OVERBOARD: HUSBAND CAUGHT ON TAPE, LYNETTE HOOKER LOST AT SEA

Summary

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: OVERBOARD: HUSBAND CAUGHT ON TAPE, LYNETTE HOOKER LOST AT SEA

Date: April 13, 2026
Host: Nancy Grace
Guests: Vanessa Walsh (Unmasked True Crime), Eric Faddis (criminal defense attorney), Jordan Plintz (neighbor), Janine Driver (body language expert)

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, Nancy Grace investigates the baffling disappearance of Lynette Hooker at sea during a sailing trip with her husband, Brian Hooker. Brian claims Lynette fell overboard in adverse conditions, but new audio—obtained and shared by Vanessa Walsh—captures Brian explaining the events to a friend with a tone and choice of words that have fueled public suspicion. Through analysis with experts and those close to the couple, Nancy unpacks inconsistencies in Brian’s account and explores possible motives, the credibility of the "accident" narrative, and what might come next in the criminal investigation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Brian Hooker’s Account of Lynette’s Disappearance

• Brian's call to a friend (caught on tape) details a cascade of failures leading to Lynette falling overboard:
  • "She basically just bounced off the dinghy in the middle of a little blow like 20, some knot winds that popped up..." (Brian Hooker, 01:27)
  • Claims no life jackets were worn; sunset occurred just 10 minutes after Lynette fell.
  • The dry bag with the spare dinghy key and kill switch was with Lynette.
  • He asserts equipment failure: a broken oar pin, increasing distance caused by the wind, and that he lost sight of her quickly.
  • Alleges attempts to signal for help: yelling, throwing an anchor, using his phone’s flashlight, and firing flares (contentiously disputed later).

2. Panel Reactions: Uncannily Calm Demeanor and Past Tense

• Vanessa Walsh (Unmasked True Crime):
  • “The first thing I noticed, I was just struck with his tone, how unusually casual and matter of fact he was. It sounds like he’s just talking about a normal day going to the grocery store. Where’s the emotion and where’s the urgency?” (04:04)
  • Vanessa’s source, a friend of Brian’s, was so disturbed by Brian’s casual tone and his use of past tense to refer to Lynette that he decided to record the call.
• Nancy Grace:
  • Points out a string of coincidences and the lack of rescue attempt by Brian, highlighting how odd it is he didn’t jump in to save her.

3. Skepticism from Those Who Knew the Couple

• Jordan Plintz (Neighbor):
  • Emphasizes both Lynette and Brian were strong swimmers and experienced boaters; finds it highly implausible Lynette couldn’t swim to safety or that Brian wouldn’t have risked his life to save her.
    • “Even if the waves were three feet, she knows how to float. You learn those things. You know how to swim here before you can walk...It just doesn’t make sense why he waited so long to call or even report that she’s missing...” (10:59)
  • Recounts Lynette taking refuge at her mother’s house in the past, possibly suggesting marital discord.

4. Expert Perspectives: Legal and Behavioral Analysis

• Eric Faddis (Veteran Trial Lawyer):
  • Suggests not all people react rationally in crisis, maintaining it’s "equally plausible that this was just a tragic accident." (07:42)
  • But concedes, “Those statements are going to be picked apart...to see if they corroborate those statements or refute them. Not in his best legal interest to keep talking.” (28:38)
• Janine Driver (Body Language Expert):
  • Detects numerous “linguistic dimmer switches” in Brian’s language—words that minimize or obscure responsibility, e.g., “basically”, “just”, “kinda”.
    • “When someone says, ‘basically’, there’s more to the story here. You’re either pregnant or you’re not pregnant, right? ‘Basically’ I’m not pregnant…” (31:45)
  • Points out tendency to minimize, start-stop sentences that indicate discomfort or omission, and deflection “smoke screening”.
• Noteworthy: Janine flags Brian’s repeated mention of selling the boat, which may signal distancing himself from further investigation.

5. Challenging the Timeline and Consistency

• Conflicting Stories:
  • Brian initially claims they left for the dinghy at sundown but also that they left in the dark; Vanessa catches this contradiction: “It’s more like a cascade of inconsistencies...in the same audio, he says Lynette fell overboard 10 minutes before sundown, so there still would have been adequate light.” (31:06)
• Neighbor Testimony vs. Brian's Claims:
  • Other nearby sailors didn’t observe the adverse weather conditions Brian described. Families with children traveling in the same area at the same time said the conditions seemed safe.

6. Crisis Response and Use of Safety Equipment

• Confusion about why Brian didn't simply call for help:
  • “If his phone was working and charged, why didn’t he just call the Coast Guard?” (Jordan Plintz, 25:47)
  • Eric Faddis notes cell phone flashlight may work without a signal, but Nancy counters with evidence the area was not remote and had coverage.
• Vanessa Walsh: Recent Bahamian news reports state no emergency devices were actually used—contradicting Brian’s account of setting off flares and using a flashlight.
  • “None of the emergency devices in the dinghy were utilized, but that also included the flares. They were not deployed.” (22:01)

