US Coast Guard Seizes Soulmate 40 Miles Off Florida After 11-Hour AIS Blackout

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 27

40 nautical miles off Melbourne, Florida, the U.S. Coast Guard seized the sailboat Soulmate between May 8 and 10 and took it to Fort Pierce for potential evidence.
An 11-hour AIS blackout on April 4-5 has become a key focus: VesselFinder data showed the boat stopped transmitting at 9:29 p.m. and resumed at 8:40 a.m. after Lynette Hooker vanished.
Kenneth Engerrand, a University of Houston maritime law professor, called that pattern highly unusual, saying a system that goes dark and later returns suggests it was turned off or disabled rather than catastrophically failed.
Brian Hooker told authorities rough water caused his wife to fall from their dinghy as they returned to the sailboat near Hope Town; he reached Marsh Harbour around 4 a.m. on April 5.
Brian Hooker has not been charged, though Bahamian police detained him for five days after the disappearance, and the Coast Guard described the seizure as part of a complex surveillance and interdiction operation.

After his wife vanished and the boat's tracker went dark, what did the Coast Guard find on his vessel?

A disabled tracker, a missing wife, and a history of abuse. What secrets does the seized sailboat 'Soulmate' hold?