It’s been over per week since Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old mother and sailor, vanished at sea in the Bahamas, setting off an pressing search that has since shifted into a fancy investigation with one individual at its middle: her husband of 25 years.
Brian Hooker, 58, was taken into custody by the Royal Bahamas Police Force on Wednesday in connection with her disappearance and stays in custody after an extension was granted till Monday night, his lawyer confirmed to NCS.
Brian Hooker has not been charged, and his legal professional says he “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”
What occurs subsequent stays unsure. Police have requested one other interview with Hooker on Monday, his legal professional advised NCS. By night, authorities might select to launch him or formally cost him. It is just not but clear whether or not he could possibly be held longer beneath Bahamian legislation.
Here’s a timeline of the key developments:
Disappearance at sea: Days after her final social media submit, Lynette Hooker and her husband, Brian Hooker, journey by an 8‑foot exhausting‑backside dinghy close to Elbow Cay as they return to their sailboat, “Soulmate,” in accordance with Brian Hooker’s account to police.
He tells authorities tough circumstances – together with excessive winds and uneven waves – prompted his spouse to fall overboard.
“Strong currents subsequently carried her away,” and “he lost sight of her,” police say Brian Hooker advised them. Lynette Hooker was sporting the keys, often known as an engine’s security lanyard — a wire designed to chop energy if the operator is thrown overboard — in accordance with his account shared by police.
He says he final noticed his spouse swimming towards the shore, in accordance with Richard Cook, fireplace crew lead with Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
Report to authorities and search begins: Without energy on their dinghy, Brian Hooker makes an attempt to paddle to shore and the little boat finally drifts away, hours later washing ashore close to Marsh Harbour, in accordance with his account shared by police.
He finally makes his manner by brush till he reaches a boatyard, the place he contacts police, in accordance with Cook.
Bahamian authorities and native fireplace and rescue crews launch a search by sea. The US Coast Guard later joins with aerial property.
Family notified: Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, advised NCS her stepfather calls her Sunday night “around 8:00 to 8:30” and says her mom is lacking.
“He said … like matter of fact, ‘Hey, your mom is missing. We don’t know where she is. She’s been missing since last night, but we’re gonna come up there soon to see you,’” Aylesworth advised NCS.
Aylesworth mentioned she was processing what he mentioned and felt like “he just dropped a bomb on me,” after which he started speaking once more earlier than out of the blue ending the name. “And I was just like, ‘OK, like, what?’ How do you just lose my mom?”
Voicemail about flotation gadget: Aylesworth tells NCS on Tuesday that Brian Hooker left her a voicemail saying authorities discovered a flotation gadget he says he had tossed to his spouse.
“Hello, honey, I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they have found a flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard,” Brian Hooker says in the voicemail shared with NCS. “They haven’t found her yet, but they can now focus all of their efforts in a smaller area.”
Search shifts towards restoration: After days with out finding her, officers affirm Tuesday the effort has shifted from an lively rescue to a restoration mission.
Husband taken into custody: Bahamian police take Brian Hooker into custody for questioning. A Royal Bahamas Police Force official tells Reuters the detention is predicated on “some probable cause.” Authorities announce no costs. Hooker’s legal professional says he “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”
Before his arrest Wednesday, Brian Hooker describes the incident in an announcement to NCS as a boating accident unfolding in quickly deteriorating circumstances.
“I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy,” Brian Hooker says in an announcement. “Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”
US prison investigation confirmed: The Coast Guard says it has opened a prison investigation into the case. The similar day, the company interviews Aylesworth for 2 hours, in accordance with her legal professional. The US State Department says it’s conscious of stories relating to a lacking American close to Elbow Cay and is offering consular help whereas working with Bahamian officers.
Past home violence allegations are raised: Lynette Hooker’s daughter, in an interview with NCS, raises allegations of abuse. The couple cares for each other, she says, however they’ve had a turbulent marriage that has at occasions grow to be violent. Aylesworth says her mom beforehand confided that Brian Hooker choked her.
NCS has been unable to verify the incident with legislation enforcement.
In 2015, Lynette Hooker was taken into custody in Michigan on suspicion of “assault & battery/simple assault,” in accordance with a Kentwood police report. Brian Hooker advised an officer he had been assaulted by his spouse, who struck him a number of occasions, in accordance with the report, which mentioned he was discovered with a swollen, bloody nostril.
Lynette Hooker, who an officer mentioned was “highly intoxicated,” advised police she had been “struck in the forehead by her husband Brian” as effectively, although no seen accidents on her had been documented.
A prosecutor reviewed the case and decided there was “insufficient evidence as to who started the assault,” the police report mentioned. The case was dismissed with out costs being introduced.
Second spherical of questioning: Brian Hooker is questioned once more by investigators. Butler, his legal professional, tells NCS police targeted on the couple’s private life and didn’t ask about proof from the boat or digital gadgets.
“He was overwhelmed, he was upset, and he kept reiterating that ‘I need to know what’s happening with the search of my wife,’” Butler says Friday.
A Justice of the Peace approves an extension permitting police to proceed holding Brian Hooker by Monday night beneath Bahamian legislation, his legal professional says. He is just not charged.
Under Bahamian law, a Justice of the Peace can authorize as much as 72 extra hours of detention if investigators want extra time to assemble or protect proof, forestall interference or advance the investigation.
Butler has pushed again on rising public hypothesis, arguing that with out discovering Lynette Hooker, conclusions about foul play are untimely, she says Friday.
In an announcement earlier that day, Butler says her shopper “appears completely heartbroken and deeply distressed,” and the trauma of his spouse’s disappearance and his detention as a suspect has left him in an “extremely fragile state.”
Brian Hooker stays in custody and uncharged. Lynette Hooker has not been discovered. Bahamian authorities say the investigation stays lively, with a parallel US Coast Guard prison probe underway.