7. Context of Marital Discord and Potential Motive

• Nancy and guests discuss Lynette’s previous actions in leaving Brian and recently unearthed texts expressing her intention to leave him.
  • “I believe when she says that she was gonna leave, but who’s to say that he didn’t uncover those texts? And then that frustrated him because she’s...reaching out saying, hey, this is not working...” (Jordan Plintz, 42:07)
• Discussion of attempts to deflect blame onto Lynette, with old incidents being unearthed to paint her as unstable, which both Nancy and Jordan strongly reject.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nancy Grace: “Wait, where did he say he jumped in to save her? Oh, that’s not in there now. Interesting. He threw out the anchor, but later on he says it was trapped under one of the cushions.” (08:19)
• Vanessa Walsh: “It’s more like a cascade of inconsistencies...” (31:06)
• Janine Driver: “If he wanted her to be here right now, especially with his background too, he could have swam her a half mile with the flotation device...There’s so many questions I have and it’s just truly devastating.” (19:00)
• Nancy Grace: “So many things just seemed to go wrong. It’s kind of hard to believe. It’s fantastical. I agree.” (35:33)
• Janine Driver: “When someone says ‘just’ they’re minimizing...So when someone in a case like this says ‘just’ they’re minimizing what? You just banged your...She just banged her head...” (31:45)
• Jordan Plintz: “She doesn’t need a life jacket if she’s only half mile away...And the fact that he made it four miles away on his dinghy but couldn’t make it a half mile to his sailboat, that doesn’t make any sense.” (36:27)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Key Content | |-----------|---------|-------------| | 00:32 | Main intro | Overview of Lynette’s case; Nancy’s initial skepticism regarding Brian’s lack of rescue attempt | | 01:27 | Brian’s tape | Brian gives his initial account of the night and series of failures | | 04:04 | Vanessa reacts | Observes Brian’s casual tone and lack of emotion | | 07:42 | Eric Faddis | Counterpoint—could be tragic accident, but acknowledges questions | | 10:59 | Jordan Plintz | Asserts Lynette’s and Brian’s strong swimming competency; doubts Brian’s story | | 14:30 | Jordan on rumors | Defends Lynette’s character, background on local swimming culture | | 22:01 | Vanessa on flares | Reveals Bahamian report: emergency devices and flares weren’t used | | 25:47 | Jordan on phone call | Why didn’t Brian just call the Coast Guard if his phone was working? | | 28:38 | Eric on legal peril | Brian can only hurt himself talking to friends/media—statements will be scrutinized | | 31:06 | Vanessa inconsistencies | Points out Brian’s conflicting stories about sunset/timing | | 31:45 | Janine Driver linguistic analysis | Explains "dimmer switches" and deceptive language in Brian’s statements | | 36:27 | Jordan doubts Brian’s navigation | Questions why Brian could paddle 4 miles but not half a mile to Lynette | | 42:07 | Jordan on motive | Belief Lynette wanted to leave Brian; speculation on motive | | 45:30 | Vanessa final takeaway | “When you put it all together, it paints a pretty compelling picture that just, it doesn’t fully line up.” |

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Conclusion & Takeaways

• Pattern of Improbable Coincidences: String of simultaneous failures (lost oar, dark, no life jackets, currents, failed equipment) all worked against Lynette, while the only positive outcome was Brian’s own survival.
• Language & Demeanor as Red Flags: Experts agree Brian’s unemotional and inconsistent narrative, paired with deflective and minimizing language, casts doubt on accidental death.
• Community and Victim Advocacy: Both Nancy and guests push back against blame-shifting or character assassination of Lynette, emphasizing that she is the victim.
• Critical Moments in Investigation: As Bahamian authorities near a deadline to either file formal charges or release Brian Hooker, the case stands at a pivotal point, intensified by new evidence (recorded phone calls) and scrutiny from various experts.

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Call to Action

Anyone with information about Lynette Hooker’s disappearance is urged to call 242-300-8477.

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This episode demonstrates Nancy Grace’s signature approach—scrutinizing every detail, amplifying the voices of the affected, and holding authorities and suspects to account, all while never letting the victim’s story be forgotten.

Transcript

[Janine Driver]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Nancy Grace]

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[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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[Janine Driver]

Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Nancy Grace]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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[Nancy Grace]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Overboard in the Bahamas. As we all know by now, a loving mother and wife falls overboard on a sailing trip with her husband. Tonight, husband Brian Hooker caught on tape as his wife Lynette remains lost and at sea. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. Lynette Hooker falls overboard. My initial thought is if he could paddle to shore, why didn't he paddle to her and save her?

[Vanessa Walsh]

They were not able to find her

[Nancy Grace]

in the water or anywhere else. A lot of people are questioning his

[Vanessa Walsh]

story and have questioned his story because

[Nancy Grace]

why would she not be wearing a personal flotation device or a life vest?

[Brian Hooker]

She basically just bounced off the dinghy in the middle of a little blow like 20, some knot winds that popped up and on a half mile maybe trip back to the dinghy and angle thing failed. Every single thing. We weren't wearing life jackets. It was sundown and the sun set like basically 10 minutes after she fell over with her because it wasn't clipped to anything or anybody. And she had the spare dinghy key in her dry bag, which was with her. Yeah, it was inflated, I mean inflated because it was folded. But the wind blew us apart so fast that I think, I think she tried to swim back to the sailboat, to her back to our sailboat, which was probably, I don't know, a thousand yards or something. But the waves were 3 foot and I was trying to ship the oars and one of the pins on the oars broken that dropped over the side and I was yelling for her the whole time and I yelled to her that I lost a oar and I threw the anchor out and anchored the dinghy and just, yeah, I yelled. I couldn't see her anymore. It was it, it was. The moon has not risen yet.

