A new search for Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas ends without answers about the missing American sailor

Lynette Hooker was last seen by her husband, who says she fell out of a dinghy, a small, open-top boat, while making their way back to their yacht "Soulmate" on April 4. (From Lynette Hooker/Facebook via CNN Newsource)

The disappearance of Lynette Hooker in the waters off the Bahamas in April has put a lingering cloud of speculation over her husband and set off a U.S. federal criminal investigation, paving the way for a renewed search this month and new questions about what happened the night she went missing.

Her husband, Brian Hooker, said the American boater fell overboard and vanished in rough waters despite his attempts to reach her as the pair, married for 25 years, travelled in a dinghy. He was arrested days after reporting her missing and released without charges. For months, he has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he will continue to look for his wife.

U.S. Coast Guard divers arrived in the Bahamas on June 2 to search for Lynette Hooker in new locations, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told CNN, after investigators found inconsistencies between the location data recovered from Brian Hooker’s electronic devices and his statements to investigators about where to look. It concluded the search days later.

Following Brian Hooker’s release in April, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told CNN, “As long as there has been a thorough investigation into all the facts then I’ll have to live with the fact that it’s an accident, but I don’t think this is the end.”

Here’s a timeline of the key developments:

Saturday, April 4

Disappearance at sea: Days after her last social media post, 55-year-old Lynette Hooker and her husband, Brian Hooker, travel by an 8‑foot hard‑bottom dinghy near Elbow Cay as they return to their sailboat, “Soulmate,” according to Brian Hooker’s account to police.

He tells authorities rough conditions – including high winds and choppy waves – caused his wife to fall overboard.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away,” and “he lost sight of her,” police say Brian Hooker told them. Lynette Hooker was wearing the keys, also known as an engine’s safety lanyard — a cord designed to cut power if the operator is thrown overboard — according to his account shared by police.

He says he last saw his wife swimming toward the shore, according to Richard Cook, fire team lead with Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue.

Early Sunday, April 5

Report to authorities and search begins: Without power on their dinghy, Brian Hooker says, he attempts to paddle to shore and the little boat eventually drifts through the Sea of Abaco, hours later washing ashore near Marsh Harbour, according to his account shared by police.

He eventually makes his way through brush until he reaches a boatyard, where he contacts police, according to Cook.

Bahamian authorities and local fire and rescue crews launch a search by sea. The U.S. Coast Guard later joins with aerial assets.

Sunday night, April 5

Family notified: Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, told CNN her stepfather calls her Sunday evening “around 8:00 to 8:30” and says her mother is missing.

“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 told CNN.

Aylesworth said she was processing what he said and felt like “he just dropped a bomb on me,” and then he began talking again before suddenly ending the call. “And I was just like, ‘OK, like, what?’ How do you just lose my mom?”

Tuesday, April 7

Voicemail about flotation device: Aylesworth tells CNN that Brian Hooker left her a voicemail saying authorities found a flotation device he says he had tossed to his wife.

“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 toward recovery: Officials confirm the effort has shifted from an active rescue to a recovery mission.

Wednesday, April 8

Husband taken into custody: Bahamian police take Brian Hooker into custody for questioning. A Royal Bahamas Police Force official tells Reuters the detention is based on “some probable cause.” Authorities announce no charges. Hooker’s attorney says he “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”

Before his arrest, Brian Hooker describes the incident in a statement to CNN as a boating accident unfolding in rapidly deteriorating conditions.

“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 statement. “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 criminal investigation confirmed: The Coast Guard says it has opened a criminal investigation into the case. The same day, the agency interviews Aylesworth for two hours, according to her attorney. The US State Department says it is aware of reports regarding a missing American near Elbow Cay and is providing consular assistance while working with Bahamian officials.

Thursday, April 9

Past domestic violence allegations are raised: Lynette Hooker’s daughter, in an interview with CNN, raises allegations of abuse. The couple cares for one another, she says, but they have had a turbulent marriage that has at times become violent. Aylesworth says her mother previously confided that Brian Hooker choked her.

CNN has been unable to confirm the incident with law enforcement.

Aylesworth also says that, in January, her mother told her Brian Hooker threatened to throw her off their boat during a fight in 2024. Hooker’s attorney has said he denies allegations made by Aylesworth.

