OVERBOARD LYNETTE HOOKER: OMINOUS SPLASH & LIGHTS FROM HUBBY'S YACHT

Summary

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: OVERBOARD LYNETTE HOOKER: OMINOUS SPLASH & LIGHTS FROM HUBBY'S YACHT

Date: May 20, 2026
Host: Nancy Grace
Guests: Vanessa Waltz, Josh Colesrud, Dave Mack, Blaine Stevenson, Brian Fitzgibbons, Dr. Rachel Toles, Carly Hooker

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into the mysterious disappearance of Lynette Hooker, who vanished after reportedly falling off her husband Brian Hooker’s dinghy near their yacht, the “Soulmate,” in the Sea of Abaco, Bahamas. Nancy Grace and guests break down conflicting accounts, suspicious evidence (including an ominous splash and unexplained lights/flares from the yacht), and Lynette’s history of domestic violence with her husband. The panel scrutinizes Brian Hooker’s story, the timeline, and the absence of a recovered body, raising serious questions about what actually happened that night.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Disappearance & Basic Facts (00:37–03:01)

• Lynette Hooker went missing during a night-time boat ride with her husband, Brian.
• Brian claims Lynette fell off their dinghy due to unexpected swells and was lost in the water near a sandbar.
• Despite extensive searches, Lynette’s body has not been found. The yacht “Soulmate” is now considered a possible crime scene and has been seized for investigation.

Nancy Grace [00:37]: “Why were lights seen moving about on the husband's yacht when he says he's out in the water calling for his wife...? How did this happen? Why has her body never been found?”

2. The Ominous Splash & Ear Witnesses (02:30–06:28)

• Reports have emerged of a loud, “ominous” splash near the "Soulmate" around 9:30pm.
• There’s debate about the credibility and importance of “ear witnesses” in this context.
• Defense attorney Josh Colesrud downplays the value of these accounts, citing lack of corroboration and the prevalence of such sounds around boats.

Vanessa Waltz [02:30]: “There's potential reports now of splashing in the water and even lights that were flashing near the anchorage... investigators appear to be so interested in identifying the nearby voters.”

Nancy Grace [05:06, addressing Colesrud]: “Stop, please. Good gravy, man... I asked you a question about a loud splash... outside the Soulmate, the yacht, around 9:30pm... In court I would say objection, not responsive.”

3. Contradictory Timeline and Physical Evidence (06:28–11:24)

• Brian claims to have spent hours paddling the dinghy to safety and never returning to the yacht after Lynette fell.
• Witnesses report lights and activity on the “Soulmate” during the period Brian says he was away.
• Searching experts agree Lynette’s body should have surfaced unless weighted down, due to decomposition gasses.
• Forensic evidence, vessel data, and witness statements are now considered critical to unraveling events.

Brian Fitzgibbons [13:51]: “They don't believe Lynette's body is in the Sea of Abaco... If it had been in the water, it would have come to surface by now.”

4. Mathematical & Logical Problems with Brian’s Account (15:19–27:16)

• Friends and investigators are troubled by inconsistent drift times, unexplained artifacts (like a missing dry bag or jacket), and the failure to hear Brian’s supposed hour of yelling for Lynette—while someone heard a splash.
• Weather and current analysis further undermines Brian’s drift story.
• Witnesses are puzzled that rescue teams found the flotation cushion within close proximity to where Brian landed, despite variable wind patterns and tides.

Blaine Stevenson [17:21]: “It's not the evidence that Brian did anything wrong. It's the absence of evidence to support his story that's puzzling me.”

Blaine Stevenson [25:54]: “The math isn't math.”

5. Domestic Violence & Prior Threats (27:16–32:29)

• Lynette’s daughter, Carly, and forensic psychologist Dr. Rachel Toles detail prior instances of domestic violence, with allegations Brian choked Lynette and threatened to kill her by throwing her overboard.
• History of non-fatal strangulation is a statistically strong predictor of intimate partner homicide.
• Brian has allegedly displayed Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde tendencies, being charming in public but abusive in private.

Dr. Rachel Toles [27:55]: “The most damning evidence... is the fact that two years ago, Brian allegedly choked her and threatened to kill her and throw her overboard.”

Carly Hooker [30:00]: “She told me two years ago that he... was threatening to kill her and throw her overboard. She said he choked her so bad that she felt something like pop in her neck.”