[Nancy Grace]

You are hearing husband Brian Hooker caught on tape by a friend. He called, just so you know. He made the call from the Bahamas, which is a one party consent jurisdiction to the friend in St Martin's which is also a one party consent jurisdiction. What does that mean to record a phone call? In many jurisdictions, both parties must consent to the recording, the caller and the call. E not so in Bahamas and St. Martin. Joining us, an all star panel. But first to Vanessa Waltz joining us. Vanessa is the star of Unmasked True Crime podcast and she obtained this sound and has shared it with us at Crime Stories. First of all, Vanessa, thank you for being with us tonight. Where did you get the sound?

[Vanessa Walsh]

So I put a video on my channel and right after I had posted it, I got contacted by one of Brian's friends who said that he had talked to him that day. After that, she went missing and asked if I would talk to him about what happened and if I wanted the audio.

[Nancy Grace]

And when you first listened to it, Vanessa Walsh, what was your reaction?

[Vanessa Walsh]

The first thing I noticed, I was just struck with his tone, how unusually casual and matter of fact he was. It sounds like he's just talking about a normal day going to the grocery store. You know, where's the emotion and where's the urgency? And his tone just doesn't match up with what's just occurred 24 hours earlier.

[Nancy Grace]

Well, you're right, Vanessa Walsh, a very conversational matter of fact, calm tone. This is as he called a friend in St. Martin. And why did the friend, Vanessa, did the friend explain why he felt he or she felt they had to record the call?

[Vanessa Walsh]

He did, and it was for the same reason. He was so disturbed by two things initially. One was the tone of his voice, just how nonchalant he was about the whole thing. And then the second thing that really alarmed them was he kept referring to Lynette in the past tense. And at that point they decided they needed to document the call.

[Nancy Grace]

I'm wondering if there's even more of the conversation, Vanessa, based on what you're saying before they thought, oh my goodness, we need to record this.

[Vanessa Walsh]

I would like to know that too. I don't know the answer to that, but I would assume so.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, let's take another listen. There's a lot to plow through, but I want to hear this again. Listen to husband Brian Hooker trying to explain what happened to wife Lynette.

[Brian Hooker]

She basically just bounced off the dinghy in the middle of a little blow like 20 some knot winds that popped up and on a record half mile, maybe trip back to the the dinghy and angle thing failed every single thing. We weren't wearing life jacketsy. It was sundown and the sun set like basically 10 minutes after she fell with her because it wasn't clipped to anything or anybody. And she had the spare dinghy key in her dry bag, which was with her. Yeah, it was inflated. I mean inflated because it was folded. But the wind blew us apart so fast that I think, I think she tried to swim back to the sailboat, to her, back to our sailboat, which was probably, I don't know, thousand yards or something. But the waves were 3 foot and I was trying to ship the oars and one of the pins on the oars broken, that dropped over the side and I was yelling for her the whole time and I yelled to her that I lost the ore and I threw the anchor out and anchored the dinghy and just. Yeah, I yelled. I couldn't see her anymore. It was it. It was. The moon has not risen yet.

[Nancy Grace]

Wow, what a series of unfortunate events. What a set of coincidences. A string of coincidences, as he says later on in the recordings, Vanessa Walsh obtain unmasked true crime. A cascade of failures. Wow. The cards were just stacked against him. Or so he would have us believe. To veteran trial lawyer and Eric Faddis, founder of law Offices of Eric Faddis. What about it? Does that happen often with your clients? It's just one coincidence after the next and somebody just ends up dead through no one's fault.

[Eric Faddis]

You know, Nancy, surely accidents happen and these are circumstances that are not always foreseen and something with which a person may not have experience. And so when that crisis hits, not everyone knows what to do. They're not always thinking rationally, they're not always taking meaningful steps that we might expect them to take in to address this emergency that has just befallen them. So, you know, while there are some coincidences here, I think that it's equally plausible that this was just a tragic accident and he didn't quite know what to do. And now we're left with the place we're at presently.

[Nancy Grace]

Wow, you said an accident. Let's just recap all the coincidences that happened. She bounced off the dinghy. I've never heard of a human bouncing ball, but his description in the middle of a little blow, which I guess means High winds, 20 some odd winds that just popped up suddenly, almost immediately after they get into the dinghy trying to sail back to their sailboat, quote, every single thing failed. These are veteran swimmers and boaters. They're on a four year sojourn. They sold everything they owned. They got rid of their home and took off. But they weren't wearing life jackets. It was sundown. No life jackets. And the sunset just 10 minutes after she fell over. That's important because we're going to hear more about the conditions. In his phone call, the dry bag that held the clip, the kill switch fell overboard, too. It was with her. Why? Because it's usually on a lanyard with the driver. She tried to swim back, a veteran swimmer, but couldn't. The waves are now at three feet tall and oh, a pin on the oar broke and it dropped over the side. I hate when that happens. When your spouse is flailing to live and oopsie, drop the oar. Wait, where did he say he jumped in to save her? Oh, that's not in there now. Interesting. He threw out the anchor, but later on he says it was trapped under one of the cushions. And then the moon. It was the moon's fault. The moon had not risen. Two special guests, along with Vanessa Walt. Joining us, Jordan Plintz, a neighbor of Lynette and Brian Hooker back home. Jordan Plintz, thank you for being with us. Jordan, you heard defense attorney Eric Faddis state that nobody would know what to do. But if you are a seasoned sailor, boater, swimmer, you do know what to do. My children are Eagle Scouts and they know what to do, and they've done it. My son, at age 12 as a Scout, jumped into the water and saved another boy's life. He knew what to do just to become a certified diver. I had to go through hours and hours, months, it took me months to learn to dive and to train for safety issues. They knew what to do. He knew what to do. Jordan, what was your experience with them?

