The daughter of an American woman who vanished in the Bahamas has brought to light troubling details about her stepfather’s past. Her mother went missing after tumbling overboard during a boat trip with her husband.
Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old resident of Onsted, Michigan, fell into the waters off the Abaco Islands while she and her 58-year-old partner, Brian Hooker, were headed to their yacht named Soulmate moored at Elbow Cay last Saturday.
Brian Hooker informed the police that they departed from Hope Town around 7:30 PM in an eight-foot dinghy.
According to his account, Lynette lost her balance and fell overboard due to adverse weather conditions. She was holding the dinghy’s key at the time, causing the engine to stall.
In response to the incident, Bahamian and U.S. authorities initiated a cooperative search-and-rescue mission, with the U.S. Coast Guard later joining the operation from the air.
By Tuesday, the teams announced the mission had become a recovery operation, Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue Lead Richard Cook told CNN.
As the desperate search continues, Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, 28, shared harrowing details about her mother and stepfather’s relationship.
‘There is a history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. So, the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story,’ she told Fox News.
Lynette Hooker, 55, went missing in the Bahamas after falling overboard during a boat ride with her husband on Saturday
As the desperate search for Lynette continues, her daughter, Karli Aylesworth, 28, shared harrowing details about her mother and stepfather’s relationship
Lynette’s husband, 58-year-old Brian Hooker, told police his wife slipped and fell due to poor weather while traveling on a dinghy to get to their yacht
‘There has also been a history of domestic violence in that relationship, so I do believe something might have happened to her.’
Aylesworth explained why she felt the circumstances surrounding her mother’s disappearance were suspicious and called for a full investigation into what happened.
‘It just doesn’t add up. My mom is very fit and strong. She’s a good swimmer, like, why was she swimming away from the boat?’ she said.
‘I’m confused why she has the keys because she never drove the dinghy. It was always Brian. So the story just doesn’t add up right now.’
Aylesworth shared a voicemail Hooker sent her with CBS News, in which he spoke about throwing a flotation device to Lynette after she fell.
‘Hello, honey, it’s Dad. I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they found the flotation device that I threw to Mom when she fell overboard,’ he told his stepdaughter.
Aylesworth’s comments come just a day after she released a statement calling for a more thorough investigation by US federal officials.
‘I have been privy to very little information. My sole concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure a full and complete investigation is performed into her disappearance,’ she said.
Aylesworth said there is a history of her stepfather threatening to throw Lynette overboard and believes the circumstances surrounding her mother’s disappearance are suspicious
Aylesworth shared a voicemail Hooker sent her with CBS News, in which he spoke about throwing a flotation device to Lynette after she fell
‘While the Royal Bahamian police are investigating this matter, I would also appreciate any involvement of the federal, state or local authorities to look into the circumstances of this tragic situation.’
Hooker broke his silence in a Wednesday morning Facebook post, writing that he is ‘heartbroken’ over Lynette’s disappearance.
‘I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas,’ he wrote.
‘Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.’
The Daily Mail contacted Hooker for comment.
The couple regularly documented their life on the water on social media under the username The Sailing Hookers, often showcasing their yacht.
In their most recent Instagram post, shared Friday afternoon, they featured a small boat with the caption, ‘Not going anywhere for a while?!’
Meanwhile, their YouTube channel further captured years of life on the open water, with short videos filmed aboard Soulmate.
The final video, posted just four weeks ago, showed the couple in the Bahamas taking an early-morning paddleboard trip along Marsh Harbour, known as a ‘world-class boating destination.’