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U.S. Coast Guard Begins New Bahamas Search After GPS Evidence in Lynette Hooker Case

Digital forensics recovered from the seized sailboat have identified Sea of Abaco search sites, prompting investigators to treat the disappearance as a possible foreign murder.

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Collage of a couple in various settings, including a selfie, in a small boat, and their sailboat named "Soulmate."
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Overview

  • Lynette Hooker vanished while returning by dinghy to the couple’s sailboat, a disappearance that occurred April 4 and was reported by her husband the following day.
  • This week U.S. Coast Guard divers aboard the cutter Margaret Norvell arrived in Marsh Harbour to search Sea of Abaco locations that the Royal Bahamas Police Force authorized.
  • Forensic extractions of GPS and other device data from the seized U.S.-flagged sailboat Soulmate and from the couple’s electronics showed movements that do not align with the husband’s account and led investigators to new search zones.
  • The Coast Guard Investigative Service seized Soulmate for forensic and digital processing and the FBI lab is analyzing evidence, but no criminal charges have been filed and Brian Hooker has denied wrongdoing.
  • Hooker’s relatives provided DNA mouth swabs to aid identification if remains are found and investigators warn a possible no-body homicide case would rely heavily on digital, physical and corroborating evidence.