The U.S. Coast Guard will soon reopen the search into the disappearance of Lynette Hooker, a Michigan woman who went missing after her husband claimed she fell overboard while they were boating in the Bahamas in April, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation said on Wednesday.
The re-opening of the search comes after new GPS data evidence from their boat, the Soulmate, appeared to contradict what Lynette Hooker’s husband, Brian Hooker, originally told investigators about his whereabouts the night of her disappearance, the official said.
Investigators were searching “in the wrong area” of the Sea of Abaco based on the information Brian Hooker gave them, the official said.
The U.S. Coast Guard is now requesting permission from the Bahamian government to allow divers to search the Sea of Abaco again.
The FBI is also processing evidence from the case at Quantico, the official said.
Lynette Hooker’s daughter Karli Aylesworth also told NBC News that she provided DNA to the U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday to aid in their investigation into her mother’s disappearance.
An initial statement by Bahamian authorities shortly after Lynette Hooker went missing included that Brian Hooker said she fell overboard from their eight-foot dinghy in rough seas with the boat key with her, forcing him to have to paddle to shore.
In April, Brian Hooker told NBC News that authorities had repeatedly questioned him about his wife’s disappearance following his arrest. He was released days after his arrest, at which point his attorney claimed authorities had no evidence against him, though authorities told NBC News that he was still being investigated despite no charges being filed.
In an interview after his release, Brian Hooker told NBC News “I’ve never harmed Lynette and I never would harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette.”
Aylesworth described her 56-year-old mother as an experienced mariner who sold her Michigan home four years ago to live on a sailboat in an interview with NBC 5 Investigates shortly after her disappearance. She said her mother and stepfather, Brian Hooker, had been sailing around the Gulf of Mexico and recently sailed to the Bahamas and that it seemed unlikely that her mother would “just fall” overboard.
Aylesworth also described the relationship between her mother and stepfather as “rocky at best” in the interview with NBC 5 Investigates. Brian Hooker’s attorney rebuked those claims, saying Brian Hooker denies any wrongdoing and has been cooperative with authorities.
The daughter of a missing woman whose husband claims fell overboard from a boat in the Bahamas told NBC 5 Investigates’ Bennett Haeberle that she has more concerns and questions than answers.
