Brian Hooker, a man from Onsted in southern Michigan, was released by authorities in the Bahamas after he spent several days in police custody following his wife’s disappearance from their small boat, Bahamas police said Monday.
Authorities said Hooker had told them that Lynette Hooker fell overboard the night of April 4 as the couple traveled in an 8-foot (2.4-meter) motorboat from Hope Town to Elbow Cay, a group of islands on the eastern end of the Bahamas.
In that account, Hooker told police that Lynette had the boat’s keys, which caused the engine to shut off and forced him to paddle ashore, the police statement said. Police said strong currents subsequently carried her away and Hooker lost sight of her.
After reaching shore, Hooker alerted someone about Lynette Hooker’s disappearance early the following day, authorities said. He had been in police custody since April 8 after being questioned, according to the report.
Prosecutors, law enforcement said, recommended against filing charges at this time after consulting with them, and Hooker was freed following that review, according to authorities. Hooker denied any wrongdoing, his attorney, Terrel Butler, said, and his release came after that consultation.
“I won’t be able to stop looking,” Hooker said after his release to CBS News, according to the account. The report said Hooker wants to believe his wife is still alive and plans to return to search as soon as possible.
As covered in MSI previously reported that a man was arrested after his wife vanished from their boat in the Bahamas, the case has included both a law-enforcement process and an ongoing missing-person investigation.
The report said the U.S. Coast Guard has opened an investigation separate from the one being conducted by Bahamas authorities. Lynette Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told NBC News it is unlikely her mother “would ‘just fall’ off the boat,” saying Lynette was an experienced sailor and that the couple had been sailing for years.
The Associated Press reported that Lynette Hooker did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent to her email Monday. The report also described the couple’s history of sailing adventures and their public posts online about their trips through the Caribbean.
The police account did not resolve what happened next, but it placed the disappearance on April 4 during the trip between Hope Town and Elbow Cay. Investigators in the Bahamas continued their work after Hooker’s release, while the Coast Guard investigation proceeded separately.
The Associated Press also said the couple has had prior legal contention in Michigan. According to the report, a Kentwood, Michigan, police report obtained by NBC described accusations by Brian and Lynette Hooker in 2015 and said a warrant was denied because it was not clear “who started the assault.”