Hooker went missing during a sailing trip with her husband Brian Hooker in The Bahamas on April 4
Credit: Lynette Hooker/Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking information about a sailboat moored near the area of missing Lynette Hooker’s last known location
- Lynette “reportedly fell overboard” in The Bahamas on April 4 while on a dinghy with her husband, police have said
- Her husband, Brian Hooker, was arrested and released by Bahamian authorities on April 13, but The Royal Bahamas Police Force said he remained a suspect in Lynette’s disappearance
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for the owner of a nearby sailboat in connection with the case of missing American woman Lynette Hooker.
Lynette, 55, "reportedly fell overboard" while on a dinghy with her husband, Brian Hooker, in The Bahamas at around 7:30 p.m. local time on April 4, police have said. Brian was arrested days later and questioned by Bahamian police before he was released.
In a post shared on X on Tuesday, May 5, the Coast Guard released two images of a sailboat, located near where Hooker went missing.
“[We] are asking the public for info about the disappearance of Lynette Hooker [within] Aunt Pat’s Bay, BAH, 4/4,” wrote the Coast Guard “CGIS is looking for the owner of the sailboat below, moored near the SV Soulmate.”
The Coast Guard provided no further information about the investigation when contacted by PEOPLE.
#Breaking #CGIS is asking the public for info about the disappearance of Lynette Hooker w/in Aunt Pat’s Bay, BAH, 4/4. CGIS is looking for the owner of the sailboat below moored near the SV Soulmate. Ppl w/ info are urged to submit tips through CG tips app:https://t.co/DnSYD8Mjno pic.twitter.com/SJntjLlKRy
— U.S. Coast Guard Southeast (@USCGSoutheast) May 5, 2026
Brian, 58, told the Bahamian authorities of the April 4 incident that his wife, Lynette, fell off their eight-foot boat and "strong currents subsequently carried her away.” He said that Lynette had the boat's keys on her when she went overboard and the engine eventually shut off. He then spent hours paddling back to shore early on April 5.
Brian was taken into custody in The Bahamas on April 8. He was released days later “pending the outcome of further investigations,” the Royal Bahamas Police (RBP) wrote in an April 13 press release. Following his release without charges, the RBP said he remained a suspect in Lynette's disappearance. Brian left the Bahamas to see his ill mother on April 15.
Credit: Lynette Hooker Facebook
Karli Aylesworth, Lynette's daughter and Brian's stepdaughter, previously told PEOPLE that Brian allegedly was "strict" and had "anger issues." She and Lynette's mom, Darlene Hamlett, also said there had long been issues in Lynette's marriage with Brian.
Brian's attorney, Terrel A. Butler, said in a statement to PEOPLE that he "categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing." Butler added that Brian is cooperating with authorities.
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Aylesworth said in an NBC interview in April that she questions her stepfather’s version of what happened and what he told the police.
“I hope this was just a freak accident, but I just have a hard time believing it at the moment,” she said. “I just want to know the truth. I feel like this was probably preplanned, if anything. Like, it doesn’t seem like just some accident.”
The Coast Guard is asking anyone with information to submit tips through the Coast Guard tips app.
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