The husband of the woman who fell overboard from their dinghy as they returned to their yacht in the Bahamas has been arrested as the investigation into her disappearance continues.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested Brian Hooker in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Lynette Hooker, CNN reported.
BREAKING: Police have made an arrest in connection to the disappearance of an American woman who went missing in the Bahamas https://t.co/sy1wQ8OjxF
— CNN (@CNN) April 9, 2026
Officials told Reuters that he was taken into custody “for additional questioning based on some probable cause we have,” but no charges have been filed.
They did not give any other details about his arrest, The Associated Press reported.
Brian Hooker “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing,” his lawyer said in a statement. “He has been cooperating with the relevant authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.”
He also released a statement to CNN before his arrest, saying, “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. 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 U.S. Coast Guard launched a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance.
She and her husband were traveling to their yacht in an 8-foot-long motorboat, setting out from Hope Town for Elbow Cay, when she fell from the boat. Brian Hooker said she fell out of the boat on Saturday with the vessel’s keys, so it lost power, and he had to paddle to shore, reaching land on Sunday morning.
Lynette Hooker was not wearing a personal flotation device when she went overboard, but Brian Hooker said he threw her one, and that authorities found it, CNN reported.
Karli Aylesworth, Lynette’s daughter and Brian’s stepdaughter, questioned the fact that her mother would “just fall” off the boat, saying she was an experienced sailor, NBC News reported. She said the couple had a “history of not getting along, especially when they drink.”
“It just doesn’t add up why she was swimming away from the boat or why she had the keys,” she told CNN. “I have known past issues between them have not been good, so it’s just weird that this is happening now.”
Aylesworth also said she was not given much information about what may have happened, but is asking that law enforcement carefully investigate what led to her mother’s disappearance.
“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.”
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