The search for a missing American woman in the Bahamas has led to the arrest of her husband.
The woman, Lynette Hooker, has been missing since Saturday, when she was reportedly sailing in the Bahamas with her husband Brian, who told authorities she had fallen off a dinghy en route to their yacht. But while the search continued, Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, raised concerns and told Fox News that something “doesn’t add up.”
(Video Credit: Fox News)
In a statement released Wednesday, the Royal Bahamas Police said a man had been taken into custody but did not name the individual. Attorney Terrel Butler confirmed that the man was 58-year-old Brian Hooker, who had not yet been charged with a crime, according to CNN. Butler said Hooker “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing” in his wife’s disappearance. “He has been cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.”
Bahamian Assistant Commissioner of Police Advardo Dames told Reuters that Hooker was taken into custody “for additional questioning based on some probable cause we have.” This followed after the US Coast Guard had announced it had opened a criminal investigation into the Michigan woman’s disappearance.
Hooker told authorities that while the couple was on the way to a yacht near Hope Town’s Elbow Cay, Lynette reportedly fell into the water from the small boat they were in as they encountered turbulent water. He claimed she had the ignition key, and the boat lost power, forcing him to paddle back to shore after being separated from his wife by the current.
“I’m confused why she has the keys because she never drove the dinghy,” Aylesworth told Fox News Digital as she expressed concerns about her mother’s disappearance. “It was always Brian. So the story just doesn’t add up right now.”
She reportedly found out what happened through a voicemail that Brian left her in, in which he had said a flotation device that was thrown to her mother had been found.
“In addition, Aylesworth alleged that Brian has exhibited troubling patterns of aggression, issues she said ‘may be important for any thorough investigation,'” according to the outlet.
“I’ve seen him choke out one of his daughters before. And we had to go to court for that,” Aylesworth said. “So he’s just repeating patterns.”
“If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it,” she added. “However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined.”
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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