Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 8

USCG Seizes Dinghy for Forensic Exam in Lynette Hooker Case After 4-Day Bahamas Search

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 8

USCG Seizes Dinghy for Forensic Exam in Lynette Hooker Case After 4-Day Bahamas Search

Q: His wife vanished at sea. Why does GPS data from his own device suggest he's not telling the truth?

Because investigators say GPS data recovered from Brian Hooker’s own electronic device does not match the route and timeline he described. Brian Hooker told authorities that Lynette Hooker fell overboard from their dinghy in rough seas near Elbow Cay on April 4, taking the ignition key with her, and that he then paddled for about eight hours until reaching Marsh Harbour. But according to the additional reporting, FBI-processed location data from one of his devices showed movements on the water that included travel to, a stop in, and a return from an area in the Sea of Abaco that did not fit that account. Those discrepancies were significant enough that the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service reopened and redirected search efforts to previously unsearched waters near Hope Town. During the four-day operation, investigators used divers, remotely operated underwater vehicles, drones and a cadaver dog, and they also brought the couple’s dinghy back to the United States for further forensic testing. The case remains under federal criminal investigation, with CGIS examining possible crimes including the foreign murder of a U.S. national. Authorities have not publicly released the full GPS record or filed charges, so the data has not been tested in court. But the central issue is clear: the digital location evidence appears inconsistent with Brian Hooker’s version of how his wife disappeared and how he says he got back to shore.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 8

Four days of U.S. Coast Guard searching in the Bahamas ended with investigators bringing Lynette Hooker’s dinghy to the U.S. for additional forensic examination.
New video released by the Coast Guard Investigative Service shows divers, remotely operated underwater vehicles, drones and a cadaver dog deployed around the Sea of Abaco for clues.
Hooker disappeared in April during a boating trip near Hope Town, Bahamas; her husband Brian has said she fell overboard from the dinghy in rough seas and never resurfaced.
Miami-based cutter Margaret Norvell supported the mission, while CGIS said it is leading the investigation and will release more information as it becomes available.