooker was arrested Wednesday night, police stated.
In a press release, lawyer Terrel Butler stated he had been retained to signify Brian Hooker.
“I keep the place said by my consumer: he categorically denies the allegations made towards him,” Butler stated, including that he had suggested his consumer to chorus from some other public feedback “to make sure the integrity of the authorized course of.”
Brian and Lynette Hooker in a photograph posted to their social media.
the_sailing_hookers/Instagram
The arrest comes after a number of sources instructed ABC Information a legal investigation had been opened into whether or not there was any wrongdoing within the case.
The U.S. Coast Guard might be main the probe, in keeping with a supply accustomed to the investigation.
The search is ongoing for Lynette Hooker, in keeping with police.
The Hookers’ boat, “Soulmate,” is seen in Marsh Harbor on Nice Abaco Island within the Bahamas, April 8, 2026.
ABC Information
Her husband instructed police the robust currents on Saturday took her out to sea, authorities stated. She was holding the boat key when she went overboard, inflicting the 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy’s engine to close off, police famous.
Her husband spoke out for the primary time on Wednesday, saying he’s “heartbroken over the current boat accident.”
In a press release posted to social media, Brian Hooker stated “unpredictable seas and excessive winds” triggered his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy” close to Elbow Cay.
“Regardless of determined makes an attempt to succeed in her, the winds and currents drove us additional aside. We proceed to seek for her and that’s my sole focus,” he stated.
Brian Hooker subsequently paddled the boat again to shore, arriving at round 4 a.m. Sunday to a marina, the place he reported his spouse overboard to a person who then alerted police, authorities stated.
The search and rescue operation has been performed by land, sea and air and concerned a number of businesses, together with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Royal Bahamas Police Drive stated.
Brian Hooker thanked the businesses “who’ve labored tirelessly in an ongoing effort to convey Lynette again to us.”
“Thanks to everybody for protecting Lynette in your ideas and to your help of our household throughout this troublesome time,” he stated.
Brian and Lynette Hooker in a photograph posted to their social media.
the_sailing_hookers/Instagram
The investigation and search efforts are ongoing, police stated Tuesday.
Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has known as for a “full and full investigation” into her mom’s disappearance.
She instructed ABC Information her mom is match and a superb swimmer, and described what her stepfather instructed her about his spouse’s disappearance.
“He stated that my mother’s lacking and that she fell out of the boat and that he threw a life jacket to her or one thing, and he does not know if she acquired it or not,” she stated.
“I simply hope we discover her,” she added.
The Hookers are avid sailors, documenting their travels on social media beneath the identify “The Crusing Hookers.”
The U.S. State Division is “conscious of studies concerning a lacking American close to Elbow Cay” and is “working with Bahamian authorities to supply help,” a spokesperson for the company stated Monday.
