Coast Guard Video Shows Brian Hooker’s Sailboat Seizure After Wife Vanishes in Bahamas

Recently released body camera footage captures the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service seizing Brian Hooker’s sailboat, “Soulmate,” as it was being transported from the Bahamas back to the United States in May.

The video was made public after months of investigative work into the disappearance of Lynette Hooker, who went missing in April while vacationing in the Bahamas with her husband, Brian Hooker.

Lynette Hooker was reported missing on April 4 after she and her husband had been boating near Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands.

The May 9 bodycam footage appears to show that the crew moving the vessel did not realize they were transporting what investigators considered a potentially significant piece of evidence.

During a conversation with the movers, an officer tells them, “Right now the boat is being seized.”

“Oh —-,” the captain replies.

Earlier in the footage, an officer asks the captain, “How many people on board?” The captain, whose face is blurred in the video, answers, “Just us two.”

It appears from the video that Brian Hooker was not aboard his boat at the time of this seizure. 

The officer also asks the men, “Are you guys headed to Saint Augustine,” to which the captain responds, “We are headed to Fernandina Beach. We’re moving it for the owner.”

The men are also asked by the Coast Guard if the boat’s owner will be meeting the boat movers at the planned location, to which the captain simply says, “I don’t think so, no.”

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Brian has maintained that his wife fell from a dinghy at night and was swept away. Lynette’s body has not been recovered.

The U.S. Coast Guard traveled to the Bahamas last month to conduct a dive search in the Sea of Abaco and land search with the help of a cadaver dog to try and find any trace of Lynette. 

They returned to the U.S. with the dinghy Lynette was last seen on, which will be combed for clues.  

A family friend and advocate for Lynette described her as the kind of person who was always there for others.

“She’s the kind of person anybody would be happy to be around in any occasion,” the friend told News Agency. “She’s the type of person after the party that sticks around to help clean up. She’s a person who shows up beforehand to help you set up. She is your go-to person when you need a friend.”

Brian has not been seen or heard from since returning to the U.S. after he was initially questioned and released by Bahamian authorities.

Brian Hooker has not been charged with any crime or accused of wrongdoing.