(NEW YORK) — Brian Hooker, whose wife was reported missing in the Bahamas after going overboard on a dinghy, told ABC News he is staying on the island with his “sole focus” on finding her.
Lynette Hooker, 55, of Michigan, has been missing for over a week. She and Brian Hooker, 58, had departed Hope Town on the Abaco Islands for their yacht, Soulmate, in Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, when bad weather caused Lynette Hooker to fall overboard, her husband told authorities.
Brian Hooker was arrested on Wednesday and questioned by police. He was released on Monday without charges.
Hooker described being in police custody as “hell.”
“It was a little different chapter of hell in a giant hell that I’m in,” he said, overcome with emotion.
He told ABC News on Tuesday morning that he will stay in the Bahamas until his visa runs out.
He said his “only focus is to go back to the boat, and then hire or beg people to help me go find some areas to search.”
“I want you to know Lynette and I loved each other the most — we’ve been together almost half our lives,” Brian Hooker said. “My sole focus is finding Lynette, no matter how likely or unlikely that is. This search for Lynette has been interrupted by the investigation. I understand that investigations have to take place, but I’m going as soon as I can to start finding Lynette.”
Brian Hooker’s attorney did not allow him to answer questions about what happened the night his wife went overboard due to the pending investigation.
When asked if there was anything he wishes he’d done differently, Brian Hooker was emotional, saying, “I will always think there was something I could have done differently. My one job, my one job was to look out for her, and that has not happened. And I’m gonna keep looking out for her now, the best I can.”
“I’m going to keep going. I’m not leaving until I’m told to leave or convinced that it’s fruitless,” he said.
Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