[Jordan Plintz]

Well, I think it's crazy. He's a Marine, for one, so he should be able to take life saving measures. But, you know, with her swimming, even if the waves were three feet, she knows how to float. You know, you learn those things. You know how to swim here before you can walk. Like, we are surrounded by 50 lakes in a 50 mile radius. Lynette knows how to swim. So Ryan too, considering he was in the military. It just doesn't make sense on why he waited so long to call or even report that she's missing or he didn't even attempt to save her like he. He didn't want to jeopardize his own life. And if you love somebody so deeply, right, it doesn't matter. You. You try your best, and I just feel like a lot of it doesn't make sense to me in this scenario, unless she got hurt to where she couldn't swim.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

And, Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Janine Driver]

Hey, everyone, Check out this guy and his bird.

[Nancy Grace]

What is this, your first date?

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Nancy Grace]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league anyways.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty, Liberty.

[Nancy Grace]

Liberty. Liberty. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Now, it's interesting that you bring up the specter of her getting hurt before she went into the water at Jordan Plintz. Isn't it true that there were several occasions where Lynette Hooker would move out of her home with husband Brian and come and live in your mom's home for a period of time?

[Jordan Plintz]

Yeah, there's just a couple times that I knew of. I don't know anything before that. I've lived here since 2018, but Darlene would let me know that this was happening. And it's kind of like, sad that they're bringing up the court case in 2015, trying to paint this picture against Lynette when she's the real victim here. We can't find her. You know, her body is missing.

[Nancy Grace]

Jordan, one more thing before we play more of husband Brian Hooker caught on tape. When I say neighbor, you guys are right on the water. Describe where you live and where the Hookers fit into this.

[Jordan Plintz]

There's 50 lakes in a 50 mile radius. They're all anywhere from 600 to a thousand acre lakes. They're not small. You know, they have some depth to them. She lives across the street from me directly. I can. I'm literally looking at her house right now, her mom's house. And truthfully, like, we all grew up on this lake. Lynette grew up swimming around my parents and all that. They've been on this lake for a very long time. So you learn how to swim before you can walk here. They throw you in as babies because if you get out, you're gonna drown if you don't know how to swim. So, you know, it just doesn't make a lot of sense unless there was foul play before something happened to her that she could not withstand swimming a half mile, even a mile. She could do two. She was in good shape. And I don't even think drinking has anything. She could be probably tanked and still be okay.

[Janine Driver]

You know what?

[Nancy Grace]

I don't Like Jordan I don't like. You mentioned an earlier complaint made by Brian Hooker. The husband naming his wife, now missing at sea, Lynette, as the aggressor. I'd like to. What I don't like is people painting Lynette. And I've seen this online, and it's very hurtful as a boozy broad. People say they were both drunk. End of story. Once again, a woman is being maligned over what? Nothing. And in that prior incident where he claimed she was the aggressor, law enforcement refused to execute a warrant. They said there was insufficient evidence to state who was the aggressor, and she would not say anything against the husband, as is so often the case. So somehow she's getting dragged through the mud and she's the one potentially at the bottom of the ocean right now.

[Jordan Plintz]

Exactly. It just, it's sad that that had to surface that way. And, you know, I, I just don't get it personally because she is the victim here in this scenario. We still have not found her body. Her family is still suffering. Right. And yet we're pulling up stuff from 2015 to make her look bad. But realistically, she's the one missing. She's the one in danger here, wherever she is.

[Nancy Grace]

Back to Brian Hooker, caught on tape as found by Vanessa Walsh. Unmask true crime. Let's listen.

[Brian Hooker]

And the ways were doing their thing and you know, you. I, I saw her, I think twice. I threw her a flotation cushion that we used to sit on the dinghy, you know, right after she went in. But I didn't. I couldn't tell if she got. She got it or not. We've been looking for the cushion to the search and rescue teams, how small the person is in two or three floaters and in 25 knot winds. And so after an hour of calling her, I could have never heard her voice. And a power bill came by and I, I raised my flashlight on my phone and they were so fast, it, you know, they didn't even see. And there's another one came by right behind it, sort of five minutes behind it. And I had, I grabbed the players by then and came with. I had two flares and they didn't see the flares, I guess. And, And I. After. And then I didn't know what to do. I was basically. We were basically. I. By the time I got the anchor set, I was probably a quarter to a half a mile away from her.

[Nancy Grace]

More of those pesky coincidences that end up with Lynette Hooker gone. You know, it's another interesting thing. I don't know if you feel this way or not. Jordan Plunce, this is neighbor of Lynette and Brian Hooker. I recall I had been at work and the twins were. They were little. They're now 18. They were about three. And we had had them in swim class since they were two. And I went to every single class and sat on the side ready to jump in. Of course, I never needed to. They were with not one, but two instructors at the same time. One instructor to watch the other instructor watch the other instructor. But I had been at work at that time. I would have been at CNN's HLM. I went straight to their swim class. It was only the second class they had ever had without me standing by watching. I got to the edge of the pool. It was a big Olympic sized pool. And I heard my daughter scream, mom, help. Mommy. Mommy, help. I had on my shoes, everything from work, from being on air and jumped in and started swimming like that. Of course, she was fine. She was absolutely fine. Praise the Lord. But I wonder what kept him from jumping in and trying to save his wife.

