The daughter of an American woman who went missing while boating with her husband in the Bahamas is raising questions about her stepfather’s involvement. She accuses him of having a violent history, including a threat to throw her mother overboard.
“It just doesn’t add up,” Karli Aylesworth told Fox News regarding the account given by Lynette Hooker’s husband, Brian Hooker, to the police early Saturday after her disappearance at sea.
According to the police, Brian Hooker reported that they were traveling from Hope Town to Elbow Cay around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday when his wife allegedly fell off their dinghy, taking the boat key with her, and was swept away by strong currents.
Without the key, the dinghy’s engine shut off, and Brian Hooker stated that he paddled the 8-foot vessel to shore, reporting his wife missing at about 4 a.m., as per a statement from the Royal Bahamas Police Force, which did not include the couple’s names.
Aylesworth expressed skepticism about this version of events, noting that her mother was a proficient swimmer and unlikely to have been holding the boat key as her husband was always the one to drive. She also alleged past violence by her stepfather against her mother and another daughter.
“There’s history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard,” she said, referring to incidents of physical abuse against her mother. “So, the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story.”
In an interview with NBC News, Aylesworth noted that the couple often had issues when drinking.
In a statement posted on Facebook Wednesday, Brian Hooker expressed his heartbreak over the boating incident, citing unpredictable seas and high winds, and stated his primary focus is on finding his “beloved Lynette.”
“Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart,” he wrote.
Brian Hooker and Aylesworth did not immediately respond to JS’s request for comment.
The police reported on Tuesday that extensive search-and-rescue operations, involving local teams and the U.S. Coast Guard, have been conducted since the woman disappeared.
“These efforts have spanned marine, land, and aerial areas, with additional support from drone technology and professional divers,” they stated in a statement.
In comments to NBC, Aylesworth mentioned that the couple, originally from Michigan, had been sailing for over a decade and had been living full-time on a larger boat after selling their home a few years ago.
They shared some of their sailing experiences on TikTok, with their last post on Friday showing them traveling to Great Guana Cay, an islet northwest of Elbow Cay.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
