Missing Michigan woman's husband fell off police boat in Bahamas, lawyer says

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Apr 10, 2026

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DETROIT — The Lenawee County man whose wife disappeared at sea last weekend while in the Bahamas fell off a police boat transporting him to his vessel, his attorney said.

Terrel Butler, the attorney for Brian Hooker, said her client shared "a harrowing account" of the incident, which happened the night officers with the Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested him.

"Under conditions of heavy rain and strong-force winds, he was taken by boat to his boat, the Soulmate, for a police search," Butler told The Detroit News via email on Friday. "Despite the choppy and dangerous sea conditions, he was kept in handcuffs.

"While attempting to move sideways across the wet, unstable flooring of the boat to maintain his balance — with a bundle of clothes in his restricted hands — he lost his footing and fell overboard."

Hooker was submerged in the cold sea and took in a significant amount of water before his life jacket brought him to the surface, the attorney said.

"He had to be rescued from the water by the police," she said. "As a result of this fall, Brian sustained an injury to his knee, which has caused him to limp, as well as a visible abrasion."

Butler said she informed police officials about her client's injuries and requested both treatment and a medical evaluation for him. "The officers have assured me that he will be transported to the Rand Memorial Hospital for treatment and a full medical assessment."

Officials for the Royal Bahamas Police Force were not immediately available for comment on Friday.

Butler said her client was scheduled to have an interview on Friday morning with investigators at the Central Police Station on the island of Grand Bahama.

Furthermore, the lawyer said she is closely monitoring Hooker's condition and the progress of the investigation into his wife's disappearance.

On Sunday, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said it was investigating a report that a woman disappeared the previous day after going overboard on a dinghy traveling from Hope Town to Elbow Cay.

The woman was identified as 56-year-old Lynette Hooker from Onsted by her daughter, Karli Aylesworth.

Police said a man told officers his wife had gone overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel's engine to shut off. He reported that strong currents carried her away, and he lost sight of her.

The man also told detectives that he paddled the dinghy to shore.

Authorities said the man arrived at the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard in the Bahamas at about 4 a.m. Sunday. He informed a person at the boat yard, and that individual alerted the police.

On Tuesday, Bahamian authorities said they were conducting an extensive search for the missing woman.

The next day, police said they arrested a man in connection with Hooker's disappearance, but did not name him. Officials said he was "being questioned." USA Today confirmed the man is Brian Hooker.

Aylesworth told The Detroit News that her mother and Hooker, her stepfather, had been married for about 25 years. She also said they are avid boaters and travelers who had been in the Bahamas for about a month.

Aylesworth told The News she found her mother's disappearance "suspicious."

On Wednesday, Brian Hooker wrote in a Facebook post that he is "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. 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."

On Thursday, one of Lynette Hooker's neighbors in Onsted described the Hookers' marriage as turbulent, with a long history of fighting.

Butler said her client is "completely heartbroken and deeply distressed."

"His primary concern and source of intense frustration is his inability to continue the search for his wife of 25 years," she said. "The trauma of her disappearance, coupled with his current detention as a suspect, has left him in an extremely fragile state."

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