The U.S. Coast Guard has taken possession of Brian Hooker’s sailboat amid an ongoing investigation into the mysterious disappearance of his wife. Hooker alleges that his wife vanished after falling from a dinghy in the Bahamas.
According to Hooker’s account to Bahamian authorities, his wife, Lynette, fell overboard with the dinghy’s ignition key shortly after they departed from Hope Town around 7:30 p.m. on April 4. He reportedly reached a marina in Marsh Harbour around 4 a.m. on April 5, having paddled ashore approximately eight hours following the incident.
The sailboat, named “Soulmate,” owned by Brian and Lynette Hooker, was intercepted by the Coast Guard while on its way to the United States, as reported by CBS News. This seizure took place on Saturday.
As the investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance gains momentum, the Coast Guard Investigative Service is ramping up its efforts. So far, Brian Hooker has not faced any criminal charges.
Recently, Brian Hooker was spotted in Freeport, The Bahamas, accompanied by his attorney, Terell A. Butler, on April 14, 2026. He had been released from police custody the previous night after being questioned regarding his wife’s disappearance. (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)
When contacted by Fox News Digital, the Coast Guard declined to offer further details, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.
The development 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” in the Bahamas.
Brian Hooker was detained for five days by Bahamian police after his wife disappeared, but wasn’t charged. His Michigan-based attorney previously asked Americans to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“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.
The sailboat Soulmate, owned by Brian and Lynette Hooker, floats in calm water in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, on April 16, 2025. (Matthew Symons/NY Post)
While Hauser said she imagines Brian Hooker’s “heart” is in the Bahamas, she didn’t reveal if he has plans to return.
Brian Hooker left the island for the U.S. to tend to his “very ill” mother, his Bahamian attorney previously said.
Lynette Hooker and Brian Hooker seen in a picture taken in 2023 on a small boat. (John Waters)
After Lynette Hooker went missing, Brian said in a Facebook post that he was “heartbroken.”
“I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas,” he wrote. “Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Brian’s attorneys.
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