Michigan couple at center of Bahamas disappearance chronicled sailing adventures on social media

Lynette Hooker bounced astir the platform of the docked Soul Mate, smiled into the camera and proclaimed: “We’re yet leaving Kemah,” referring to a Texas larboard town.

“It’s lone been 4 months,” she said arsenic her husband, Brian, tugged connected immoderate rigging arsenic they got acceptable to acceptable sail.

The “Gulf Crossing” video much than 3 years agone marked the commencement of a sailing escapade — chronicled connected Facebook — for a mates who are present astatine the halfway of transgression investigations aft Lynette went missing successful the Bahamas.

A fewer days aft Lynette disappeared, constabulary successful the Atlantic Ocean land federation arrested Brian. He denies causing his wife's decease and has been cooperating with instrumentality enforcement, his attorney, Terrel Butler, said.

On Friday, Brian's lawyer reiterated his innocence and said his woman has not been found. She said constabulary had conscionable finished an intensive 4-hour interrogation with him successful which she described him arsenic continuously asking astir his wife.

“He was a spot puzzled due to the fact that helium was uncertain arsenic to wherefore they were questioning him astir causing harm oregon imaginable execution erstwhile they had not fixed him immoderate accusation successful presumption of wherever she is, if they had recovered her,” she said.

Brian Hooker had told constabulary that his woman of much than 20 years fell overboard Saturday nighttime from a tiny motorboat that was carrying the mates from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, tiny islands connected the eastbound extremity of the Bahamas. He said Lynette, 55, had the keys and the boat's motor unopen off.

“Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and helium mislaid show of her,” constabulary said successful a connection Saturday.

He paddled to enactment and alerted others aboriginal Sunday, said authorities, who arrested and questioned him Wednesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard has opened an probe abstracted from the 1 by Bahamas authorities.

Karli Aylesworth, Lynette's daughter, has said it's improbable her parent would “just fall” from a boat.

And portion the mates is seen smiling, laughing and joking successful societal media videos of their voyage, they person a past of contention.

Brian and Lynette Hooker accused each different of battle successful 2015, according to a Kentwood, Michigan, constabulary study obtained by NBC News.

Brian Hooker, who was intoxicated and bleeding from the nose, told constabulary his woman had struck him aggregate times successful the face, the study said. He told officers Lynette besides was drunk. She was arrested for battle and spent the nighttime successful jail. A warrant was denied due to the fact that it wasn't wide “who started the assault.”

Aylesworth besides told NBC that the couple’s narration was volatile and that they person a “history of not getting along, particularly erstwhile they drink.”

The couple’s location is successful Onsted, astir 72 miles (117 kilometers) southwest of Detroit. The closest large assemblage of h2o is Lake Erie, astir 60 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Onsted.

Lynette Hooker's mother, Darlene Hamlett, said Wednesday that the household “grew up connected water” and that her daughter's beingness has been “near lakes, connected boats, sailing and swimming.”

The mates posted videos of their years sailing astir the Caribbean connected their “Sailing Hookers” Facebook page.

Lynette, successful the March 2023 video, describes the commencement of the couple's voyage aboard the Soul Mate arsenic the sailboat slips done the Kemah, Texas, fog and into the unfastened waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

“Pretty cool,” Lynette said arsenic Brian blared the Soul Mate's foghorn. Later, portion changing an motor alternator belt, helium looks up astatine his woman and says, “Hi sexy.”

In an earlier video, the mates explains however they bought the Soul Mate successful the coastal municipality of Rockport, Texas, and fixed it up.

“After respective years of driving astir the country, looking for our cleanable sailboat, we yet recovered her successful Texas,” Lynette said successful that eight-minute video, posted successful January 2023. “She was a small unsmooth connected the edges. The decks needed to beryllium redone, but we knew we were up for the task.”

That video shows them moving together, scraping, priming and painting. “The decks are done! we're inactive married! enactment time!” is printed successful a connection connected the video.

A video posted 2 years agone shows them utilizing their smaller motorboat to bargain nutrient connected land. The video doesn't springiness the couple's location.

“We got the grub,” Brian says into the camera, which shifts to a lawsuit of brew astatine his feet and bags of groceries successful the bow. “Delivery ... the mode of life, man.”

___

Associated Press writers R.J. Rico and Dánica Coto contributed to this report. Freelance videographer Keith Gomez besides contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.