6. The Lights and Flares on the Soulmate (34:17–41:33)

• Lights and flashes were seen—and caught on security cameras—from the yacht at times Brian claims he was ashore or out on the dinghy.
• Witnesses reported flares shot from the yacht, including a suspicious horizontal signal.
• Brian’s claims about firing flares from the dinghy are contradicted by physical evidence: no flares missing from the dinghy, and life jackets still in their place.

Dave Mack [34:17]: “Security footage of the soulmate captures a bright flash of light. That's flash of light number one. A second bright event occurred around midnight. And multiple witnesses subsequently reported seeing flares being fired off the sailboat... so there’s your shocking lights and flares, Nancy.”

Blaine Stevenson [40:25]: “As far as lights and flares and the activity on his boat, I don't know what could have been... Maybe they were on the boat the whole time and that's okay. Or maybe Brian's just so unlucky that he got robbed at the same time he lost his wife.”

7. Seizure of the Soulmate as a Crime Scene (46:30–48:45)

• The Coast Guard seized the Soulmate en route to the U.S., considering it a potential crime scene.
• Digital forensics (cameras, navigation logs, communication devices, possible cleaning or blood evidence) on the yacht may be crucial in the investigation.

Vanessa Waltz [46:48]: “The fact that the Coast Guard seized the Soulmate tells us that the investigation... has moved far beyond a routine missing persons investigation. That boat is very possibly a crime scene.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Nancy Grace [05:06]: “In court I would say objection, not responsive. I asked the court to direct the witness to answer my question. But I don’t have a judge to force you to answer. So I’m going to go to Dave Mack...”
• Blaine Stevenson [22:16]: “Brian, let's go to the Bahamas and look together... Let's grab the whole team. Let's go find your wife. Let's get closure. There's no reason for me to be on a computer and you to be where you are...”
• Josh Colesrud [44:26]: “I think that his attorneys are doing the right thing, which is instructing him not to make any statements to the media and frankly, to keep his mouth shut...”
• Dr. Rachel Toles [27:55]: “Non fatal choking is one of the strongest predictors of future lethal intimate partner violence... Prior Domestic violence is present in the majority of... intimate partner homicides.”
• Blaine Stevenson [23:59]: “The longer we go and a dry bag has not been found on shore, the longer we go and blue Columbia jacket has not washed up, the longer we go, we get more information, we get more speculation. What we don't get is any more confirmation of his story.”

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Timeline & Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:37 – Nancy Grace introduces the case: Lynette missing, questions about loud splash and mysterious lights.
• 02:30 – Vanessa Waltz discusses witness reports of splash and lights.
• 03:31 – Legal analysis by Josh Colesrud on the evidentiary value of “ear witnesses.”
• 06:28 – Dave Mack provides details on the timeline and the suspicious "massive splash."
• 13:51 – Brian Fitzgibbons: Why body recovery is so unlikely unless Lynette was weighed down.
• 15:19 – Vanessa Waltz clarifies Brian Hooker’s story and direct contradictions.
• 17:21 & 25:54 – Blaine Stevenson: Breakdowns of missing evidence and mathematical improbabilities.
• 27:55 – Dr. Rachel Toles: Domestic violence and homicide warning signs.
• 30:00 – Carly Hooker: Confirms threats and past abuse by her father to Lynette.
• 34:17 – Dave Mack: Security camera evidence of lights and flares from the yacht.
• 40:25 – Blaine Stevenson: Analyzes the contradictions around flares and lights.
• 46:48 – Coast Guard seizure of the yacht; reasons and implications.
• 47:48 – Fitzgibbons: Forensic process on the seized vessel.
• 43:54 – Stevenson: Direct message to Brian Hooker, urging him to help in finding Lynette.

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Final Thoughts & Unresolved Questions

• Questions linger about Brian Hooker’s involvement: his timeline is contradicted by witness statements and digital evidence, yet there is still no body or direct forensic evidence.
• Domestic violence history dramatically raises the statistical likelihood of foul play.
• Key evidence pending: Analysis of the yacht’s digital records and forensic sweep could make or break the case.

Nancy Grace [25:49]: “2 and 2 is not equaling 4.”

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Calls to Action

• Anyone with information about Lynette Hooker’s disappearance is urged to call the U.S. Coast Guard tip line at 800-424-8802.

