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(AP) – Authorities in the Bahamas have released a man from Michigan who reported that his wife vanished after going overboard from a small vessel in the island nation’s waters, officials announced on Monday.
Brian Hooker, hailing from Onsted in southern Michigan, had been held by police since April 8 while being interrogated regarding the incident.
After discussions with prosecutors, law enforcement decided to release him, opting not to file charges at this moment as the investigation continues.
According to Brian Hooker, his wife Lynette Hooker, aged 55, fell off their 8-foot (2.4-meter) motorboat on the night of April 4. The couple was navigating from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a cluster of small islands located on the eastern edge of the Bahamas. He explained that Lynette had the boat’s keys, which caused the engine to stop, compelling him to paddle back to shore.
“Strong currents then swept her away, and he lost visual contact with her,” police noted in an official statement.
After reaching shore, Brian Hooker alerted someone about his wife’s disappearance early the following day, according to authorities.
Hooker has denied any wrongdoing, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler.
The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by authorities in the Bahamas.
The couple has been married for more than 20 years and chronicled their adventures sailing around the Caribbean on their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page. They posted videos in 2023 of buying a sailboat they named Soul Mate in the coastal town of Rockport, Texas, and then embarking on a cruise through the Gulf of Mexico from the port town of Kemah, Texas.
The couple’s home in Onsted is about 70 miles (120 kilometers) southwest of Detroit.
Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor. She noted the couple had been sailing for years on their voyages.
The couple has had a history of contention, with Brian and Lynette Hooker accusing each other in 2015 of assault, according to a Kentwood, Michigan, police report obtained by NBC.
Brian Hooker, who was intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told police his wife had struck him multiple times in the face, the report said. He told officers Lynette also was drunk. She was arrested and spent the night in jail. A warrant was denied because it wasn’t clear “who started the assault.”