A federal investigation into the fate of a Michigan woman who vanished on a sailing trip in the Bahamas with her husband continues in earnest with a forensic probe of their sailboat and a U.S. dive team dispatched to search new areas it reportedly identified from GPS data.
Their sailboat named the “Soulmate” is docked in Florida after it was towed by the U.S. Coast Guard and will be further searched for clues in the mysterious disappearance of Lynette Hooker, whose husband Brian claims she fell overboard while they were returning to the boat in a dinghy.
Also, new sections of water in the Sea of Abaco in the Bahamas will be searched by a U.S. dive team after it received permission to do so by the Bahamian government, numerous news outlets are reporting.
The 55-year-old American mother vanished last month while on a sailing excursion with her husband Brian Hooker, 58.
While claiming his wife fell overboard in rough seas on April 8 as they returned to the boat from a trip to shore, Hooker did not report his wife missing until 8 hours later.
More than seven weeks later, there still is no sign of her body.
In her recent podcast Drop Dead Serious, Ashleigh Banfield, who has broken several developments in the case and traveled to the Bahamas, said the divers have found new areas to search in the water based on GPS data from the husband’s cell phone.
Also, CNN, citing a source close to the investigation, reported that location data recovered from Brian Hooker’s “electronic devices” contradicts his early statements to investigators advising them where to look for his wife.
Digital tracking is not limited to cell phones.
“Any sort of digital devices that you can take, any computer systems that you can extract, anything of that sort, will be taken in,” Nicole Parker, a former FBI special agent and contributor told Fox News.
Accusations of domestic violence and threats of violence by the husband have been levied by both the woman’s daughter and mother, Breitbart News reported earlier this month.
Not since the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old Natalee Holloway in Aruba has a missing person case generated so much attention not only in the viral world of true crime podcasters and social media but also in mainstream network outlets featuring developments on the evening news.
The Hookers, who have been married for 25 years, lived on the sailboat and were documenting their sailing trips on social media.
Authorities seized the sailboat after it left the Bahamas being piloted by a transport captain apparently hired by Hooker. It remains docked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
A U.S. official familiar with the investigation told Fox News Digital that once pulled from the water it will be taken to a warehouse for an evidence team to search for more clues.
Brian Hooker was initially detained, then released from Bahamian custody after Lynette was reported missing.
Federal authorities have not charged Hooker with any crime, but the investigation by Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) is continuing.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
