Husband of US woman missing in Bahamas wants to help search, lawyer says

The lawyer for a Michigan man arrested in his wife's disappearance during a boat ride in the Bahamas says that he's "deeply distressed" and frustrated that he can't help search for her. Meanwhile a new police report obtained by USA TODAY says that he once violently choked his own daughter after losing his temper over a school textbook.

Brian Hooker, 59, has been in police custody since Wednesday, April 8 and is considered a suspect in the disappearance of his wife of 25 years, Lynette Hooker. He has not been charged.

His attorney, Terrel Butler, said in a statement to USA TODAY that Hooker "categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing" in the disappearance and is cooperating with the investigation.

"Brian appears completely heartbroken and deeply distressed," Butler told USA TODAY on Friday, April 10. "His primary concern and source of intense frustration is his inability to continue the search for his wife of 25 years. The trauma of her disappearance, coupled with his current detention as a suspect, has left him in an extremely fragile state."

Here's the latest on the case, including details from two police reports obtained by USA TODAY that say Hooker was accused of choking loved ones twice in the past.

What happened to Lynette Hooker?

On Saturday, April 4, Brian Hooker reported that his wife fell overboard from an 8-foot, hard-bottomed dinghy that they were taking on a night trip from Hope Town to Elbow Bay, which are both off of Great Abaco Island, according to a news release from the Royal Bahamas Police Department. Brian Hooker said that his wife had been carrying the boat keys so the engine shut off when she fell. Then "strong currents subsequently carried her away," and he lost sight of her, police said.

The agency said that Brian Hooker then paddled the dinghy to shore, which took hours, and that he arrived around 4 a.m. on Sunday, April 5.

Advardo Dames, assistant commissioner of the ​Royal Bahamas Police, told Reuters that Brian Hooker is "a suspect." A U.S. Coast Guard Official told USA TODAY that the agency also is conducting a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker's disappearance.

Extensive search-and-rescue efforts for Lynette Hooker, 55, have included professional divers, drone technology and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The operation, which has been significantly scaled down, is now considered a recovery effort.

What do Brian Hooker and his attorney say?

Brian Hooker's attorney told USA TODAY that he was at a police station in Grand Bahama as of Friday morning and was expected to be interviewed again.

She said she is requesting medical attention for Hooker because of injuries she said he sustained during his arrest.

"Under conditions of heavy rain and strong-force winds, he was taken by boat to his boat, the Soulmate, for a police search," she said. "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."

She said he was "submerged in the cold water and took in a significant amount of seawater before his life jacket brought him to the surface" and the police rescued him.

"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," she said.

About 12 hours before his arrest, Brian Hooker wrote a brief Facebook post about what happened to his wife

"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 said. "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."

He also left a voicemail for his stepdaughter the day after her mother disappeared.

“Hello, honey, I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they have found a flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard,” Brian Hooker said in the voicemail that Karli Aylesworth shared with multiple media outlets. “They haven’t found her yet, but they can now focus all of their efforts in a smaller area.”

Police reports detail choking allegations against Brian Hooker

In 2005, Brian Hooker was charged with child abuse stemming from allegations involving one of his daughters, according to a Kentwood Police Department report obtained by USA TODAY on Friday, April 10. A jury later found him not guilty.

Hooker's daughter, whose age was not disclosed in the police report, reported that her father got mad about her school textbook being premised on creationism over evolution, and that during an ensuing argument, she called him a "bastard."

She said her father jumped up from where he was sitting and that she ran away. She said he caught up to her and "grabbed her by the neck and picked her up by her neck, slammed her against the wall, and started choking her," the police report said.

"He was holding her above his head," said the report, which included photos of red marks on the girl's neck.

The girl's sister and stepsister said they witnessed the attack and told police that it scared them, the report said.

Hooker's attorney didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment about the allegation.

Another Kentwood police report obtained by USA TODAY details an argument between Lynette and Brian Hooker that turned bloody at their Michigan home in 2015.

Each spouse was drunk and accused the other of assault, according to the report. Police weren't able to conclude who started it but because Brian Hooker had the only visible injury − a bloody nose − Lynette Hooker was arrested on charges of assault and battery and spent the night in county jail, the report from the Kentwood Police Department says.

A "highly intoxicated" Lynette Hooker said that Brian Hooker had choked her and punched her, according to the report. Brian Hooker told police that Lynette Hooker had hit him in the face up to five times, the report said.

“He stated he had never been hit like that in a long time," an officer wrote. "He started to cry and became emotional."

What else do we know about Lynette and Brian Hooker?

Brian and Lynette Hooker look to be golden-years adventurers living out their dreams on social media. They described themselves on TikTok as "a married couple living their best life" after they "sailed away from BS."

The couple also documented their travels on Instagram as "The Sailing Hookers." Their posts include grinning selfies, adventures like snorkeling and scuba diving, and humble brags about enjoying the weather in the Bahamas while their loved ones back in Michigan face winter weather.

But Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, described her mother and stepfather's relationship as volatile and stated that there was a history of domestic violence in interviews with CBS News, NBC News and Fox News.

"There's history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard," she told Fox News.

Brian Hooker denies Aylesworth's allegations, according to his lawyer's statement. USA TODAY has been unable to find any records showing that he has been convicted of domestic violence.

Aylesworth said in multiple interviews that it did not make sense that her mother would fall off the dinghy, adding that she was a fit and experienced mariner. She told CBS News that it also did not make sense for her mom to have the keys to the boat since her stepdad always drives.

“It just doesn’t add up," she told Fox News.

Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY

Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers breaking news, cold case investigations and the death penalty for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.