Brian Hooker, husband of Michigan woman who went overboard in Bahamas is arrested as daughter claims domestic violence. Police open criminal charges while it remains whether criminal charges have been made. Lynette Hooker of Onsted, Lenawee County continues to remain missing as search mission has now turned into recovery mission.
Authorities in the Bahamas have arrested the husband of a Michigan woman who has alleged his wife going overboard and vanishing as the couple made their way to their yacht by dinghy.
Authorities said the 59-year-old man (Brian Hooker– the husband of missing woman) whom they did not identify was arrested in Abaco and was being questioned.
In a Facebook release Wednesday evening the Royal Bahamas Police Department stated that they have opened a criminal investigation into the case.
Bahamas police launch criminal probe
The police force said the man was being questioned after being taken into custody shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday in Marsh Harbour, a town in Abaco Islands.
Police did not provide further details, including whether or not he was charged.
Officials said Lynette Hooker, 55, was traveling in an 8-foot motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay on Saturday night, and that her husband, 58-year-old Brian Hooker, told authorities she fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the engine to turn off.
Authorities said Brian Hooker then paddled to shore and alerted someone about the incident early Sunday after previously saying he was unable to locate his wife amid ‘poor visibility’ and a current carrying her away.
Brian Hooker issues Facebook message over missing wife in ‘boating accident’
Brian broke his silence four days after she was swept away, speaking out amid claims that he failed to notify his wife’s daughter of the tragedy for 24 hours.
In his Facebook post Wednesday, Brian Hooker said that he was ‘heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall. 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,’ he added.
The Michigan couple are experienced on the water and have been documenting their sailing adventures on social media for years, describing themselves on TikTok as ‘a married couple living their best life’ after they ‘sailed away from BS.’ They’ve sailed to New Orleans, Miami Beach, Key West, on Lake Michigan, and most recently, throughout the Bahamas.
Accident or foul play?
Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has questioned her stepfather’s account, saying it seemed unlikely that her mom would ‘just fall’ overboard.
Aylesworth who has since called for an investigation has told multiple news outlets that it doesn’t make sense that her mother would fall off the dinghy, saying that she was a fit and experienced mariner. She also described the couple’s relationship as volatile and said it involved domestic violence.
Speaking to Fox News the daughter suggested that her mother may have been subjected to foul play.
Said the daughter, ‘There is a history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. So, the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story,’
‘There has also been a history of domestic violence in that relationship, so I do believe something might have happened to her.’
‘It just doesn’t add up. My mom is very fit and strong. She’s a good swimmer, like, why was she swimming away from the boat?’ she said.
‘I’m confused why she has the keys because she never drove the dinghy. It was always Brian. So the story just doesn’t add up right now.’
Previous US State Department advisory warnings about travel to Bahamas
Aylesworth shared a voicemail Hooker sent her with CBS News, in which he spoke about throwing a flotation device to Lynette after she fell.
‘Hello, honey, it’s Dad. I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they found the flotation device that I threw to Mom when she fell overboard,’ he told his stepdaughter.
‘Their relationship has been a lot of fighting and drinking lately,’ she told CBS. ‘So I’m just kind of questioning what actually went on in that dinghy.’
Local officials have since stated that the search for the missing woman has now turned into a recovery mission.
The missing woman’s whereabouts comes after the US State Department issuing a level two travel advisory, warning visitors to exercise increased caution due to increased crime and swimming-related risks .
The advisory cited violent crimes, such as armed robberies, burglaries, and sexual assaults, as well as the lack of regulation around boating, which has led to injury and death.
Aylesworth has since started a GoFundMe to help in her mother’s search efforts. As of late Wednesday night, $520 of an $18K target goal had been raised.