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Transcript

[Nancy Grace]

This is an Iheart podcast.

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[Nancy Grace]

Nancy Grace, So called overboard missing mom Lynette Hooker. In the last hours, we learn about a loud and ominous splash and mysterious lights all from the vicinity of Lynette's husband's yacht. He wasn't even supposed to be on the yacht at that time. He was supposed to be, according to him, out calling and calling into the dark night air for his wife who bounced off the dinghy. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us. The search has now moved to the land.

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

There are torpedoes. Coming to his story over and over again.

[Nancy Grace]

Obviously authorities do not believe Lynette is in the water. Was she ever if the body's in

[Brian Hooker]

the water water it could, it could

[Blaine Stevenson]

be anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean by now.

[Nancy Grace]

Why were lights seen moving about on the husband's yacht when he says he's out in the water calling for his wife who bounced off their dinghy in, according to him, massive swells that suddenly came up off the edge of the land, basically on a sandbar where you could stand up. How did this happen? Why has her body never been found? Lights and a very loud and ominous splash was heard. A lot going on in the case and more. Joining us tonight, a very dear friend of Lynette Hooker. But first to Vanessa Waltz joining us. She's a star of Unmasked True Crime. Vanessa, what do you make of the latest? Let's start with the splash. What splash was heard by whom, when and where?

[Vanessa Waltz]

Well, Nancy, that's a really interesting development because, you know, there's potential reports now of splashing in the water and even lights that were flashing near the anchorage that night, which does raise the possibility that someone nearby may have unknowingly witnessed at least part of what happened in a quiet Anchorage that night. Unusual sounds or sunlights can stand out dramatically and that's why investigators appear to be so interested in identifying the nearby voters.

[Nancy Grace]

You know Josh Colesrud joining us. He's a veteran criminal defense attorney and a former felony Prosecutor with the U.S. attorney's office. He's the founder of the Colesrude Law offices, we call them ear witnesses. And ear witnesses can be invaluable at trial. What do you say to this? Do we have an ear witness to Lynette Hooker going in the water and does it contradict the husband's entire story?

[Josh Colesrud]

Well, not the way that it's being described right now. I mean, we don't even know who heard the splash. And when a boat is out on the water, you're going to hear splashing and sounds. And without more evidence to corroborate and kind of describe exactly what was heard, I don't see it really having very much probative value. Now what everybody's doing right now is they're kind of looking back and looking at all the suspicious activity. Right? You, you saw the, the comments from the daughter. You know, that he looks guilty, the daughter suspects him, the marriage have problems. You know, now there's a splash outside the boat. But you know what we don't have, like we don't have a body, we don't have a cause of death. There's no crime scene, there's no forensic evidence, there's no eyewitnesses and there's no independent evidence that Lynette Hooker died by criminal conduct. And what we do know is that Brian said that he was out on an 8 foot dinghy and he described 15 to 22 knot range of winds. And you know, I looked up at the NOAA weather data, that is the national organization that keeps track of the waves and the, and the winds on the ocean. And it corroborates Brian's story about when the waves came in. And when you're looking at, you know, who's telling the truth, you have to look at corroborating.

[Nancy Grace]

Stop. Stop, please. Good gravy, man. I know what you're doing. I asked you a question about a loud splash that occurs not near the dinghy where it's supposed to be away, near the restaurant, but outside the Soulmate, the yacht, around 9:30pm and you are throwing this, this stew, this stinky stew of other facts to get me off my question in court. I would say objection, not responsive. I asked the court to direct the witness to answer my question. But I don't have a judge to force you to answer. So I'm going to go to Dave Mack joining us, crime stories, investigative reporter. What can you tell me? And I've got to get to lights. I've got to get to the lights that were seen on his, the husband's yacht, the Soulmate. At the same time. He says he's out in the water looking for his wife on the dinghy. Okay, I've got to get to that. But first, the splash. Dave, Mac, what can you tell me about the splash? And then maybe. Maybe we can get Josh Colesrude to narrow his line of monologue and give us a good answer. Hit it, Dave Mack.

