US officials plan new Bahamas dive for Lynette Hooker

U.S. investigators are preparing to conduct a new search in the Bahamas for Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old American woman who went missing in early April, after GPS data from her husband’s electronic devices appeared to contradict his account of her disappearance. The U.S. Coast Guard has requested permission from Bahamian authorities to send divers to new locations in the Sea of Abaco.

Lynette Hooker was reported missing on April 5. Her husband, Brian Hooker, told police that she fell from an eight-foot dinghy into rough waters near the Abaco Islands as they were returning to their yacht, Soulmate, after an evening departure from Hope Town. He stated that she was swept away with the boat key, forcing him to paddle to shore, arriving at Marsh Harbour around 4 a.m.

However, a U.S. official familiar with the investigation said location data recovered from Brian Hooker’s devices shows a track of movements that does not align with his initial statements to investigators about where to search. The data indicates the device was in a different area of the Sea of Abaco, leading officials to believe they were previously searching in the wrong location based on his information.