U.S. Coast Guard begins new search in Bahamas for missing Michigan woman

Lynette Hooker's husband reported her missing in early April. U.S. Coast Guard divers arrived in the Bahamas June 2 evening to begin their renewed search for missing American woman Lynette Hooker, whose disappearance has prompted a federal criminal investigation, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation tells CNN. (From Lynette Hooker/Facebook via CNN Newsource)

The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday began its renewed search in the Bahamas for missing American woman Lynette Hooker, whose disappearance has prompted a federal criminal investigation, video shows.

A bright orange Coast Guard dinghy navigated waters near Hope Town, accompanied by a Royal Bahamas Defence Force vessel, video shows.

Searchers were seen disembarking the small Coast Guard boat near a cay in Hope Town on Wednesday afternoon, and they began carefully wading in shallow waters offshore.

Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old mother and sailor, has been missing since early April. Her husband, Brian Hooker, told authorities at the time that she fell from an 8‑foot dinghy while the couple was navigating rough waters near the Bahamas’ Abaco Islands, according to police.

The Coast Guard announced it had opened a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance on April 8, three days after she vanished. No suspect has been publicly identified in the federal investigation and her body has not been recovered.

The renewed search effort was set in motion last week after investigators found inconsistencies between the husband’s location data and his statements to investigators about where to search for his wife and where they had traveled that evening, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation told CNN.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force granted permission to the Coast Guard to search an area of the Sea of Abaco, which envelops the island Brian Hooker said they were sailing to, Elbow Cay, the official said.

The search may be hindered by thunderstorms that are forecast to move through the area through Wednesday night.

As the Coast Guard has worked to collect more evidence, it has requested DNA samples from Lynette Hooker’s relatives, her daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told CNN. The daughter and Lynette Hooker’s parents provided mouth swab samples Thursday.

Brian Hooker reported his wife missing April 5, telling investigators she fell overboard the evening prior as they were navigating through choppy water back to their yacht, “Soulmate.”

Authorities say Brian Hooker told them the dinghy lost power because she had the engine safety key when she fell. Lynette Hooker’s daughter says he later left her a voicemail saying he threw a flotation device after his wife.

Bahamian police arrested Brian Hooker as a suspect in his wife’s disappearance and questioned him repeatedly. He was released without being charged and has returned to the United States.

Brian Hooker has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with his missing wife. His attorney, Terrel Butler, declined to comment last week on the new search request, also citing the ongoing investigation.

The Michigan couple, both U.S. nationals, had been sailing together for more than a decade, documenting their life at sea on social media. They were navigating the Bahamas on their yacht when the incident happened.

After her mother’s disappearance, Aylesworth cast skepticism on her stepfather’s account of what happened. She was confident her mother is an experienced sailor and capable swimmer who was not likely to be swept away by strong waters.

But Brian Hooker’s attorney has denied Aylesworth’s accusations, saying in April he was cooperating with investigators. Butler told CNN that authorities have not presented her with evidence her client may have committed wrongdoing.