U.S. Coast Guard to Search Seized Sailboat in Lynette Hooker Disappearance Case
The U.S. Coast Guard will examine the couple's vessel in Fort Lauderdale after Bahamian authorities approved a U.S. dive team to search waters in the Sea of Abaco where Lynette Hooker vanished last month.
The IndependentU.S. Coast Guard will search the sailboat Soulmate for evidence related to Lynette Hooker's disappearance. The vessel, seized after it left the Bahamas, was first docked in Fort Pierce, Florida, before being moved to Fort Lauderdale.
Bahamian officials approved the United States to send a dive team to the Sea of Abaco. The team will look for evidence and attempt to recover Lynette Hooker's body if possible. The new search area was chosen using GPS data recovered from the boat.
Investigators said the GPS data contradicts the location Brian Hooker provided to authorities. Brian Hooker told investigators that his wife fell out of their dinghy in the Sea of Abaco while the couple was returning to their sailboat. He said Lynette Hooker had the key to the engine when she fell, forcing him to paddle the dinghy to shore before he could report her missing.
Brian Hooker was detained on April 8 during the initial investigation and released five days later. He has not been charged with any crimes. ” Lynette Hooker vanished last month while the couple was vacationing on their sailboat in the Bahamas.
Before the incident, the couple operated a YouTube travel channel called The Sailing Hookers. Karli Aylesworth, Lynette Hooker's daughter, told NBC News that her mother and Brian Hooker had a history of not getting along, especially when they drink. Lynette Hooker was arrested on assault and battery charges in 2015.
A police report from that year showed both Lynette Hooker and Brian Hooker accused each other of assault. A warrant for Lynette Hooker's arrest was denied for insufficient evidence as to who started the assault. Terrel Butler, Brian Hooker's attorney, told The Independent that Brian Hooker “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing” and has been cooperating with authorities.
Butler said Brian Hooker's primary concern is his inability to continue the search for his wife of 25 years. Nicole Parker, a former FBI special agent, told Fox News that investigators will remove digital devices and computer systems from the boat for examination.
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