American boater Brian Hooker, 58, Brian Hooker is being grilled again by police in the Bahamas Monday

The scramble is caused by a rapidly approaching deadline of 7.20 pm EST, to charge him over the disappearance of wife Lynette Hooker or set him free

Cops quizzed him on the events of April 4, when he and Lynette, 55, left after dinner on the island of Elbow Cay in a small dinghy for their yacht, Soulmate, anchored a mile away off Parrot Cays

Brian Hooker told police that his wife Lynette, was steering the small vessel when she accidentally went overboard and the engine’s kill–switch key attached to her by a cord went with her

Hooker is being questioned in relation to the Bahamian crime ‘causing harm resulting in death’

Decision to re-interview Hooker came after his mother-in-law Darlene Hamlett, said the couple in a previous incident fought after drinking, posting images of alleged domestic violence meted to her daughter

Hooker’s attorney said, ‘The deadline is 7.20pm [Monday], so something has to happen today,’ when they either charge or release him

He has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing in Lynette’s disappearance

Brian Hooker [photo], is being questioned again by police over the events leading up to wife Lynette being thrown overboard in the Bahamas on April 4

The police interviews of American boater Brian Hooker intensified as police in the Bahamas Monday, cognizant of the rapidly approaching deadline they have to charge him over the disappearance of his wife or set him free if they fail to establish cause for continued detention.
Brian Hooker, 58, held in custody in the Bahamas since his arrest last Wednesday, spent the weekend at the central police station in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama.
Authorities reached the decision to resume interviewing Brian Hooker on events of the evening of April 4, when Brian and Lynette Hooker, 55, left dinner on the Bahamian island of Elbow Cay in a small dinghy, and headed for their 50ft yacht, Soulmate, which was anchored a mile away off Parrot Cays.

Hooker has claimed his that Lynette, [photo] was tossed from their 8ft dinghy into shark-infested waters as they headed from dinner on Elbow Cay to their moored 50ft sailboat Soulmate was moored, a mile away from the restaurant where they had dinner

Hooker has told investigators that Lynette was thrown overboard in high winds into shark-infested waters, taking with her the kill-switch key, stopping the boat’s engine. 
He claims he spent nearly eight hours battling the dark and windy weather with a single paddle before eventually reaching shore in an area known as Calcutta on the neighboring island of Great Abaco, ditching his dinghy near a boat yard and seeking help there.
According to Hooker’s attorney Terrel Butler, ‘The deadline is 7.20pm [Monday], so something has to happen today.
‘The time the police have is almost up and they have asked to have another interview. 
‘I don’t know what they want to cover because they have already spoken to him at length – so I’m not sure what they’re coming with.’

The decision to question Hooker again came after Lynette’s mother Darlene Hamlett [left], talked about a previous incident when the couple had fought after a drinking. Hamlett showed images [right], of alleged domestic abuse meted to her daughter

Butler said she spoke with Hooker over the weekend on the phone ‘to reassure him’ and ‘make sure he was OK.’
‘He has gone through a traumatic and dramatic experience,’ she said.
‘Even in the course of arresting him he had this scare because he fell overboard in police custody while they were taking him away.
‘A lot has happened and he needs to deal with that emotionally. And it is very difficult to speak frankly in a police station where you are not at all sure about your privacy. If we speak on the phone, officers are listening.’

Hooker [photo], who was arrested April 8, and held on the Caribbean island has not been charged. He has denied wrongdoing or cause in his wife’s disappearance in rough seas in Bahamas early this month

The decision to question Hooker again came after Lynette’s mother Darlene Hamlett told reporter Ashleigh Banfield of a previous incident when they had been fighting after a drinking session.
Hamlett said Hooker had thrown Lynette on to a bench hurting her neck. The following day, the pair packed up Lynette’s belongings and she left the boat and went home to Michigan.
Lynette Hooker’s mother, Darlene Hamlett, shared a photo that Lynette took of herself. It appears to show bruising Lynette claims happened after her husband, Brian Hooker, attacked her. Darlene says her daughter took the photo as a reminder not to go back to Brian. On the other side of the ledger is a report that a ‘drunk’ Lynette was arrested in 2015 for allegedly punching her husband.
Ultimately, the warrant against Lynette was ultimately denied after authorities deemed there was ‘insufficient evidence as to who started the assault.’
Hooker who was arrested on April 8, has denied any wrongdoing following his wife’s disappearance in rough seas
‘One of the conversations that they had while they were on the boat the next morning is he told her that he wished he had finished the job and thrown her overboard.’ 
When Banfield asked her if she thought it was all talk on Hooker’s part, Hamlett responded: ‘How could somebody think it was all talk when you’re being choked?’ 

