An American woman who disappeared from a dinghy in the Bahamas had told a friend she feared being with her husband at sea, according to newly revealed text messages.
Lynette Hooker, 55, from Michigan, went missing on the night of April 4 after she and her husband Brian Hooker, 58, departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for Elbow Cay in an 8-foot dinghy, heading back to their yacht, the Soulmate.
Brian told authorities that Lynette fell overboard in strong winds and currents around 7:30 p.m., and that she had inadvertently taken the motor’s kill-switch cord over the side with her, cutting the motor. He was left to paddle approximately four miles to Marsh Harbour Boat Yards, arriving at around 4 a.m. Sunday, when he reported his wife missing.
CBS News has obtained private messages Lynette sent to her friend and fellow boater, Marnee Stevenson, in early 2024, around the time the couple briefly separated, painting a troubling picture of their marriage. “It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him,” Lynette wrote to Stevenson, according to CBS.
The messages, sent between January and February 2024, reveal how much Lynette felt she had sacrificed to take up life at sea with Brian. She told Stevenson she had “quit my awesome career, sold my house and gave away everything I own to cruise.”
In late January 2024, she described the marriage as having barely survived the first month of sailing: “We were married 21 years. Our marriage lasted 6 weeks cruising.” She left Brian at that point to stay with her mother in Florida. When Stevenson asked whether the couple might reconcile, Lynette was unequivocal: “I guess it was too much closeness. We decided to call it quits. I’m not going back.”
Despite those misgivings, Lynette was back with Brian within a month. By late February 2024, when Marnee messaged to ask whether things were improving, Lynette replied with heart emojis and a thumbs-up. Marnee and her husband, Blaine, had crossed paths with the Hookers in late 2023 during a stopover near Bradenton, Florida.
Brian was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force last Wednesday in connection with his wife’s disappearance. Royal Bahamas Police Force Assistant Commissioner Advardo Dames told Reuters he was detained “for additional questioning based on some probable cause we have.” He has not been charged.
His attorney, Terrel Butler, told NBC News that Brian was questioned specifically about a potential charge of causing harm resulting in death—a line of questioning Butler said suggests authorities may be considering a murder charge. Police have obtained a detention extension, giving them until Monday evening to decide on charges, according to Butler. The U.S. Coast Guard has also opened a separate criminal investigation into the case.
Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, has publicly questioned Brian’s account, asking CNN why her stepfather paddled away from the spot where her mother went overboard rather than attempting to reach her. Aylesworth has also alleged episodes of domestic violence during the marriage, including an incident in which she alleged Brian had choked her mother—though CNN said it was unable to confirm the choking claim with law enforcement. Brian’s attorney has denied “allegations recently made by Karli Aylesworth” on his behalf.
In a statement posted to social media at the time of his arrest, Brian said “unpredictable seas and high winds” caused his “beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy.” Butler has consistently maintained that Brian “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing,” is heartbroken by the incident, and is deeply frustrated by his inability to continue searching for his wife.
The Daily Beast has contacted Butler for comment.
