The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE stepmother of Brian Hooker has offered to speak with investigators examining the disappearance of his wife, Lynette Hooker, saying authorities have not contacted her despite her decades-long connection to the family.

Donna Hooker, who was married to Mr Hooker’s father, George Hooker, for more than 40 years, said she believes she may be able to assist investigators because she knew her stepson and shared a home with him for a period during his teenage years.

Mrs Hooker stressed that she did not raise Mr Hooker, but said he lived with her and his father during the 1980s.

Mrs Hooker told journalist Joel Waldman during an interview that she has not been approached by investigators in either The Bahamas or the United States, but would be willing to answer their questions.

She said she understood that investigators had maintained contact with Mrs Hooker’s mother, Darlene, and daughter, Carly, neither of whom she has spoken with since the disappearance.

Mrs Hooker described her stepson as intelligent, well-read, quiet and reserved during his teenage years. She said he spent much of his time in his room and generally stayed with his biological mother.

“He had his own room and everything and he would stay in his room all the time,” she said. “He was quiet and for a long time he would just stay in his room and not do much of anything.”

Mrs Hooker said contact between them diminished as he grew older. She said she and her husband sometimes communicated with him through his sister, Jennifer, because he did not always respond directly.

The last time Mrs Hooker saw her stepson was in April 2022, when he visited his father after Mr Hooker suffered a second stroke. She said she has not heard from him since.

Mrs Hooker said she learnt of Lynette’s disappearance when a relative in Texas telephoned and told her to turn on the news.

She later tried to contact Jennifer, who she said travelled to The Bahamas after Mr Hooker was released from police custody, but received no response to several messages.

Mrs Hooker said she eventually contacted Mr Waldman after following his coverage of the case.

“I’m devastated and I have all this on my mind and I had to tell somebody,” she said.

Lynette Hooker, 55, disappeared on the evening of April 4 while travelling with her husband in an eight-foot dinghy near Elbow Cay, Abaco.

Mr Hooker told Bahamian authorities that the couple left Hope Town around 7.30pm to return to their yacht, Soulmate. According to the account he gave police, his wife fell overboard with the boat’s keys, causing the engine to shut off, before strong currents carried her away.

Police said Mr Hooker paddled to shore after losing sight of his wife and alerted another person, who contacted authorities.

The Royal Bahamas Police Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force, United States Coast Guard and local volunteers mounted an extensive search, but found no confirmed sign of Mrs Hooker. A flotation device was recovered along the shoreline.

Bahamian police arrested Mr Hooker on April 8 for questioning. He was released on April 13 without charge.

His attorney has categorically denied that he committed any wrongdoing and has said he cooperated with investigators. Mr Hooker remains presumed innocent.

The United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, the Coast Guard’s federal criminal-investigation arm, continues to investigate Mrs Hooker’s disappearance.

In May, Coast Guard agents seized Soulmate about 40 nautical miles off Melbourne, Florida, as part of the investigation. Investigators later took custody of the dinghy from Bahamian authorities for forensic examination.

A specialised Coast Guard team returned to Abaco in June and used divers, remotely operated underwater vehicles, drones and a cadaver dog to examine newly identified areas of interest. The operation was supported by the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

The renewed search ended without Mrs Hooker being found, but the Coast Guard said its investigation remained active and appealed for anyone with information to contact the agency through its investigative tips application.

Mr Hooker has not been charged with any offence in connection with his wife’s disappearance.