[Dave Mack]

Nancy, you start with. We've got Brian Hooker, who is supposedly on the dinghy the entire time. From the moment they leave the Abaco Inn and head back towards the yacht, towards the soulmate, they never make it. According to Brian Hooker, they never make it back to the sailboat. The soulmate, they're on the dinghy, but we're hearing reports of a major splash, what is called a massive splash at 9:30pm to hear a splash that loud on the water, Nancy, it's got to be a big splash. I mean, it's not just dropping a cup of water over the side here. We're talking about something loud enough to be heard above the normal sounds of the water. But again, remember, this is coming from the soulmate, where nobody is on the boat, and that encompasses the lights you mentioned a minute ago.

[Nancy Grace]

Okay, before I go to Blaine Stevenson, this is Brian Hooker, the husband's friend. He's also a boating expert. His wife, very close to Lynette Hooker. I want to dispel something. I think I can dispel it. That Josh Colesrud said that when you're out on a boat, you hear splashes. Well, that's not entirely true. Let me see Colesrude really quickly. Colesrud. I've had the joy and the pleasure. Did you just take your glasses off?

[Josh Colesrud]

Yes, ma'.

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Am.

[Nancy Grace]

I looked away for one moment. I see you yanking off your glasses, Josh. You look just as good with glasses on. Just know that. Feel confident about it. That said, Josh, I just had the pleasure of sitting out on the water for hours and hours on end many, many weekends in a row while my son competed in bass fishing championships. Yes. His school has a fishing team. Who knew that said, no, you don't just hear loud splashes. We sat there in silence. I was not on his boat. Nobody needs their mother looming over their shoulder when they're trying to compete. But I was out there on the water, and everything was dead silent. So hearing a loud splash in the middle of the night, I mean, these witnesses thought it to be uncharacteristic. So I'd like to hear your response to that before we move on to the lights that were spotted on his yacht. Not the Dinghy where he said he was at that time. In fact, he said, I'm going to go back to Vanessa in just a moment. That it took him hours and hours, I guess, to what, paddle with his hands and two teacups to get to the end of the island where he washed up. That's where he says he was not on his yacht. The soulmate Blinking lights. But first, address the loud splash, please.

[Josh Colesrud]

So, Nancy, that witness's account actually shows exactly why this case is still uncertain and why it's not solved. Because hearing a splash and seeing lights on the water at 9:30 at night in rough conditions does not tell us what caused the splash or who was in the water, whether it was accidental or whether any crime occurred. And remember, the timeline itself already involves a dinghy in trouble after the dark and bad weather. So a witness hearing a splash in that environment is completely consistent with Brian Hooker's account that something went wrong on the water. You know, and again, you know, remember, you know, everybody is assuming his guilt. So when they hear a splash, it must be murder. They see lights. Well, it must be staging, you know, behavior. You know, his behavior must be guilt. But there's another explanation staring at everybody in the face. And that is his story is consistent with the NOAA and their description of the water conditions. And that wasn't a. An environment that he was controlling. That's chaos. That's chaos. And you know, I've handled cases like this in island jurisdictions like Palau and in rough water at night, people get disoriented fast. You know, distances become impossible to judge. Lights move, sounds carry strangely over the water. A single gust of, of wind or a wave can separate people within seconds. So the witness's account may help establish that there was activity on the water that night, but it does not establish homicide. And that's the key point. Nobody has bridged the gap between something bad happened and Brian Hooker committed murder. Because we still have no body, no cause of death, no forensic evidence, no confession, and no proof of criminal conduct. And until somebody produces that proof that evidence, this is a tragic case, and you know, it is. The homicide has not been proven or shown in any way whatsoever.

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[Blaine Stevenson]

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

[Josh Colesrud]

at a comedy show.

[Carly Hooker]

Hey, everyone.

[Blaine Stevenson]

Check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

[Josh Colesrud]

Oh, no.

[Blaine Stevenson]

We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual together. We're married.

[Josh Colesrud]

Me to a human, him to a bird.

[Blaine Stevenson]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent.

[Blaine Stevenson]

Liberty. Liberty.

[Nancy Grace]

Liberty.

