MI Husband Of Woman Who Disappeared In Bahamas Released From Custody: Police

Brian Hooker, the Michigan man who said his wife disappeared after falling off a dinghy in the Bahamas, has been released by law enforcement after days in custody, police announced Monday evening.

The 58-year-old was taken into custody on Wednesday but was released after the Department of Public Prosecutions recommended no charges immediately be filed, pending the outcome of further investigations, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Hooker told police that Lynette Hooker, 55, fell overboard the night of April 4 as they were traveling in an 8-foot motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a group of small islands on the eastern end of the Bahamas. He said Lynette had the boat's keys, causing its engine to shut off and forcing him to paddle ashore.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her,” police said in a statement.

After reaching shore, Brian alerted someone about his wife's disappearance early the following day, according to authorities.

Hooker has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler.

The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by authorities in the Bahamas.
Lynette's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told multiple national news outlets that she believes something may have happened to her mom.

She said that Brian has a history of being violent towards her mother, including threatening to "throw her overboard.”

Just hours before he was arrested, Brian posted to Facebook that he was "heartbroken" over his wife’s disappearance.

"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 wrote in the message.

The couple has been married for more than 20 years and chronicled their adventures sailing around the Caribbean on their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page. They posted videos in 2023 of buying a sailboat they named Soul Mate in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, and then embarking on a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico from the port town of Kemah, Texas.

The couple has had a history of contention, with Brian and Lynette accusing each other in 2015 of assault, according to a Kentwood police report obtained by NBC.

Brian, who was intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told police his wife had struck him multiple times in the face, the report said. He told officers Lynette was also drunk. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. A warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear “who started the assault.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.