In 2015, Lynette Hooker was taken into custody in Michigan on suspicion of “assault & battery/simple assault,” according to a Kentwood police report. Brian Hooker told an officer he had been assaulted by his wife, who struck him multiple times, according to the report, which said he was found with a swollen, bloody nose.

Lynette Hooker, who an officer said was “highly intoxicated,” told police she had been “struck in the forehead by her husband Brian” as well, though no visible injuries on her were documented.

A prosecutor reviewed the case and determined there was “insufficient evidence as to who started the assault,” the police report said. The case was dismissed without charges.

Friday, April 10

Another round of questioning: Brian Hooker is questioned again by investigators. Butler, his attorney, tells CNN police focused on the couple’s personal life and did not ask about evidence from the boat or electronic devices.

“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.

A magistrate approves an extension allowing police to continue holding Brian Hooker through the following Monday under Bahamian law, his attorney says. He is not charged.

Under Bahamian law, a magistrate can authorize up to 72 additional hours of detention if investigators need more time to gather or preserve evidence, prevent interference or advance the investigation.

Butler pushes back on growing public speculation, arguing that without finding Lynette Hooker, conclusions about foul play are premature.

In a statement earlier in the day, Butler says her client “appears completely heartbroken and deeply distressed,” and the trauma of his wife’s disappearance and his detention as a suspect has left him in an “extremely fragile state.”

Sunday, April 12

Investigation continues: Brian Hooker remains in custody and uncharged. Lynette Hooker has not been found. Bahamian authorities say the investigation remains active, with a parallel U.S. Coast Guard criminal probe underway.

Monday, April 13

Husband released from custody: Brian Hooker is released without charges in the evening after authorities question him about Lynette Hooker’s disappearance.

Authorities had until that night to charge or release Brian Hooker, Butler said earlier in the day. It is possible he could be arrested again, she previously said.

Brian Hooker thanked his attorney when he was released, she said, then called a family member to let them know he is alright.

While Butler said she is glad authorities decided to release her client, she added, “It is unfortunate they had to exhaust the entire investigative period to come to the conclusion.”

When Brian Hooker was interviewed in the morning, no evidence was presented to him, Butler says. Investigators appeared to be determining whether Brian Hooker killed his wife, she says.

“My client maintains his innocence, and he denied all allegations,” Butler said Monday afternoon before her client was released. “He’s just hoping to have closure, to be released so that he can continue to search to find out what has happened to his wife.”

The Royal Bahamas Police Force says it made the decision to release Brian Hooker in coordination with the Department of Public Prosecutions, which “recommended that no charges be filed at this time pending the outcome of further investigations.” Police ask anyone who may have information about the case to contact authorities.

Tuesday, April 14

Husband speaks with news networks: Brian Hooker tells several news networks he still believes his wife is alive and will continue the search for her.

“No one has told me not to stop looking and I’m going to keep looking,” he tells NBC.

“I believe I’ve been told that people have lasted in the Bahamas after falling overboard for days and even weeks,” he tells CBS, adding with so many islands, the search area is vast and there are many possibilities for where she could have taken refuge. He says he is “not really capable of just turning away from this.”

Wednesday, April 15

Husband returns to the US: Brian Hooker returned to the United States to visit his mother, who “is ill,” his attorney tells CNN.

Police were informed of his departure, Butler tells NBC on Wednesday.

CNN has reached out to the Royal Bahamas Police Force for comment.

Wednesday, May 27

Coast Guard asks to conduct new search: The U.S. Coast Guard has asked Bahamian officials for permission to send divers to new locations in its search for Lynette Hooker after investigators found inconsistencies between the location data recovered from Brian Hooker’s electronic devices and his statements to investigators about where to search for his wife, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation tells CNN.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force then granted permission, the official says.

Tuesday, June 2

New search begins: The U.S. Coast Guard arrives in the Bahamas to begin the renewed search for Lynette Hooker, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation tells CNN. Over the next few days, the Coast Guard used divers, remotely operated underwater vehicles, unmanned aerial systems and a cadaver dog to examine “newly identified areas of interest,” the agency said. It also took custody of the Hookers’ dinghy, which they were using when Lynette Hooker fell overboard, according to her husband.

Friday, June 5

New search ends: Investigators conclude their search mission. While it doesn’t say whether anything was found, the Coast Guard calls the investigation ongoing and asks anyone with information about Lynette Hooker to contact investigators.

By Alaa Elassar, CNN