Lynette Hooker's Bahamas disappearance being investigated as possible murder

The lawsuit of Lynette Hooker, a Michigan pistillate who went missing successful the Bahamas successful April, is being investigated arsenic a "possible overseas execution of a U.S. national," a U.S. authoritative told CBS News. 

Search efforts for Hooker, 55, are inactive ongoing, arsenic the 154-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter Margaret Norvell arrived successful Marsh Harbour connected Tuesday carrying a squad of specialized divers. The U.S. Coast Guard had been granted permission by the Bahamian authorities to nonstop divers to canvass antecedently unsearched areas past week, a root briefed connected the probe told CBS News connected Thursday. 

The divers volition beryllium searching for caller evidence, including Hooker's body, based connected GPS information gathered from an physics device. Investigators person besides been to the Abaco Inn, the past spot Hooker was seen alive.

According to a U.S. authoritative acquainted with the matter, the authorities has been investigating the lawsuit arsenic a imaginable overseas execution of a U.S. nationalist for weeks, and that investigative posture has remained consistent. While nationalist statements person mostly described the substance arsenic a "criminal investigation," officials person been examining the lawsuit nether the model of a national statute that covers the overseas execution of U.S. nationals.  

No charges person been filed, and the authoritative emphasized that the caller characterization should not beryllium interpreted arsenic a caller improvement oregon displacement successful the investigation.

According to an authoritative acquainted with the investigation, the caller integer forensic grounds appears to undercut Brian Hooker's relationship of his wife's disappearance. Brian Hooker told authorities that helium and Lynette Hooker were connected their dinghy going backmost to their sailboat, the Soulmate, erstwhile unsmooth waters knocked her into the oversea and near him drifting for respective hours. Lynette Hooker was past seen adjacent Aunt Pat's Bay, adjacent Elbow Cay and Hope Town, Brian Hooker told section authorities. 

The U.S. authoritative antecedently told CBS News the GPS information from 1 of Brian Hooker's devices showed movements that did not align with what helium told investigators. The information shows the instrumentality was retired connected the water, stopping successful the Sea of Abaco earlier returning, the authoritative said, giving investigators a much precise determination to search.  

Brian Hooker was arrested in transportation with Lynette Hooker's disappearance respective days later, but was released and allowed to return to the U.S. He has denied wrongdoing and has not been criminally charged. H

"The communicative didn't marque a full batch of consciousness to me," Troy Pritchard, a subordinate of the archetypal hunt team, told CBS News. "But going connected accusation that we had, we had to bash our champion to hunt what was told to america successful the archetypal talks with the police."

Baine and Marnee Stevenson, who are friends of Lynette Hooker's, told CBS News they anticipation the caller grounds helps lick the case.

"I'm hoping this is simply a measurement successful the close absorption for justness for Lynette," Marnee Stevenson said. 

"I person religion that pursuing their GPS coordinates, they're going to find something," Blaine Stevenson added.