Missing Lynette Hooker Case Rocked by New Evidence Push — Coast Guard Releases New Video of Search as Dinghy Faces Forensic Examination
The Coast Guard conducted an intensive search for Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas.
June 9 2026, Updated 3:44 p.m. ET
The search for missing boater Lynette Hooker has intensified, RadarOnline.com can report, amid the release of new video of Coast Guard officers scouring the depths of the Bahamas for clues.
Lynette has been missing since April, when her husband, Brian, said she fell overboard their small dinghy in windy waters and was swept out to sea.
Coast Guard Ends Its Search
Crews spent time last week searching the murky waters for clues.
The U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service spent four days in the Bahamas last week searching the Sea of Abaco. Divers, drones, remote-controlled underwater vehicles, and even a cadaver dog were all deployed to try to find clues about the fate of Lynette.
According to officials, they were all used to "thoroughly examine newly identified areas of interest."
The agency also said it took custody of the Hookers' dinghy from Bahamian authorities and transported it to the United States for further forensic examination.
Shortly after the search, the Coast Guard announced it had concluded its mission to the Bahamas in support of the ongoing investigation.
Lynette's Daughter Thinks Her Mom Could Have Survived the Fall
After completing their search, the Coast Guard announced it was ending its mission.
Brian, 58, has been adamant that he had nothing to do with the tragic incident and has maintained "strong winds" knocked Lynette, 55, into the ocean while they were sailing in the Bahamas.
However, there are still lingering questions and unsolved mysteries, including word that Lynette's daughter believes her mom might have actually made it back to the boat before "something may have happened."
Aylesworth told the Daily Mail that security footage of the yacht showed a bright "flash of light" on or around the anchored Soulmate just 17 minutes after the pair left a boozy dinner at a local hotel around 7:30 pm, and another allegedly around midnight.
The vessel was moored offshore a short distance south of The Abaco Inn on the island of Elbow Key and in shallow waters, and the distraught daughter argues the circumstances don't add up.
"It's kind of weird that they couldn't make it to the boat," she said. "They were right there. They could have almost walked in the water to the boat from the Abaco Inn; it was really shallow. And it was relatively sheltered from winds there, too."
'It Doesn't Add Up'
Lynette's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, visited the island for her own investigation.
Aylesworth said after replaying the alleged events in her head, and even heading to the island to investigate her mom's disappearance herself, she has more questions than answers.
"I kind of feel like they were on the boat… the lights going on around the boat. I feel like they probably got to the boat and something happened on the boat," Aylesworth continued. "And where Brian said this happened would have meant they had gone in the opposite direction to the sailboat after leaving the inn's marina. Turned right instead of left. It doesn't add up."
Aylesworth added: "I just hope the Coast Guard finds something on that boat to show they were on it later that night. I've been carried along by emotion so far, but now it's really starting to hit me."
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Has Brian Left the U.S.?
Lynette has not been seen since early April.
Brian had initially been labeled a person of interest in his wife's disappearance and was brought in for questioning by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. However, after several days in custody, he was released without any charges.
Almost immediately, he left the islands for an undisclosed location to allegedly care for his sick mother. Now, a friend of the experienced boater told Fox News he's worried Brian may have left the U.S. entirely via the California-Mexico border.
The friend pondered: "You're telling me, Brian, 6'4", Marine Corps tattoo, ultra-white hair, smirk of the century — has not had one person at a Safeway, a QT [QuikTrip], or a Buc-ee's, or In-N-Out, spot him?"