Brian Hooker, [right], told police that his wife Lynette [left], was steering the small vessel when she accidentally went overboard and the engine’s kill–switch key attached to her by a cord went with her

Under Bahamian law, authorities have four days to decide whether or not to charge him with a crime before they must release him.
However, investigators were granted a special 72-hour extension that will keep Hooker jailed until around 7.20pm Monday, his attorney said.
The extension came after the lawyer revealed that Hooker requires medical attention after he fell overboard while being transported by Island police.
‘He was submerged in the cold water and took in a significant amount of seawater before his life jacket brought him to the surface. He had to be rescued from the water by the police,’ Butler said.
‘As a result of this fall, Brian sustained an injury to his knee, which has caused him to limp, along with visible abrasion.’

The Hookers had dinner at the Abaco Inn on the small island of Elbow Key before she went missing on the evening of April 4

The Hookers were traveling on their 50ft sailboat Soulmate, which has since been moored in a marina in Marsh Harbour. The marina is located about a mile from Abaco Inn where they had dined

Hooker has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing in the disappearance of Lynette. He is being questioned in relation to the Bahamian crime ‘causing harm resulting in death’.
Butler said police had just finished an intensive four-hour interview with him in which she described him as continuously asking about his wife. 
Surveillance footage from Marsh Harbour Boat Yard on the island of Great Abaco is being analyzed by Royal Bahamas Police as part of the investigation and has not been released.  
Hooker ditched the dinghy just south of the boat yard where Smith works in Marsh Harbour on the main Hooker, reportedly looking calm, walked up to security fencing and raised his arms to attract attention, before calling out: ‘Hello, I need help. Hello. Help me.’ 
Witnesses say Hooker not looking packed told authorities his wife pitched from their 8ft dinghy as they headed from dinner to their moored 50ft sailboat Soulmate in bad weather.  

Marsh Harbour, Bahamas where Brian Hooker is understood to have washed ashore. Recounting the ‘accident’ after his wife fell and vanished in shark-infested waters during nocturnal boat trip, he reportedly told a security guard: ‘We were drunk…I should’ve known better’

Those who have reviewed of the footage of Hooker going to seek rescue at the harbor appears to show some inconsistencies in his version of events, including possibly mysterious ‘missing’ hours. 
He first appears in a ghostly silhouette walking along the Harbour on the main Great Abaco Island in front of a line of sailboats on raised blocks at the far side of the yard.
In the video is timestamped at 3.35am, Hooker is next seen near the main security gate where he appears to be strolling almost casually. On at least two occasions he lifts his arms up in a bid to attract attention. 
When he calls out, he doesn’t appear to be yelling. There is no apparent sign of panic, of desperation, of urgency or of alarm over the loss of his missing wife.  
Night security guard Edward Smith recounts finding a seemingly exhausted Hooker in the yard, where he revealed he had used one paddle to battle his way to safety for nearly eight hours in heavy seas and high winds after his wife vanished. 

Married 25 years, Brian and Lynette Hooker [photo], family said are experienced boaters and were on a four-year voyage aboard their sailboat

But Hooker’s demeanor on the footage has raised eyebrows among several people in Marsh Harbour who have a close connection to the case, who have also viewed the video.
‘That’s a very strange way for someone to behave when they’ve just seen their wife swept away to their almost certain death,’ said one of them, a highly experienced local mariner. 
‘He seems casual, nothing frantic there at all, not much to suggest what has happened. And what about his wife? He doesn’t seem to be raising any kind of alarm.’ 
‘Also, I really don’t understand the cowboy hat. He’s been through such an ordeal and he has time, or even the thought, to put on that hat?’ 
‘My wife was thrown out of the boat,’ Hooker told Smith. 
‘We were drinking, we were drunk. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have done it.’ 
Smith told us: ‘But he then added, “Whatever happened, happened. The wind was blowing so hard when it happened she just went over.”‘