By: Staff Writer
April 14, 2026
Three days after the husband of a missing American woman was taken into custody in The Bahamas in connection with her disappearance, he was released from custody officials say.
Brian Hooker was taken into custody on April 8 for the disappearance of his wife Lynette Hooker on April 7 from a dinghy in the Abacos the couple were sailing on.
Hooker’s lawyer, lawyer, Terrel Butler, has denied any wrongdoing on his part. Butler said Hooker was transferred from Abaco, where he was questioned by police, to Grand Bahama, the archipelago’s second most populous island.
Meanwhile, a nearly 45-minute phone call recorded just days after Lynette went missing offers a detailed look at Brian Hooker’s version of events.
In the call, recorded April 7, Hooker describes what he calls a “cascade of failures” that led to the moment his wife allegedly fell overboard from an 8-foot dinghy while the couple was navigating rough conditions near Abaco.
“We did so many things wrong,” Hooker said in the recording, pointing to weather, equipment issues, and navigation challenges.
Ms Butler said Mr Hooker was interviewed for about four hours in relation to allegations of causing harm that resulted in his wife’s death, but said no evidence was presented to support that claim.
She said her client was “overwhelmed” during the interview, and repeatedly asked investigators about the status of the search for his wife.
On Saturday, April 4, Brian Hooker reported that his wife fell overboard from an 8-foot, hard-bottomed dinghy that they were taking on a night trip from Hope Town to Elbow Bay, which are both off of Great Abaco Island, according to a news release from the Royal Bahamas Police Department. Brian Hooker said that his wife had been carrying the boat keys so the engine shut off when she fell. Then “strong currents subsequently carried her away,” and he lost sight of her, police said.
The agency said that Brian Hooker then paddled the dinghy to shore, which took hours, and that he arrived around 4 a.m. on Sunday, April 5.
Advardo Dames, assistant commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police, told Reuters that Brian Hooker is “a suspect.” A U.S. Coast Guard Official told USA TODAY that the agency also is conducting a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance.
A search is still on the way for Lynette, including the use of professional divers, drone technology and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The operation, which has been significantly scaled down, is now considered a recovery effort.