Coast Guard Processes Hookers' Sailboat in Florida as April 4 Bahamas Disappearance Probe Deepens
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 14
Coast Guard Processes Hookers' Sailboat in Florida as April 4 Bahamas Disappearance Probe Deepens
4 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 14
Fort Pierce investigators spent Tuesday and Wednesday processing the sailboat Soulmate after the U.S. Coast Guard brought it from the Bahamas and a source said it was seized over the weekend.
Crime tape surrounded parts of the American-flagged vessel as agents searched for evidence tied to Lynette Hooker's disappearance, which maritime law expert Kenneth Engerrand said could still support federal charges without a body.
Engerrand said the Coast Guard generally does not need a warrant to investigate activity on a U.S.-flagged boat, giving federal authorities broad latitude before any focused criminal case.
Lynette Hooker was reported missing after Brian Hooker said she fell from a dinghy near Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. on April 4; he reached Marsh Harbour about 4 a.m. the next day, and she has not been found.
Brian Hooker was detained for 5 days by Bahamian police but not charged, leaving the Coast Guard Investigative Service's evidence review as the central next step in the cross-border case.
What secrets do the digital logs from the seized sailboat 'Soulmate' hold about Lynette Hooker's disappearance?
With no body found, can forensic evidence from the boat alone solve the mystery of what happened at sea?