[Jordan Plintz]

And that's what. It doesn't make any sense to me, right? Like the bitterness. You could be mad or upset, but it almost seems like it was so premeditated with the things that Lynette said to her family or friends. And then this actually happens. And, you know, if he wanted to save her, I feel like he could have and he didn't do what normal people would do if they deeply love or care for somebody. Like, if he wanted her to be here right now, especially with his background too, he could have swam her a half mile with the flotation device and held onto her if something didn't seriously happen. And it just. There's so many questions I have and it's just truly devastating. I feel so terrible for Lynette and the family. I just. I don't know what else to say.

[Nancy Grace]

Vanessa Waltz joining us, star of Unmasked True Crime podcast, the sound that we just played, Vanessa. I'd like you to listen to it one more time along with defense attorney Eric Faddis. I've got some points I want to bring back up to Vanessa Walsh from Unmasked True Crime. Listen.

[Brian Hooker]

And the ways were doing their thing. And, you know, I saw her, I think twice. I threw her a flotation cushion that we used to sit on the dinghy, you know, right after she went in. But I didn't, I couldn't tell if she got. She got it or not, we've been looking for the cushion to the search and rescue teams how small the person is in two or three floaters and in 25 knot lens. And so after an hour of calling her, I could have never heard her voice. And that power bill came by and I, I raised my flashlight on my phone and they were so fast it, you know, they didn't even see it. And there's another one came by right behind it, sort of five minutes behind it. And I had, I grabbed the players by then came with, I had two flares and they didn't see the flares I guess. And I after. And then I didn't know what to do. I was basically. We were basically. By the time I got the anchor set, I was probably a quarter to a half a mile away from her.

[Nancy Grace]

Wow. Vanessa Waltz just so many things just happened to go wrong. Wait, so a power. Two powerboats come by. Neither one see him. He holds up his cell phone at one, the other one, he says he set off two flares. But you pointed something out to me very critical about the equipment in his dinghy. What have you learned?

[Vanessa Walsh]

Yes. So despite him saying that he did shoot off those flares to get the attention of the second boat, there were multiple reports that came out this weekend from the Bahamian News saying that not were none of the emergency devices in the dinghy were utilized, but that also included the flares. They were not deployed.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, I need to understand exactly what you're saying, guys. Vanessa Walsh with a star of unmasked true crime reports came out in the last 72 hours stating that the equipment, the life saving equipment in the dinghy was not used. Did I hear that correctly including the flares?

[Vanessa Walsh]

Correct. And when I talked to his friend, he was extremely upset about that because as you just heard, that was specifically mentioned by him that he did set those off to try to get help. But for whatever reason in his version they didn't see. But I looked them up myself and they did report that the flares were not used that were in the dinghy.

[Nancy Grace]

Janain Driver,

[Vanessa Walsh]

Really?

[Nancy Grace]

He waved his cell phone at a powerboat going by. Help me.

[Janine Driver]

Listen, Nancy, there's a lot of what I call linguistic dimmer switches happening here. The words he's using is like a dimmer switch turning down the volume or turning down the light. So we don't see what really is happening.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, another issue. Hold on, guys. This is Janine Driver, by the way. Let me properly introduce her. She is a body language expert, CEO of the Body Language Institute, New York Times best selling author of youf say More Than youn Think. And she's a host of podcast in the Driver's Seat with Jeanine Driver. Okay, Janine, I've got more I want to play for you, but Vanessa Walsh, isn't it true that at the pier where they had gone to the restaurant and then they got in the dinghy, According to Brian Hooker, I want to confirm eight that they were ever at the restaurant to start with. That said, isn't there a no wake zone? I mean, in all my experience, diving, boating, fishing, swimming, there's a no wake zone and it's strictly enforced. So they would have still been in a no wake zone.

[Vanessa Walsh]

And you bring up a couple good points because we don't know if they actually ever went to dinner that we're aware of. I'm sure investigators are diligently, you know, piecing that together, but we actually don't know when the last time Lynette was actually seen or if they actually did go to the inn for dinner and leave at that time. I did learn through the friends that there were that the people that moored next door to the Hookers were in that same area in that same no wake zone you're speaking of heading the same direction at the same time and they did not report the same conditions. In fact, they had their children in the dinghy and said that they would have never had their children in the dinghy if the conditions were poor and

[Brian Hooker]

the ways were doing their thing. And you know, you, I, I saw her, I think twice. I threw her a flotation cushion that we used to sit on the dinghy. You know, right after she went in, a power pole came by and I, I raised my flashlight on my phone and they were so fast, it, you know, they didn't even see.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, we are listening to the husband, Brian Hooker, caught on tape. And I want to circle back to their neighbor back home in the States. Joining us is a very special guest, Jordan Plintz. Jordan, what do you make of what he's saying in that portion of his phone call? He's got the phone in his hand.

