The American husband of a woman who went missing in the Bahamas over the weekend has been arrested.
Brian Hooker, 59, was arrested by the Royal Bahamas Police Force in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Lynette Hooker, 55.
Brian Hooker told authorities his wife went overboard while the two were in a dinghy in rough seas on Saturday night,
In a statement, according to NBC News, his attorney, Terrel A. Butler, said Hooker denied any wrongdoing and rejected allegations from Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, doubting her stepfather’s story that rough currents and wind kept him from rescuing his wife before she was swept out to sea.
The couple had been married about 25 years, and were experienced sailorsd, Aylesworth told CNN.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it has opened a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance. A Coast Guard official declined to comment further, according to NBC.
Hooker told authorities his wife had the keys to the boat with her when she fell overboard, causing the engine to shut off. As a result, he said, he had to paddle for hours to reach a harbor, according to NBC.
Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, says she wants some answers from Brian Hooker, according to the New York Post.
“I’m going to be interested in what he says, because I haven’t heard from him in almost two days,” she said.
Aylesworth has said that she believes “something might have happened” to her mother.
“There’s 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 said, according to the New York Post.
Police said Hooker was arrested “for additional questioning based on some probable cause we have,” according to CNN.
Brian Hooker said the last sighting he had of his wife came as she was swimming toward the shore, Richard Cook, fire team lead with Hope Town Volunteer Fire and Rescue, said.
Cook said a six-hour search early Sunday failed to find any trace of Lynette Hooker.
In a statement, Brian Hooker said finding his wife is his “sole focus.”
“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,” the statement said. “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.”
Cook said Lynette Hooker was not wearing a flotation device when she went into the water.
Aylesworth said Brian Hooker told her in a voicemail that officials found a floatation device he had thrown her.
“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,” Aylesworth said, according to CNN.
“If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it. However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined.”
“It just doesn’t add up why she was swimming away from the boat or why she had the keys,” she said. “I have known past issues between them have not been good, so it’s just weird that this is happening now.”
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