HOPE TOWN, Bahamas â After Brian Hooker’s arrest in the disappearance of his wife, Lynette, , a man who was friends with the couple and knew them from the Caribbean paradise says that their small dinghy was “underpowered” and “undersized” for the conditions they faced.
Officials in the Bahamas said Lynette Hooker, 55, and Brian Hooker, 58, at around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday and went on a smaller boat, referred to as a dinghy, to travel to their yacht. Brian Hooker reportedly told officials that Lynette fell into the water with the ignition key, which caused the engine to cut off. Â According to Brian, the current carried Lynette away, and he paddled the dinghy to a marina at Marsh Harbour.
Brian Hooker was arrested by Bahamian authorities on Wednesday night, but hasn’t been charged with a crime.
A man who knew Brian and Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas told Fox News Digital that conditions on the night the American woman went missing were less than ideal, especially considering the fact they were on an 8-foot dinghy, as authorities have said. The man, who is also an American, asked to remain anonymous.
“Their dinghy was really just too small to be out in those conditions. Their eight-foot hard bottom dinghy with that electric motor, you shouldn’t be out in anything more than like 12, max 15 knots. It’s really underpowered, undersized for the condition they were in,” the man said.
Winds in the Hope Town area were gusting at around 26 knots on Saturday night, according to a review of data by Fox Weather. Improvesailing.com states that wind speeds above 25 knots are considered “rough for any small/mid-sized boat.”
“If the wind [is] blowing 30 knots, you’re moving at four feet in the opposite direction every one second, you’re separating by seven and a half feet. Even an Olympic swimmer would have a hard time getting back on â it would be impossible for two people that are 55 and 58 to reunite,” the man said. “I’ve done three in three weeks, really. I mean, it’s crazy.”
The man, who is a sailor himself alongside his wife, said Brian and Lynette were a couple in what seemed to be a great marriage.
“They seemed very much like the happiest of people in an extremely happy relationship. People to aspire to in the sailing and cruising life,” he said.
The friend of Brian and Lynette Hooker told Fox News Digital there are common misconceptions about the engine key, noting that in rough weather it’s sometimes the lighter person who drives while the heavier one sits in the middle in order to provide stability.
“People are really confused about a dinghy key. It’s common practice to wear the key â it goes on the outboard motor, and it’s got a tether on it that you wear on your wrist as the driver. So if you fall overboard, it stops the motor from the dinghy motoring away from you. And that’s what everybody does. And they’re really saying, ‘why did she have the key?’ Well, she had the key because she was driving.”
Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, painted a different picture of her stepfather, Brian Hooker, in an interview with Fox News’ Griff Jenkins earlier this week. Her comments included allegations of alcohol-fueled domestic violence, which Brian has denied through his attorney. He has not been charged with any crime.
“I’ve seen him choke out one of his daughters before. And we had to go to court for that,” Aylesworth said. “So he’s just repeating patterns.”
Aylesworth claimed that Brian Hooker had also become violent toward her mother.
“There’s and threatening to throw her overboard. So the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story,” she said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Brian Hooker’s attorney, Terrel Butler, said he denies the allegations.
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