[Jordan Plintz]

In his hand, and it's obviously working because he's using the light. So why wouldn't you just call the Coast Guard? You can Google that quicker than waving and then hitting flares, I should say. It doesn't make any sense to me. Why, if his phone was working in charge, why didn't he just call the Coast Guard? They could have been right then and there.

[Nancy Grace]

Eric Faddis you're the criminal defense attorney. You're the one who wins all those cases in court. Why didn't he just make a phone call? He yelled at her. What, that, like, for an hour when he could have just dialed 911, for Pete's sake?

[Eric Faddis]

I'll answer two things. You know, a phone's capacity to have the flashlight activated is not the same as the phone being able to have connectivity, you know, in the middle of a large, choppy body of water, you know, a drifted sea. Those are two different things. Additional, when it comes to the flares, you know, we don't know exactly how many flares this dinghy had on it. We don't know if a person could have brought additional flares, discharged them, and then the remnants of that discharge was no longer on the dinghy. So I think they're. I think it's important to explore all plausible explanations in this, and I think that's hopefully what law enforcement's doing.

[Nancy Grace]

Let's see the map that Vanessa was given. It was originally provided by the husband, Brian Hooker, trying to explain what happened, because look at that. It's not out in the middle of Opensea between those two little islands. Look. Look at that. He's not out at open sea. You know, And Eric Faddis, you did bring up a really good point. And let me go to Vanessa Walsh on this. I know he said he shot off two flares that, amazingly, nobody saw in that small body of water, that small stretch there. Nobody saw the flares. Other reports state that have emerged in Florida, say, the last 36 hours, that the flares were still on the boat. Could there have been more flares? Did he say he had two flares and he used them, or that he just simply used two flares and there were others he didn't use? And if he didn't use them, why didn't he use them?

[Vanessa Walsh]

Great question. And if I recall correctly, I mean. I mean, it's possible, of course, but if I recall correctly, I believe he does say in the audio that he had two flares, that they had. Actually, he has another excuse for that, that they had slipped and he finally got to them and then he lit the flares. I believe he does say that in the audio, but I would have to double check.

[Nancy Grace]

Ouchie. I hate when that happens, don't you, Eric Faddis, when your client speaks voluntarily to friends and blows his defense. I had two flares and I shot them, and then there they are sitting on his boat.

[Eric Faddis]

No, from a purely legal perspective, you know, I would certainly advise him to stop making statements. What's going to happen is exactly what's happening today. Those statements are going to be picked apart. They're going to be compared to objective evidence to see if they corroborate those statements or refute them. And so it's certainly not his best legal interest to be doing this. But on the other hand, if a person was completely innocent and their wife had fallen overboard, it wouldn't be unusual for them to be discussing that, voicing, you know, what happened. So, you know, is this behavior consistent with someone who's innocent or not? I think there are multiple interpretations of that.

[Nancy Grace]

Curious. US Coast Guard requires three flares minimum for vessels under 16ft going forward. Forward. Let's listen to more of Brian Hooker on tape.

[Brian Hooker]

At that point, I was slightly closer to something which has a few houses on it, and I decided I had to go get help. But I could not get to the island. One paddle and the tide. The tide carried me, right, the first house and then the second house. And so I ended up drifting and paddling many hours until I landed on Marsh island about four miles away. The dinghy key was not attached to me, you know, so when we were around trying to get back in the boat, the sun was falling. When it kind of dropped off, it was a magnet key, you know, for the electric motor. And it was a cascade of failures. And they. I'm never going to forgive myself for it. And then, so this happened, like Saturday night airing all day at the place called Tahiti beach. And they would have a beach bar that rolls up on a barge. And, you know, we hit the next stop and stayed too long. We left too dark. All kinds of no life jackets. I had to. The two that you stuff, you know, under the seats that nobody ever wears for, you know, Coast Guard purposes. But we used to wear these in life jackets. All. We have these other ones all the time.

[Nancy Grace]

Vanessa Walch I thought he originally said they left in daylight hours and that within about 10 minutes it began to get dark. Now he's saying a cascade of failures caused Lynette to be lost at sea, including the fact that they left the restaurant too dark, that it was dark when they left.

[Vanessa Walsh]

Right. It's more like a cascade of inconsistencies because that was one of the first things I caught when I was listening to this. And one of the things I talked to his friend about, because he did say that they stayed too long, they stayed too dark. But at the same time, in the same audio, he says that Lynette fell overboard 10 minutes before sundown, so there still would have been adequate light and he would have been able to see her in the water.

[Nancy Grace]

Sundown at 7:27pm later on, he blames the moon for not coming up for several hours. It rose at 10:05pm Back to Janine Driver, body language expert and CEO, Body Language Institute. What about it, Janine?

