It’s been over every 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 posh investigation with one particular person at its middle: her husband of 25 years.
Brian Hooker, 58, was taken into custody by the Royal Bahamas Police Force on Wednesday, April 8, in connection with her disappearance and stays in custody after an extension was granted till Monday night, his lawyer confirmed to CNN.
Brian Hooker has not been charged, and his legal professional says he “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”
What occurs subsequent stays unsure. Police are interviewing Brian Hooker once more Monday morning, based on police spokesperson Sheria King. By night, authorities may select to launch him or formally cost him. It just isn’t but clear whether or not he may very well be held longer underneath Bahamian regulation.
Here’s a timeline of the key developments:
Disappearance at sea: Days after her final social media put up, 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,” based on Brian Hooker’s account to police.
He tells authorities tough situations – together with excessive winds and uneven waves – induced his spouse to fall overboard.
“Strong currents subsequently carried her away,” and “he lost sight of her,” police say Brian Hooker informed them. Lynette Hooker was carrying the keys, also called an engine’s security lanyard — a wire designed to chop energy if the operator is thrown overboard — based on his account shared by police.
He says he final noticed his spouse swimming towards the shore, based on Richard Cook, fireplace group lead with Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
Report to authorities and search begins: Without energy on their dinghy, Brian Hooker says he makes an attempt to paddle to shore and the little boat finally drifts by means of the Sea of Abaco, hours later washing ashore close to Marsh Harbour, based on his account shared by police.
He finally makes his manner by means of brush till he reaches a boatyard, the place he contacts police, based on Cook.
Bahamian authorities and native fireplace and rescue crews launch a search by sea. The US Coast Guard later joins with aerial belongings.
Family notified: Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, informed CNN 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 informed CNN.
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 machine: Aylesworth tells CNN on Tuesday that Brian Hooker left her a voicemail saying authorities discovered a flotation machine 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 CNN. “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 relies 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 a press release to CNN as a boating accident unfolding in quickly deteriorating situations.
“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 a press release. “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 identical day, the company interviews Aylesworth for 2 hours, based on her legal professional. The US State Department says it’s conscious of reviews concerning 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 CNN, raises allegations of abuse. The couple cares for each other, she says, however they’ve had a turbulent marriage that has at instances grow to be violent. Aylesworth says her mom beforehand confided that Brian Hooker choked her.
CNN has been unable to verify the incident with regulation enforcement.
In 2015, Lynette Hooker was taken into custody in Michigan on suspicion of “assault & battery/simple assault,” based on a Kentwood police report. Brian Hooker informed an officer he had been assaulted by his spouse, who struck him a number of instances, based on the report, which mentioned he was discovered with a swollen, bloody nostril.
Lynette Hooker, who an officer mentioned was “highly intoxicated,” informed 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.
Another spherical of questioning: Brian Hooker is questioned once more by investigators. Butler, his legal professional, tells CNN police centered on the couple’s private life and didn’t ask about proof from the boat or digital units.
“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 means of Monday night underneath Bahamian regulation, his legal professional says. He just isn’t charged.
Under Bahamian law, a Justice of the Peace can authorize as much as 72 further hours of detention if investigators want extra time to collect 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 a press release 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.”
Investigation continues: 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.
Husband is questioned once more: Investigators are questioning Brian Hooker once more Monday morning as they decide whether or not to cost or launch him, based on Sheria King, a Bahamas police spokesperson.
