The Coast Guard plans to resume the search for Lynette Hooker, the Michigan woman missing since April when she fell off a boat in the Bahamas, according to reports.
Newly released GPS data from the boat she was on with her husband, Brian Hooker, contradicts where he said he was the night she disappeared, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told NBC News. It caused investigators to initially search “in the wrong area,” the outlet reports.
GPS data from Brian Hooker’s electronic devices showed movements that didn’t match what he told investigators, a U.S. official also told CBS News.
Brian Hooker has denied any wrongdoing and has since returned to the U.S. after his wife went missing almost two months ago.
Coast Guard officials are now asking the Bahamian authorities for permission to send a dive team to search new areas of the Sea of Abaco now that they have a more precise idea of where to look for Lynette Hooker’s body.
Investigators have also asked some of Lynette Hooker’s relatives to provide their DNA to help the investigation. Her daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC she provided a DNA sample on Wednesday.
An attorney for Brian Hooker declined to comment when approached byThe Independent.
Brian Hooker told Bahamian authorities that his wife fell out of their motorboat as they traveled from Hope Town to Elbow Cay on the night of April 4, and said that strong currents carried her away.
“During the journey, his wife reportedly fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel’s engine to shut off. Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her. He then paddled the vessel to shore,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force said at the time.
He was arrested in connection with her disappearance on April 8 and released five days later without any charges filed against him.
“I’ve never harmed Lynette, and I would never harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette,” Brian Hooker told NBC.
However, Aylesworth previously told the outlet that her mother and Brian Hooker had “a history of not getting along, especially when they drink.”
The couple accused each other of assault in 2015, but a warrant was denied for “insufficient evidence as to who started the assault.”
The couple also separated temporarily in 2024, during which time she reportedly confided in a friend about how their relationship deteriorated while at sea.
“I guess it was too much closeness. We decided to call it quits. I'm not going back,” Lynette Hooker wrote in messages to her friend, Marnee Stevenson, that were obtained by CBS News.
“We were married 21 years. Our marriage lasted 6 weeks cruising,” she said.
The Michigan couple had documented their adventures at sea on social media under the name “Sailing Hookers.”
Their most recent video, titled “A little Paddleboarding this morning #bahamas,” was posted on March 9.
