Authorities and local mariners have recreated the dinghy route taken by Brian and Lynette Hooker before Lynette disappeared off Elbow Cay in the Bahamas, Fox News Digital reported, as investigators continue to probe the April 4 incident. Brian Hooker was arrested four days after the disappearance and is being held in Freeport while police investigate, authorities said.
Fox News Digital said Mo Monestime, who has chartered boats around Great Abaco Island for 15 years, guided a re-enactment of the couple’s return route. Monestime told Fox News Digital the trip began outside a small harbor across from the Abaco Inn, turned southwest and proceeded between the western coast of Elbow Cay and the eastern coast of Lubbers Quarters. The Hookers attempted that route at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 4, the outlet reported.
In a phone call obtained by CBS, Brian Hooker gave an account he said was of an accident in high winds. “She basically just bounced off the dinghy in the middle of a little blow, like 20-something knot winds that popped up,” he said in the call, adding that neither he nor his wife were wearing life jackets. Hooker told CBS he threw a flotation cushion and called for his wife for about an hour before paddling ashore. He said he later washed up about four miles northeast of the incident near a facility called Marsh Harbor Boatyard, where a security guard summoned police.
Authorities arrested Brian Hooker at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, four days after the disappearance, and he remains in custody on Grand Bahama Island, officials said. Bahamian law allows an initial 48-hour hold before filing charges; authorities said his detention was extended by 72 hours and that he is expected to be released or charged by Monday night.
Local officials say the investigation has shifted to a recovery effort. Butler said Brian Hooker has cooperated with investigators and “categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.” In a Facebook statement, Brian Hooker said he was “heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds” and that searching for his wife “is my sole focus,” the statement said. Monestime told Fox News Digital that it is unusual for someone to disappear in that area because the water is clear and land is visible, and that drownings near Elbow Cay are typically followed quickly by recoveries.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