[Janine Driver]

Well, where to begin? Just because someone is talking to law enforcement, or talking even more so to the media, doesn't mean they're telling the truth. See, in our world, in my world of detecting deception, Nancy, liars try to convince us of something truthful people convey. So let's start there. Secondly, if we just listen to that clip you heard a second ago, Nancy, and listener at home, he said, you know, twice, and then the words. And then you might as well say, and once upon a time. And then means you're skipping information. And then, well, what happened here? It's like yada, yada, yada from Seinfeld back in the day. He also said, I decided. Listen, Nancy, people, I decided to do keto and lose 100 pounds at New Year's five years ago. It never happened. Decided does not mean we executed on our decisions. So when someone think about the New Year's resolutions, I decided to quit smoking. I decided to do this. There's three stages of decision making, research, reasoning, result. Decided happens in that middle stage. It does not mean I executed on it. You ask someone, hey, do you do drugs? I decided 10 years ago not to do drugs. I doesn't mean you're not currently doing drugs. You're not answering the question. So him deciding something means nothing. I want to know, did he execute on getting her help? That's not what it seems to be with his language. He does start stop sentences. When there's start stop sentences, it's the person saying, wait a minute, I need to turn here. He also becomes a magician. Like the magician says, what? Look what's happening over here so you don't see that I'm pulling this magic rabbit out of this hat. He says, what? We used to wear life jackets all the time. I mean, when we used to have them, we had them all the time. This is smoke screening. Liars will often spend more time telling us things that were truthful. And then the actual incident gets really small and tiny. In other statements here, Nancy, he says the word basically. Basically, if you're vegan and you go to a restaurant and you say, hey, I'm vegan, I want to make sure this meal has no meat in it, no eggs in it. And the waiter says to you, well, basically, there's no meat or eggs in your meal. Would you check the box? Okay, I'll order that then. No. Basically means there's more to the story here. You're either pregnant or you're not pregnant, right? Basically, I'm not pregnant. Basically, you're not pregnant. I remember I went on a ride years ago in Universal Studios, and I was in Florida and I was pregnant, and they were squishing the lock on pretty tightly, and the guy goes, hey, I got to make this tighter. I go, no, but I'm pregnant. He's well, if you're pregnant, you can't be on this ride. Well, basically, I'm not pregnant. I literally said it because I wanted to go on the ride. I'd been on the ride 10 other times earlier, so I knew I'd be okay. So I say, pay attention to this linguistic dimmer switches. When someone says, basically, we used to see here Johnny Depp's ex wife Amber, heard say, kinda. I say, anytime you hear this kinda, there's more to find. These are all linguistic dimmer switches. So we don't pay attention to what is important here. By the way, one last word. Nancy just. She basically just hit her head on the dinghy or whatever it is, just as a minimizing word. So when someone says, says, I'm just an accountant, I'm just a body language expert. I'm minimizing my value. When someone in a case like this says, just. They're minimizing what? You just banged your. She just banged her head on a buoy, basically. We've got a lot of hotspots here. I think that at the end of the day, this is gonna be a story we're gonna talk about and analyze in my class and certainly in your programs for our many, many years to come. I'll be calling back to this story 10 years from now.

[Nancy Grace]

I mean, Jordan, so many things went wrong. I guess fate, we can blame fate, Jordan, because after two flares he said that he ignited, nobody saw them. Nobody saw his phone flashlight. Suddenly, out of the blue, even though they were just leaving a no wake zone, the waves suddenly towered to three feet in those maps. And they are his maps that he, Brian Hooker, provided. It's only seven feet deep. I mean, everything went wrong. He couldn't find the life jacket. She wasn't wearing the life jacket. The anchor got tangled up, his oar broke. So many things just seemed to go wrong. It's kind of hard to believe. It's fantastical. I agree.

[Jordan Plintz]

I mean, we also, too, being born on the lake, like, we are taught ways to handle situations, right? And I just think it's weird that he did not call the Coast Guard. She doesn't need a life jacket if she's only half mile away. So we can just throw that out of. Out of the way. And the fact that he made it four miles away on his dinghy but couldn't make it a half mile to his sailboat, that doesn't make any sense. Why would you paddle away from the sailboat? Why are you paddling towards shore? And even then, why are you walking to people's houses to tell people? Why wouldn't you just call? I mean, I just looked up on my phone to see if I could find the Coast Guard number, and it took me two seconds. So he could have at least called somebody, a family member, to say call. And that Lynette just fell over. I need. I need help.

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[Vanessa Walsh]

Hey, everyone.

[Janine Driver]

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[Nancy Grace]

What is this, your first date?

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[Nancy Grace]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

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[Nancy Grace]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, more of Brian Hooker on tape.

[Brian Hooker]

Listen, I. I can't explain. Can't explain nothing to us. You know, I threw the dinghy out last, the anchor out last, instead of first, because the dinghy was all tangled up in the bottom. It was underneath of another cushion, and I was just trying to get to her, and I was gonna row, but. But it is ridiculous to think you can row a dinghy, especially a fiberglass dinghy, against the wind in 2 foot to 3 foot swells. How they explain it? You know, I just know that I hate this boat. And if she doesn't come back, I'm not. I'm never getting on this. But I'm gonna sell this or go here. Every single thing that's good on it came from her. Every cute idea and awesome idea I just fixed. But she really creates. We still didn't wear our life jackets, and we could have got run over, you know, in the dark by these. Some of these Bahamian drivers are crazy, and. And they wouldn't See his stupid headlight headlamp instead of a dinghy, like, and we just kind of take all these little things for granted because almost all the time it works and did not. There's a lot of didn't work. I guess that worked was that there was an island in the way of me drifting out to sea and I landed on it and then I, you know, somehow got to shore.

[Nancy Grace]

Vanessa Walsh, joining a star of Unmasked True crime podcast. Interesting how the only thing that went right was to save his life.

