See messages Brian Hooker sent his friend after wife's disappearance

2 hours ago 3

The time aft his woman disappeared during a nighttime vessel thrust successful the Bahamas, Brian Hooker told a person that she tried swimming backmost to him pursuing her evident autumn overboard, but beardown winds pushed them isolated "pretty quickly," according to messages reviewed exclusively by CBS News.

Lynette Hooker, who is from Michigan, has been missing since Sunday. Bahamian officials arrested her husband Wednesday nighttime and are holding him for questioning successful transportation with her case, but helium has not been charged with a crime, according to his attorney, Terrel Butler. Hooker tin beryllium held for 48 hours until helium has to beryllium either charged oregon released, Butler said, noting that officials tin widen the play to 96 hours if deemed necessary.

Brian Hooker denies immoderate wrongdoing. He antecedently told authorities that his woman fell from their dinghy Saturday nighttime portion the mates sailed from Hope Town to Elbow Cay successful the Bahamas. He said almighty currents swept her away, on with the keys to their boat, which chopped powerfulness to its motor and prevented him from reaching her.

He shared a akin relationship of what happened successful Facebook messages to Daniel Danforth, a person of the Hookers since 2023. Danforth told CBS News helium met them due to the fact that of their shared involvement successful boating.

The messages amusement that Danforth reached retired to Brian connected Monday aft seeing quality sum of his wife's disappearance.

"The upwind blew maine distant from her and she swam towards the sailboat and we mislaid show of each different beauteous rapidly arsenic it was conscionable astir sundown," Brian wrote successful reply. "I drifted and tried to paddle with 1 oar for the adjacent 7 hours until I washed up down the enactment of the adjacent Island implicit and was capable to get immoderate assistance finally."

Bahamian constabulary person said Brian Hooker arrived astatine the Marsh Harbor Boat Yard connected the land of Abaco astatine 4 a.m. Sunday morning, aft paddling the dinghy to shore. They said helium told idiosyncratic his woman was missing erstwhile helium made it there, and that idiosyncratic informed authorities.

In the messages, helium told Danforth his household was "in hell" arsenic hunt crews failed to find his wife.

When Danforth checked successful again the adjacent morning, Hooker said helium had moved his vessel to Marsh Harbor and had been sleeping there, but planned to relocate "for a nighttime oregon two" to enactment with his sister and brother-in-law, who were flying successful to conscionable him. He told Danforth that helium planned "on heading backmost retired to the site" aft that "and continuing search."

"I volition astir apt decidedly request assistance successful the aboriginal but I conscionable don't cognize what it is yet I'm trying to instrumentality it a time astatine a clip and support the faith," helium told Danforth, earlier congratulating him connected his caller sailboat purchase.

"The stories don't truly lucifer up"

Danforth told CBS News that helium archetypal met the Hookers 3 years ago, portion sailing successful the New Orleans area. A Facebook notification from Brian implicit the play initially reminded him of the couple, earlier helium started seeing headlines astir Lynette's disappearance, Danforth said.

He received the notification due to the fact that Brian had liked his remark connected a station that Danforth's woman had shared astir boating. In retrospect, Danforth said the information that his person was scrolling societal media and liking posts astatine that clip raised immoderate questions for him.

"You know, my wife's missing, Facebook's the past happening I'm disquieted about. You're going to find maine connected the h2o riding around," Danforth told CBS News.

Danforth said helium was acrophobic that Brian moved his vessel from Elbow Cay, wherever it was anchored, soon aft Lynette went missing. He besides noted that, successful comparing Brian's s retelling of Lynette's disappearance with emerging media reports, "the stories don't truly lucifer up."

While constabulary person said Hooker recalled his woman being swept overboard and retired to sea, Danforth said his messages reflected "she was casually swimming backmost toward the sailboat."

He besides said the Hookers "always had their phones with them" and often posted videos online, truthful helium wondered wherefore Brian's "phone didn't enactment oregon wherefore they didn't person their phones successful the boat" the nighttime Lynette went missing.

Danforth said his woman was friends with Lynette and helium didn't person concerns astir the couple's relationship, though determination had been a play wherever Brian and Lynette "had separated for a while," helium said.

"You know, astir of the clip radical bash get backmost unneurotic and you don't privation things to beryllium awkward," helium said. "So we didn't — I don't truly get into a full batch of idiosyncratic concern due to the fact that of those reasons."

Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told CBS News successful a abstracted interrogation that her parent and Brian Hooker had breached up and gotten backmost unneurotic successful caller years. Aylesworth said she is seeking answers astir the circumstances surrounding her mother's disappearance and has said she doubts the series of events described by Brian Hooker.

"For one, I don't recognize however she got the key," Aylesworth said. "Brian's ever driving. So helium fundamentally is successful complaint of the key. So the information that my ma had it doesn't marque immoderate sense."

In an earlier statement, Butler, Hooker's attorney, said helium denied the allegations made by Aylesworth, and added, "He has been cooperating with the applicable authorities arsenic portion of an ongoing investigation."

Butler has spoken to Hooker connected the telephone and told CBS News that helium was focused connected continuing the hunt for his wife.

"That's each he's been talking about," Butler said. "Yesterday… helium made arrangements to spell backmost retired and hunt for her."

The whereabouts of the vessel cardinal was besides an contented for Danforth, who said pictures and videos the Hookers took portion connected the dinghy ne'er amusement either of them with the key, which is usually attached to a lanyard. But helium said it's imaginable that Lynette Hooker would "reach retired successful desperation" to drawback clasp of thing arsenic she fell overboard, and "that's the closest thing."

Ultimately, Danforth said helium didn't afloat judge beardown winds and water currents could abstracted Hooker's tiny dinghy from his woman truthful rapidly. And, if she were swimming toward the dinghy, arsenic Brian Hooker said successful his messages, Danforth asked: "Why didn't helium effort to spell get her?"

Nicole Sganga, Kiki Intarasuwan and Anna Schecter contributed to this report.

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