[Blaine Stevenson]

Liberty.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Joining me, Brian Fitzgibbons. He's Director Operations, USPA Nationwide Security. He leads a team of investigators around the world finding and extracting missing people. He is a former Marine and an Iraqi war vet. Brian Fitzgibbons, you and I have had many conversations with, particularly in particular a death investigator and two medical examiners regarding Lynette Hooker. And isn't it true that we all concur, had she gone underwater, unless she was weighted down, her body would have emerged by now. Because as you and I know from homicide investigations, the body, when it decomposes, fills up with gas. For instance, when you have something in a plastic bag and it goes bad, you forget about it in the fridge and the bag starts swelling up. That's the same thing with human body. Gases are created upon decomposure and the enclosure, the sandwich bag or the body begins to swell. And if underwater, that body will come to the surface. That's why we don't have Lynette's body. If it had been in the water, it would have come to surface by now. Agree or disagree, Fitzgibbons?

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

I agree. And that seems to be the consensus of search and rescue experts from the area who has spoken out publicly that they don't believe Lynette's body is in the Sea of Abaco. And I'm going to add one thing to jump on what Attorney Kohlsrude just said. I think that that probative evidence is coming with the seizure of the vessel and the data that's going to be generated from the systems on that boat, that these eyewitness statements are now going to mean something when it lines up to events that took place on the Soulmate that directly contradict the story that was given to police. I think that probative evidence is walking us down right now.

[Nancy Grace]

I want to get to the lights that appeared on the husband's yacht, the Soulmate, at the time he's supposed to Be out looking for his wife, Vanessa Walsh. Vanessa, I want you to hear what Blaine Stevenson has to say. But first, before we go to Mr. Stevenson, who's so kindly joining us tonight, I want to get a little refresher, as we say in court. Let's refresh the witness's recollection. Translation, the witness just screwed up on the stand. And let me just jog their memory really quickly. Vanessa, where does Brian Hooker say he was the entire night after his wife bounced off the dinghy?

[Vanessa Waltz]

Brian has said, as we've heard many times in those recorded statements, he was very adamant that he was on the dinghy with his one oar paddling for eight hours to Marsh Harbor. He was. He has never put himself on that boat. So anything leading to that would be in direct conflict with his own words of what happened that night.

[Nancy Grace]

What was his explanation of what he did after his wife bounced off the dinghy? What did he do?

[Vanessa Waltz]

According to Brian, he yelled for her for about an hour, but she never responded. He threw the one flotation device out to her that he wasn't sure if he got, and then he just kind of hoped she swam towards the boat and then used his one oar to go paddle for help instead of getting out of the boat in the 4 to 11 foot water and going to try to save Lynette.

[Dave Mack]

When we lost Lynette over the side, I paddled over to Marsh island and I landed not so crazy shore there. We couldn't get yesterday. Fire department bringing the diggy to.

[Nancy Grace]

So there you go. That's from our friend Harvey Levin at tmz. And we've got so much sound of Brian Hooker locking himself into that story. He basically, you know, got a teacup, according to him, and paddled over and it took him hours and hours and hours and he washed up far, far away from the soulmate. Then how in the hay are there mysterious lights and loud splashes outside his yacht? Okay, before I again, before I get to the lights that witnesses saw on his yacht when he's supposed to be at the other end of the island washing up to Blaine Stevenson. This is Brian Hooker's friend. He is a boating expert and his wife is very, very close with Lynette. Mr. Stevenson, thank you for being with us. What do you make of. Of this?

[Blaine Stevenson]

What I make from all of reports that have come out is that there are people in the area. There were people overlooking the area. I've gotten calls from people who talk about different weather conditions in support and. And against his claim. But what we do know is there were people in the area. I do know that a human yelling is louder than any splash I've ever heard. So my problem is an hour of him yelling for his wife isn't heard, but a splash is in the same general vicinity. My problem is that he. He floated over to Marsh harbor in the same weather conditions within three hours, the same amount of time of that flotation device, which doesn't have the same windage as his boat, ending up within 300ft of where he was. But nothing from Lynette ends up in the same spot. It's not the. It's not the evidence that Brian did anything wrong. It's the absence of evidence to support his story that's puzzling me.

[Nancy Grace]

For those of you just joining us, Lynette Hooker sold everything she had, used all of her savings for herself and her husband, Brian Hooker, to go around the world sailing on a yacht, the soul mate. And then there, out in the water, actually not far from in the water at all, you could stand up on a sandbar, he says. They leave a restaurant and yes, they're confirmed to have been there, that they get onto the dinghy to go back to the yacht. And somehow between the restaurant and the yacht, a swell comes up. She, not him, she falls off, bounces off the dinghy. He tries to save her by throwing her a cushion that you sit on. Although there were life preservers in the dinghy, but she apparently didn't get it and she's never been seen again. Here's his story.

