Coast Guard raids couple’s yacht day after seizing it on the high seas seeking evidence of crime after wife ‘fell overboard’ off remote Bahamas island
Feds swarmed Brian Hooker’s seized yacht Tuesday as they ramped up their probe into the mysterious disappearance of his wife Lynette in the Bahamas.
Exclusive Daily Mail images show special agents from the US Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) boarding the couple’s junk-strewn sailboat, Soulmate, to carry out a fingertip search for clues.
The half-dozen agents in gloves and with sidearms spent hours photographing the deck, cockpit and cabin in meticulous detail, before hauling ashore two large bags marked ‘evidence.’
They left the vessel wrapped in yellow crime scene tape when their search was interrupted by a torrential Florida downpour.
There was no sign of 59-year-old Hooker who was quizzed by Bahamian cops but not charged in the April 4 disappearance of Lynette, 55.
He abandoned the search for her after 10 days, claiming he had to return to the US to look after his elderly mother.
‘We have no idea where he is,’ Lynette’s frustrated mom Darlene Hamlett told the Daily Mail this week.
Darlene spoke out after Soulmate was dramatically intercepted Saturday after it left Marsh Harbour on the Bahamian island of Great Abaco.
Special agents from the US Coast Guard Investigative Service searched Soulmate, Brian Hooker’s junk-strewn yacht in Fort Pierce, Florida on Tuesday
Lynette, 55, vanished in the Bahamas on April 4 and her 59-year-old husband was arrested after he told how she fell out of their dinghy in strong winds
It’s believed that two men were hired to sail it to an unspecified location on Florida’s east coast.
The boat was taken instead to a secure US Coast Guard compound in Fort Pierce, Florida, so CGIS investigators could finally examine it for evidence.
Lynette’s daughter from an earlier relationship, Karli Aylesworth, revealed the boat’s new status in a heart-rending Mother’s Day message on Facebook on Sunday.
‘The boat has moved, by two men. Neither of them are Brian. Never seen them before,’ said the 29-year-old.
‘And they turned off their GPS. Last it shows them in the middle of the ocean next to the Bahamas up towards Florida or up the east coast. But I think they’re going to Florida.’
The US Coast Guard would not confirm details when contacted by the Daily Mail but said there was a ‘pending investigation’.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force freed Hooker after five days in custody although senior officers insist he is still under investigation.
The American claimed Lynette, his wife of 25 years, was swept off their dinghy in rough seas in the evening of April 4 as they returned to Soulmate after a boozy dinner on the island of Elbow Key.
Agents left Soulmate wrapped in yellow crime scene tape when their search was interrupted by a torrential downpour
They loaded items from the boat into brown Evidence bags
A half dozen CGIS agents were involved in the search on Tuesday
Soulmate left Marsh Harbour on the island of Great Abaco on Friday, but appears to have been intercepted on its way to the Sunshine State’s east coast the following day
The kill switch was attached to his wife when she was pitched into the shark-infested waters, according to Brian.
That cut the engine and prevented him from rescuing her, he’s believed to have told cops.
The Hookers, from Onsted, Michigan, were four years into a voyage they were documenting on social media that had started in Texas and drifted to the Bahamas via Florida when tragedy struck.
They left the waterfront Abaco Inn on Elbow Key around 7.30pm in fading light on April 4 to head to Soulmate, anchored about a mile away.
After Lynette went overboard from the 8ft dinghy, Hooker said she was blown away from him in the gusty conditions.
He subsequently took nearly eight hours to paddle the tiny disabled vessel to safety to the neighboring island of Great Abaco, he said.
In an interview with NBC, Hooker denied harming his wife and vowed to keep looking for her.
His lawyer Terrell Butler added: ‘He categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.’
Lynette Hooker, 55, has been missing since April 4 after disappearing in waters near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. Her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities she fell overboard from a dinghy
Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian had been on a four year cruise through Texas and Florida before heading for the Bahamas where Lynette was swept to her death
However, local experts told the Daily Mail they were skeptical of Hooker’s version of events, pointing to what they described as puzzling inconsistencies and possible ‘missing hours.’
Security footage reviewed by the Daily Mail captured Hooker arriving at Marsh Harbour Boat Yard around 3.35am on April 5.
He had reportedly tied up the dinghy in an area known as Calcutta before walking across rocky shoreline and mangroves to reach the yard.
The footage allegedly showed Hooker wandering around in a blue shirt, dark shorts, flip flops and a cowboy-style hat as he called for help.
Several locals who viewed the video said however that he showed a curious lack of urgency or panic.
One experienced mariner told the Daily Mail: ‘That’s a very strange way for someone to behave when they’ve just seen their wife swept away to almost certain death.’
Night security guard Edward Smith said Hooker told him: ‘My wife was thrown out of the boat. We were drinking, we were drunk. I should have known better.’
Smith said Hooker claimed he had tried to paddle back toward Lynette but was blown away by strong winds and darkness.
Smith recalled Hooker appearing ‘more exhausted than emotional,’ adding: ‘He wasn’t crying or anything. There weren’t a lot of emotions.’
Locals also questioned Hooker’s claim that it took nearly eight hours to drift ashore.
One estimated the dinghy should have covered the distance in closer to two hours given the prevailing winds and currents.
‘I don’t see where eight hours comes from,’ the expert said. ‘To me there are missing hours which need to be explained.’
