Brian Hooker released after being held by police in Bahamas

[0:00] The ABC interview with the mother of Lynette Hooker, [0:03] the woman missing in the Bahamas, [0:04] her husband telling authorities she fell overboard [0:07] from the dingy they were in. [0:08] Lynette's mother says there's much more to this story. [0:12] Tonight, the husband of a woman missing at sea [0:15] in the Bahamas, Brian Hooker released from police custody. [0:18] Brian, anything to say? [0:21] Any conditions on his release that you can share right now? [0:23] No, not at this time. [0:25] I haven't really spoken to him. [0:26] He came out, he was emotional. [0:27] It's been over a week since his wife Lynette disappeared. [0:31] She's strong. [0:33] She used to run marathons. [0:35] She does yoga or she did yoga. [0:38] She could swim, scuba dive, brought up on a lake, [0:42] knows how to manage boats. [0:44] Lynette's anguished mother speaking out [0:46] after her daughter vanished off the coast of Elbow Key. [0:49] My daughter is a very lovely lady. [0:54] I'm gonna miss her terribly. [0:59] Brian says he and his wife had drinks at this inn [1:02] on the night of the 4th, [1:03] later departing from this dock. [1:05] Brian, in his own words, describing the moment he says [1:09] she fell from a boat due to bad weather in the Bahamas [1:12] and was swept away. [1:14] The wind blew us apart so fast that I think, [1:17] I think she tried to swim back to the sailboat, [1:19] to our back to our sailboat, which was probably, [1:22] I don't know, thousand yards or something. [1:26] But the waves were three foot. [1:28] In a phone call to a friend made the day before he was arrested, [1:32] Brian Hooker is saying he tried to rescue her. [1:35] I threw her a flotation cushion [1:36] that we used to sit on the dinghy, you know, right after she went in. [1:41] But I didn't, I couldn't tell if she got it or not. [1:44] I mean, I'm never gonna forgive myself. [1:46] Brian Hooker says that he went from Elbow Keys to Marsh Harbor. [1:50] Now, law enforcement says that it should have taken him about 20 minutes, [1:53] considering the distance and the weather at the time. [1:56] But it took him eight hours, which raises the question, [1:59] what happened in all that time? [2:01] But police taking Brian into custody four days later, [2:04] questioning him about the night of Lynette's disappearance. [2:07] The 59-year-old maintaining his innocence, [2:10] he says before losing sight of his wife, [2:12] he threw a life preserver to her, [2:14] but that she was swept away by a strong current. [2:18] There is no evidence that she is dead. [2:22] Their main focus seemed to be looking at him as a suspect. [2:28] And he feels that they should be out there looking, [2:32] trying to find his wife. [2:34] Brian Hooker is in this weird kind of gray area. [2:37] They don't have what's called probable cause. [2:39] But they do have enough information to hold him [2:42] for a short period of time to ask him additional questions, [2:45] to continue their investigation. [2:48] There's a time frame as to how long prosecutors [2:50] and law enforcement can keep him in that legal purgatory. [2:53] Lynette's daughter, Carly, previously telling ABC News, [2:56] she had doubts about Brian's account. [2:58] She's a good swimmer. [3:00] She's pretty fit. [3:01] And I don't feel like she would just fall off a boat. [3:05] Also saying there was turmoil in the relationship. [3:08] They were in like the healthiest relationship at the end. [3:13] Lynette's mother suspicious of her son-in-law's story [3:16] and calling for a full investigation. [3:19] She was a safety nut in water, wore her life jackets, [3:23] and was very careful and respectful. [3:26] She watched the weather station religiously. [3:30] And to her to get on this dinghy and fall off [3:34] and not be able to swim back to it. [3:39] Lynette and Brian Hooker had been married for 25 years, [3:42] their mother saying they had an off-the-grid lifestyle. [3:45] In 2020, Brian and Lynette sold their house [3:48] and all of their possessions. [3:50] And their dream was to get a boat. [3:53] They lived quite an interesting lifestyle, [3:57] living on a boat, getting rid of everything you ever had. [4:01] Their Instagram grid, though, full of photos and videos, [4:04] documenting the sailing hookers, [4:07] picture-perfect adventures at sea. [4:10] But Darlene describes their relationship as volatile. [4:13] It's been a very turbulent relationship. [4:16] They had very highs and very lows. [4:19] Documents obtained by ABC affiliate WZZM describe a 2005 [4:24] domestic incident involving Hooker and his young daughter [4:27] at the time in which he was accused of putting his hands [4:30] around her neck, a jury later acquitting him. [4:33] ABC News also obtaining a 2015 police report [4:37] detailing an alleged domestic incident between the two, [4:40] both accusing each other of assault, [4:43] police noting that Brian had a bloody nose, [4:46] taking Lynette into custody, [4:47] but ultimately neither facing charges. [4:50] Past instances of domestic violence or abuse, [4:53] any altercation or argument prior to this incident, [4:57] could be the building blocks of a case moving forward. [5:01] But without the foundation of any evidence to show [5:03] that Brian Hooker killed Lynette, [5:05] those building blocks will just fall by the wayside. [5:08] But for right now, [5:09] there seems to be more questions than answers. [5:12] Lynette's mother just wants the truth. [5:15] I just want the truth to come out, [5:18] and I'm hoping that they can do that, [5:21] and I hope they find her. [5:24] We'll, of course, continue to follow this story as it unfolds.