[Vanessa Walsh]

That's exactly what I was just gonna say. The one thing that went right, thank God, you know, was that he got to that island. And I guess we're just to believe that this 6 foot 4 ex Marine with probably extensive water safety and water rescue training, that all he did during this whole ordeal was throw a cushion to her and then stand in the dinghy for an hour and call for her, because that's about all he says on that audio that he actually did.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, Eric Faddis, veteran defense attorney, joining us out of the Denver jurisdiction. Eric, it's Fisher Cut bait time. They've either got a charge him or let him go. Unless they ask for another extension. Remember in Aruba how when Natalee Holloway went missing, translation was murdered by Jorn van der Sloot, they would arrest Van Der Sloot and the Kalupoe brothers and then release them and then rearrest them and release them. It went on and on and on while the case went cold. So in this jurisdiction of the Bahamas, they can arrest you and when it gets time where they have to let you go, they can renew the information. But they're at a deadline now. They've got to do something. In the U.S. once you're arrested, there is literally a clock ticking before you have to appear before a magistrate and you're told with what you were charged and a lot of other information or the case is thrown out if those procedures are violated. So they've got to do something one way or the other.

[Eric Faddis]

They do. And, you know, it's really based on the principle that when something suspicious happens, you can detain someone, law enforcement can detain them. They can even arrest them in the Bahamas and try to question them. But we can't just hold them indefinitely, especially if law enforcement has not acquired the requisite evidence they would need to bring a charge and pursue a prosecution. So that judgment call is coming up very swiftly, and these authorities are going to have to make a decision. Hey, do we think we have enough to really go after this guy? Or not. Or are we going to renew our request to detain him longer so we can hopefully meet that threshold? So. So I'm sure those discussions are happening literally as we speak.

[Nancy Grace]

Jordan Plant's neighbor of Lynette and Brian Hooker's back home in the U.S. jordan, what do you make of texts that have been unearthed where she was texting stating that she was leaving him?

[Jordan Plintz]

I mean, I believe when she says that she was gonna leave, but who's to say that he didn't uncover those texts? And then that frustrated him because she's speaking out or reaching out, saying, hey, like, this is not working. And then what? It turns into something like this? You know, it's just. It's just sad because this could have been probably prevented and, you know, she could still be here and the family wouldn't be mourning the loss. So it's pretty devastating to hear.

[Nancy Grace]

To Jeanine Driver. I'd like to hear your response on that last sound that we played of Brian Hooker caught on tape and his story about what happened to Lynette.

[Janine Driver]

Well, let's start with I can't explain what happened to us. Two times he said in that statement, Nancy. Two times, I can't explain what happened to us. We hear this a lot. We heard something very similar with a guy that staged a hate crime over in Chicago named Jussie Smollett. I can't explain what happened to us. Yeah, guess what? The brain doesn't want us to lie. So it will come out in words if we pay attention. I was going to row. All right, so we're looking at tense changes. So he was going to do it. I was trying. I was going to try. Try means fail. We know that from Star wars with R2D2 back in the day. Everybody knows try means fail. If I say, try to catch this dollar, try to catch it. And you catch it. You failed because you need to try to catch it. I don't want you to actually catch it. I just know. So we hear just again, that minimizing word. That minimizing word. Hey, Nancy, can I ask you just a few questions? I don't need to say just. I can say, Nancy, can I ask you a few questions? When I adjust, I'm saying I'm uncomfortable with what I'm talking about here. I'm minimizing the ask that's coming. And kinda. I told you earlier, linguistic dimmer switches are basically kinda. I said with Amber Heard, she said, he kind of did this. He kind of put me on a table and kind of did this to my body. And he, I say kind of push me down the stairs when there's a kinda, there's more to find. So kind of take these little things for granted. Oh, and guess what else? He's gonna sell the boat. So what is this guy doing? He's telling us, I'm, if we can't find her, I'm gonna sell this boat. Yeah, no kidding. You're selling the boat, bro, because you don't want them looking all around the boat. So when this boat goes all of a sudden for sale and the next two weeks, don't be surprised that you saw it coming. See, when people are going to do something, oftentimes they'll let us know. They'll give us a little sneak peek. They throw the bait at us. And so right here, I think he's telling us, don't be surprised when this boat gets sold really quickly. He wants to get out of the boat situation. So a lot of suspicious behavior and words here. And I think it's indicative of a lot of cases we've talked about here before. Listen, you're innocent until proven guilty. Let's see what happens. Right now, he's not doing a really good job of saying to people like you and me and people who can spot deception that this is a truthful person. There's more to the story here.

[Nancy Grace]

Of course, at this juncture, he is innocent until proven guilty. He has not been formally charged in her death. Her body has not been found. A lot happening right now as a deadline looms. To Vanessa Walsh, star of Unmasked True Crime, what is your takeaway of these recordings?

[Vanessa Walsh]

My biggest takeaway from his audio is that all of these little things might seem small when you just look at them singularly, but I think that when you put it all together, it paints a pretty compelling picture that just, it doesn't fully line up.

[Nancy Grace]

If you know or think you know anything about Lynette Hooker's disappearance, please dial 242-300-8477. Repeat, 242-300-8477. Let's stop and remember a real American hero. Deputy Sheriff Jose Angel De Leon, Warren County Sheriff's North Carolina. Just 24 killed in a vehicle crash responding to a Domrell a domestic relations violence call survived by his loving partner Anna and son Kingsley, who is sentenced to life without his father. American hero Deputy Sheriff Jose angel deleon. Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend.