Photo: @the_sailing_hookers/Instagram
Brian Hooker, the husband arrested in the disappearance of Lynette Hooker during their boating trip in the Bahamas, reportedly claimed that the wind blew him away from her in an apparent Facebook message to a friend.
“The wind blew me away from her and she swam towards the sailboat, and we lost sight of each other pretty quickly as it was just about sundown,” Brian told friend and fellow boater Daniel Danforth in a message sent on Monday (April 6), two days after Lynette's disappearance, which was viewed by CBS News.
Brian, 59, made the claim in response to Danforth telling him he saw the couple's story on ABC World News. The husband was arrested by police in the Bahamas on Wednesday (April 8), the Associated Press reports.
A Coast Guard spokesperson told the Associated Press late Wednesday that they have opened a criminal investigation into the case, but didn't provide further details on whether Hooker was charged in his wife's disappearance. The reported arrest came hours after Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that her mother and stepfather had a volatile relationship.
Aylesworth said it's unlikely that her experienced mariner mother would "just fall" off the boat and said the couple had a "history of not getting along, especially when they drink." Hooker, 55, of Onsted, Michigan, was on an 8-foot dinghy with her husband en route to their yacht, the "Soulmate," on Elbow Cay when she went overboard at around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (April 4), the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.
Aylesworth said her stepfather notified her of her mother's disappearance in a "monotone and relaxed" voice during a phone call on Sunday (April 5).
“I was in shock,” she said. “I was like, my mom’s missing? Like, what?”
Poor weather conditions were initially the suspected cause of Hooker falling out of the dinghy, according to Hope Town Volunteer Fire & Rescue Assistant Chief Stafford Patterson. The 55-year-old was holding the boat key at the time, which caused the dinghy's engine to shut off, according to police.
Brian Hooker paddled to a marina and reported his wife overboard to an individual who then called police at around 4:00 a.m., the Royal Bahamas Police Force confirmed. Authorities and volunteers from both the Bahamas and U.S. are taking part in ongoing search and rescue efforts, the department said on Monday (April 6).
Aylesworth had previously shared a statement regarding her mother's disappearance on Monday.
"I have been privy to very little information. My sole concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure a full and complete investigation is performed into her disappearance," she said.
"While the Royal Bahamian police are investigating this matter, I would also appreciate any involvement of the federal, state or local authorities to look into the circumstances of this tragic situation," Aylesworth added.