Wife overboard as couple sail around the world – daughter doesn’t believe ‘accident’ narrative, hints of domestic violence, husband arrested in Bahamas
Lynette Hooker, 56, plunged into the Abaco Islands’ water, while traveling with partner Brian Hooker, 59, in the Bahamas on Saturday
The couple from Michigan had been living on their sailboat Soulmate for the past four years and were vlogging their voyage from Texas to Michigan on social media
Hooker told police is that he last saw Lynette], falling overboard in strong currents and he ‘lost sight of her’
He was arrested in Abaco, Bahamas on Wednesday in connection to Lynette’s disappearance
Royal Bahamas Police questioned Brian ‘on probable cause’ and was taken into custody as a suspect in connection with his wife’s disappearance, but he’s not been formally charged
Together 25 years the couple had been sailing for the last decade
Hooker ‘categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing with his stepdaughter, Karli Aylesworth, alleging there was violence in the couple’s marriage

Lynette Hooker,[right], went missing in the Bahamas after allegedly, falling overboard during a boat ride with her husband Brian Hooker, [left], in the Bahamas, on Saturday
A Michigan mother who vanished overboard while sailing in the Bahamas with her husband made a haunting joke about her marriage days before she disappeared.
Lynette Hooker, 56, plunged into the Abaco Islands’ water while traveling with partner Brian Hooker, 59, on Saturday.
The couple had been living on their sailboat Soulmate for the past four years and were vlogging their voyage from Texas to Michigan on social media.
In a short video posted to their YouTube channel on April 3, Lynette poked fun at suggestions that the couple may grow irritated with one another after spending so much time together.
‘Don’t you two ever get sick of each other?’ an overlay text on the meme-like clip asked.

Brian Hooker was arrested in the Bahamas on Wednesday in connection to Lynette’s disappearance. He ‘categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’
Beneath the question was text reading ‘me and my husband,’ accompanied by two people dancing to the 90s dance hit Be My Lover by La Bouche.
The couple’s well-curated social media profiles depicted two seemingly happy and in-love partners traveling the world together.
But Brian has since been arrested in connection to Lynette’s disappearance, with his stepdaughter Karli Aylesworth alleging there was violence in the couple’s marriage.

Together 25 years, the couple were experienced sailors whose well-curated social media profiles depicted two seemingly happy and in-love partners traveling the world together
Brian ‘categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’ and is cooperating with authorities, his lawyer said in a statement.
He was detained on the Abaco Islands on Wednesday, five days after he returned from a sailing expedition without Lynette and claimed she fell overboard.
The Royal Bahamas Police said Brian was questioned ‘on probable cause’ and was taken into custody as a suspect in connection with his wife’s disappearance, but he has not been formally charged.
Officials said the couple were experienced sailors who had been traveling together for more than a decade, often documenting their life at sea on social media.

Lynette Hooker was said to have fallen from a dinghy as she and her husband Brian were making their way back to their sailboat, Soulmate. The couple reportedly, had been traveling together for more than a decade, often documenting their life at sea on social media
On Saturday evening, they couple took out an eight-foot motorboat from Hope Town in the Bahamas, but only Brian returned.
He told authorities that his wife fell overboard with the boat keys as they were returning to their yacht ‘Soulmate’, causing the engine to shut off and forcing him to paddle to the shore.
Brian Hooker in a statement said he is ‘heartbroken’ by his wife’s disappearance, describing the incident as a ‘boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds.’
‘Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart,’ Brian said.
‘We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.’

In a short video posted to their YouTube channel on April 3, Lynette Hooker poked fun at suggestions that the couple may grow irritated with one another after spending so much time together
According to his attorney Terrel Butler, Brian Hooker ‘categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing’ in his wife’s disappearance, adding that his client ‘has been cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.’
Lynette’s daughter Karli Aylesworth has called for a full investigation into the tragedy after she said her parents went through ‘prior issues’ before her mother’s disappearance.
Aylesworth told NBC News that it is unlikely her mother, an experienced sailor, would ‘just fall’ off the boat.

The version Brian Hooker [left], told police is that he last saw Lynette [right], falling overboard in strong currents and he ‘lost sight of her’
The couple had been sailing for years and documented their voyages on social media under the moniker, The Sailing Hookers.
Despite the happy-go lucky image, 28-year-old Aylesworth described the relationship between her mother and her stepfather was volatile. They have a ‘history of not getting along, especially when they drink,’ she said
Adding details in a separate interview Aylesworth alleges: ‘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 said, adding, ‘There has also been a history of domestic violence in that relationship, so I do believe something might have happened to her.’

Lynette was an experienced sailor. Her daughter claimed it is unlikely she would ‘just fall’ off the boat. ‘There has also been a history of domestic violence in that relationship, so I do believe something might have happened to her’, Karli Aylesworth said
Aylesworth also doubts her mother survived and was able to tread water that long, but hoped to find her to get closure.
rebutting those allegations, Butler specifies in his statement that Brian’s denial of wrongdoing includes in particular ‘the allegations recently made by Karli Aylesworth.’
According to a source close to the family, Brian waited a full day after Lynette went missing, before calling his stepdaughter with the news.
’So more than 24 hours later. We don’t know why. We don’t know if he was busy looking,’ said the source. ‘We just don’t know.
‘Karli has not really been back in contact since because she finds the circumstances a little suspicious.
‘They were a couple literally living on the bigger boat for four years and it would be hard for them to misjudge the chop if it was bad. They would have said, “hey, maybe we shouldn’t do this.”‘

Brian Hooker did not tell his stepdaughter about the tragedy for 24 hours. Lynette’s daughter Karli Aylesworth called for a full investigation into the events leading up to her mother’s fatal fall
On the hint referring to her ‘prior issues’ comment, the source said: ‘I’ve tried to tell her all relationships have disagreements. Her mom did tell her some stuff, but she doesn’t want to reveal anything more.
‘Karli was down in the Bahamas with them both at the end of February, beginning of March and she was actually on the boat at a slightly different place.’
After Brian’s arrest on Wednesday, Lynette’s mother Darlene Hamlett said she was ‘glad to hear’ that he had been detained.
Earlier in the day Hamlett expressed her desire to hear more about the circumstances of Lynette vanishing from her son-in-law: ‘I’m going to be interested in what he says, because I haven’t heard from him in almost two days,’ Hamlett said.
‘Our family grew up on water and so Lynette her whole life has been near lakes, on boats, sailing and swimming.
‘It would be a miracle if [she’s rescued], but I’m still counting on one,’ Hamlett added.

Karli Aylesworth, now 28, seen [photo], on mother’s lap in undated photo, like her grandmother, has expressed skepticism about the falling overboard story as told by her stepfather
Lynette and Brian had been married for more than two decades and lived in Onsted, Michigan.
Brian finally 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.’


Leave a Reply