Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 8
U.S. Coast Guard Seizes Dinghy in Lynette Hooker Case for Forensics as Mother Alleges Foul Play
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 8

U.S. Coast Guard Seizes Dinghy in Lynette Hooker Case for Forensics as Mother Alleges Foul Play

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 8

Summary

  • Months after Lynette Hooker vanished in the Bahamas, the U.S. Coast Guard took custody of the dinghy she was last known to be on and plans further forensic testing.
  • Darlene Hamlett, Hooker’s mother, said her daughter made it back to the sailboat Soulmate and that “there was foul play,” directly disputing husband Brian Hooker’s account.
  • Brian Hooker has said Lynette fell from the dinghy on April 4 near Elbow Cay, was swept away by currents, and took the ignition key with her, forcing him to paddle ashore.
  • Investigators had already searched the Sea of Abaco and nearby land last month with dive teams and a cadaver dog, while the Coast Guard Investigative Service said it could not discuss the ongoing case.
  • Lynette Hooker’s body has not been found, Brian Hooker has not been charged, and his attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Insights

With no body and a crumbling alibi, can investigators prove murder on the high seas?
A volatile marriage and a lone witness. Was this a tragic accident or a perfectly planned crime?