National

Lawyer Defends American Client After Wife Goes Missing at Sea

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The husband of the American woman who went missing in waters off Abaco is behind bars and facing tough questions from investigators.

Published

5 days ago

April 9, 2026

Joshua Williams

NASSAU , BAHAMAS – The husband of the American woman who went missing in waters off Abaco is behind bars and facing tough questions from investigators.

His lawyer traveled to Grand Bahama to meet with her client today.

She spoke to our Joshua Williams and called for a fair investigation.

Police reported over the weekend that Lynette Hooker and her husband Brian had left Hope Town headed to Elbow Cay around 7:30 on Saturday evening in an 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy.

Her husband told police that she reportedly fell overboard with the boat’s keys in hand, shutting off the engine.

He also reported she was carried away by the strong currents and that he lost sight of her in the dark.

Her husband said he was able to paddle the vessel to shore in Marsh Harbour around 4 a.m and alerted police.

Since then, efforts have gone from search to recovery.

Yesterday, her husband was taken into custody.

Brian’s lawyer, Terrel Butler, rushed to Grand Bahama to meet with her client today.

Terrel Butler – Attorney

“Currently he’s being detained. There are no charges and I’m waiting for the interview process to take place and for the police to make a decision in terms of their findings in this investigation.”

Terrel Butler – Attorney

“Initially, I was told that he was going to be interviewed in Abaco and then my flight had to be changed for Grand Bahama, so I’m here waiting.”

There’s been a lot of speculation over exactly what happened.

Lynette’s daughter has openly questioned Brian’s story while appearing on multiple U.S. news networks.

Butler cautioned everyone with an eye on the incident to be careful about drawing conclusions.

Terrel Butler – Attorney

“This is an unusual situation. The circumstances, as I understand it, is that only two persons were on the dinghy, and one of that person is my client. He has said that he has not been involved in any wrongdoing, and I would be interested to know what evidence they would be relying on because in any case you need an actus reus and a mens rea… you need intention plus action.”

With the story grabbing international attention, Butler said that she’s confident in her client’s innocence.

Terrel Butler – Attorney

“It would be interesting to see which direction this is going in. I am not aware of any other person being present, so the information would be coming from my client. So at this point, I am optimistic because he has said that he has done nothing wrong and as far as I’m aware, I am not aware of any evidence at this point to anything to the contrary.”