The Coast Guard has unveiled fresh images depicting their seizure of Brian Hooker’s sailboat, which remains a focal point in the ongoing criminal investigation into his wife’s disappearance.
The sailboat, named Soulmate and owned by Brian and Lynette Hooker, was intercepted by agents from the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) approximately 40 nautical miles off Melbourne, Florida, as per an official news release. Sources informed Fox News Digital that the seizure took place between May 8 and May 10.
According to Brian Hooker, his wife Lynette vanished from a dinghy after leaving the shores of Hope Town in the Bahamas on the evening of April 4. Hooker reported that turbulent waters led to Lynette falling overboard. He then made his way to shore, eventually reaching Marsh Harbour at around 4 a.m. the following day, April 5.
The couple, who had taken to sailing full-time in their retirement, considered the Soulmate their home and often documented their travels around the U.S. and Caribbean on social media. They were en route back to their sailboat when the incident occurred.
Although Brian Hooker has not been charged with any crime at this point, the case continues to draw significant attention. The newly released images from the Coast Guard serve to highlight the ongoing nature of the investigation.
Brian Hooker hasn’t been charged with a crime.
The Coast Guard said the seizure was part of a “complex surveillance and interdiction operation.” Soulmate was taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, where investigators are processing the boat for potential evidence.
The Coast Guard on Thursday evening released new pictures after the agency seized Brian and Lynette Hooker’s sailboat. (Coast Guard)
“The vessel Soulmate is currently in the custody of CGIS as part of an active criminal investigation,” the Coast Guard said.
Images taken by Fox News Digital on Tuesday show Brian and Lynette Hooker’s sailboat taped off as it sits at the U.S. Coast Guard’s station in Fort Pierce.
Lynette Hooker and Brian Hooker seen in a picture taken in 2023 on a small boat. (John Waters)
The boat’s seizure comes about a week after the Coast Guard sought the public’s help in finding the owner of a sailboat that was moored near Brian and Lynette Hooker’s Soulmate sailboat in the Bahamas.
Brian Hooker left the island for the U.S. to tend to his ill mother, his Bahamian attorney previously said.
Coast Guard officials said the sailboat was seized 40 nautical miles off the coast of Melbourne, Florida. (Coast Guard)
Coast Guard officials said the sailboat’s seizure is part of a criminal investigation. (Coast Guard)
His Michigan-based attorney previously asked Americans to give him the benefit of the doubt in an interview with ABC News.
“I would ask those watching to treat him the way you would want to be treated, to give him the benefit of the doubt, and to consider that not all of us, nor you, considering your own relationships, the way you speak to one another, we all handle things in different ways,” Crystal Marie Hauser said.
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