The U.S. Coast Guard has seized the boat belonging to Brian and Lynette Hooker, a month after she disappeared in the Bahamas.
The vessel, named “Soulmate,” had left Marsh Harbour in the Bahamas on May 8 on the way back to the U.S., but the Coast Guard took control of it the next day, later docking it at Fort Pierce Coast Guard Station, CBS News reported.
Brian Hooker told officials in the Bahamas that his wife disappeared after she fell overboard on their dinghy on April 4 as they traveled from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, NBC News reported.
He told a friend that they had not been wearing life jackets and that she “basically just bounced off the dinghy” amid 20 mph winds and while holding the boat’s key. He had to paddle to shore.
Brian Hooker was arrested four days later, and the same day that the U.S. Coast Guard opened a criminal investigation. The agency released him five days later without filing charges.
He told NBC News in an interview, “I’ve never harmed Lynette, and I would never harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette.”
Brian Hooker told ABC News that he was going to remain in the Bahamas to look for his wife, but hours after the interview, he left the islands to be with his terminally ill mother, his attorney said.
CBS News reported that Coast Guard investigators continue to interview potential witnesses and have released images of another sailboat, saying they wanted to interview the occupants or owners of the boat.
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