[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. Tipsy. 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, thousand yards or something. But the waves were three 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. 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]

That is from our friend Vanessa Waltz, the star of Unmasked True Crime, Blaine Stevenson. Is that the yelling that you are referring to, that nobody heard that, but they did hear a splash, correct?

[Blaine Stevenson]

I mean, the time of night. He says it happened at sunset. In our community, that's when everybody's on the back of their boat. If you're. If you're home, if you're a live aboard, if you're in the area, that's the best time to be outside because you're not getting beat by the sun. You're not getting. It's dinner time. That's sundowner time. If you're out, you're out at that time. The time. If I had to pick a time for a tragedy to happen on the water in an Anchorage, I would pick that time because you're most likely to get help. You're most likely to be heard. You're most likely to be seen. So the fact that he screamed for an hour, and we have no reports of that five weeks in, but we have reports of people who are up and around and on land, far enough away from Soulmate but could still hear a splash. I'm trying to piece it together with the Brian I know, and I. It's not working. And I really wish he would start talking and explain it so that it makes sense to us.

[Nancy Grace]

Blaine, have you asked him?

[Blaine Stevenson]

No, he's. He's blocked everything on social media. I mean, I can ask him right now. Brian, let's go to the Bahamas and look together, right? The easiest way to shut up all the haters, as you call them in comments, is let's grab me, you, Dan. Let's. Let's grab the whole team. Let's go find your wife. Let's get closure. There's. There's no reason for me to be on a computer and you to be where you are. Let's be in the Bahamas and let's go find Lynette.

[Nancy Grace]

Blaine Stevenson. Do you think he'll take you up on it?

[Blaine Stevenson]

I hope so. The Brian I knew would have this guy I've seen for the last five weeks. I don't know what that guy would do, but the Brian I knew would bring the people together, go fight the cause and go get the answers. And if in the process, it clears his name, great. You know, I don't. I don't want Brian to be guilty. I just can't Mathematically make it work. And I think that's the misconception, is nobody is going after Brian because they want to go after Brian. Everyone's going after Brian's story because it's not working. When was the last time a body went missing in the water in the Bahamas and was not recovered in the Abaco area? So, yeah, the mathematics behind this is where Brian is a man of science. Brian taught me a lot about boating. The. The longer we go and a dry bag has not been found on shore, the longer we go and blue Columbia jacket has not washed up, the longer we go, we get more information, we get more speculation. What we don't get is any more confirmation of his story.

[Nancy Grace]

You mentioned 2019. Why?

[Blaine Stevenson]

So I was trying to figure out. I'm. I want to believe Brian. I want to. I want to understand so that I can keep my wife safe. I want to make sure that the cascade of failures that he went through, we don't go through. But I can't find a scenario that fits anybody falling off a boat and their body not being recovered in that area. There is an incident in 2019 where a gentleman left his fishing boat and was never found again. But even that report shows, like, the gas tanks were tampered with or something. So there was. There was some jinky stuff with that one. But the search and rescue guys, when they're being interviewed, everybody who's being talked to, this just doesn't happen there. And I do believe all the sailors who say anything can happen at sea. I've been a part of it. Brian got me through a hurricane, but it doesn't fit the terrain and it doesn't fit the night and it doesn't fit the time. His story.

[Nancy Grace]

You stated that you have a mathematical issue. You can't mathematically make his story work. And I agree with you. What I would like to happen is that we find Lynette alive. I don't think that's going to happen. I hate to put that out there and end the search for her alive, but I think she would have been in contact with her daughter by now if she were alive and if she could reach her. Which makes me go to. The next logical step is that she is dead. And I'm examining his story, and I want him to be telling the truth. I don't want him to be guilty as well. But his story doesn't add up to me. So what about it? You can't mathematically make it work. 2 and 2 is not equaling 4.

[Josh Colesrud]

4.

[Nancy Grace]

What is the issue that concerns you the most.

[Blaine Stevenson]

The issue that concerns me the most is we do know that the weather like, like the lawyer said at some point that evening got bad. We have people that I trust that were boating in the area that report, hey, the weather got squirrely that night. But the Sea Abaco and the Amp pats Anchorage and that area is completely different. Right. So I talked to a gentleman who owns a house on Elbow Cayenne and it looks out over the Sea of Abaco, and he said, yeah, you know, it got pretty choppy out there, but that's over where that yellow line is in your picture, not over where the red arrows are in between the two landmasses. And if he, if the weather and wind was that bad and he's in a dinghy and the wind is blowing him to Marsh harbor, the time frame to get to Marsh harbor doesn't add up to me. And the fact that when search and rescue was out three hours later, they see the green float he threw. How does the float float within 3 hour time frame of the dean to end up within 300 yards of each other or 300ft of each other, as he says. You know, I went out and I tried this. I threw a dry bag off of my boat and I seen how fast I separated from it. And a dry bag has more windage than that green float. And my dinghy drifted away from it at a rapid pace there. For both of them to end up in Marsh harbor within three hours of each other, the math isn't math.

[Nancy Grace]

To Dr. Rachel Toles, joining us tonight, forensic psychologist, author of a book on the cusp of publication, inventing the psychopath. Dr. Rachel, thank you for being with us. We know that Lynette had taken all of her savings, everything, and it was all being used to fund this trip with her husband. We know that she had left him on multiple occasions, and we know there had been domestic violence in their past. What do you make of what you're hearing?

[Dr. Rachel Toles]

Well, Nancy, I mean, in my opinion, the most damning evidence in this case is the fact that two years ago, Brian allegedly choked her and threatened to kill her and throw her overboard. Her daughter Carly said he threatened it multiple times. She describes him as kind of having a bit of a Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde personality, which we see in a lot of homicide cases, meaning that in public with strangers, he was charming, he was nice, people liked him, and they would never imagine that he would be like this, but behind closed doors, he was a completely different person. So here are some facts to understand. Prior Domestic violence is present in the majority of. Of intimate partner homicides. Multiple studies have found prior abuse histories in roughly around 80% of homicide cases. So that's important. Non fatal choking is one of the strongest predictors of future lethal intimate partner violence. And one landmark study found that women who had previously been strangled by a partner were over seven times more likely to later become victims of attempted homicide by that partner and significantly more likely to. To become homicide victims. Okay, so strangulation is a demonstration that someone is willing to violate physical boundaries and dominate another person, threatening their life with their own hands. So there's a psychological willingness to cross that line. And the overwhelming majority of intimate partner homicides are preceded by prior violence, escalation patterns, coercive control, threats, strangulation, or separation conflict. And every single one of these markers is allegedly present in this case. And of course, then there's the, the. The part where we hear about him allegedly choking his daughter in the past. I mean, he was acquitted for that. But are these women just making up the fact that he's choking them? And I mean, even in the police reports, they found that the daughter's neck, the marks on her neck were significant with strangulation or choking.

[Carly Hooker]

She told me two years ago that he choked her and was threatening to kill her and throw her overboard. And she said he choked her so bad that she felt something like pop in her neck. So. And then that's when she packed her bag and left. And that she only left him for like a couple months. She went back to him, sadly. I don't know why she went back. I think she's always known that she needs to leave him, but she cares about him a lot, and he can be a great person. Like, he's been there a lot for me and always gave me advice, too.

[Nancy Grace]

To Blaine Stevenson. This is Mr. Hooker's friend. His wife is very close to Lynette. Is that the Brian Hooker that you know? Were you aware of any of that?

[Blaine Stevenson]

I was aware they broke up. And late 2023, early 2024, that she left, my wife was more aware of the intimate details. She gave me the man version, which is, hey, they're not together anymore. And then when we moved Anchorages, then they were back together. And at that time, and before I've learned all I have about domestic violence, it was none of my business, you know, and so I didn't think anything of it. But what it does tell me is when he was doing his interview, and I've never been away from my wife for more than 10 days. It's. It's not a crime to lie to your friends and lie to the. The. You know, the news and everything else like that. But it's pretty damning to us when we know you separated for over a month. At least I think it was almost two months while you're voting with us. And yet then you're saying, I've never spent 10 days away from my wife. Like he's choosing to lie. I don't know this guy. He's choosing to lie for no apparent reason. Why hold an interview if you're just gonna lie?

[Carly Hooker]

There's history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. So the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there's more to the story. I've seen him choke out one of his daughters before, and we had to go to court for that, and I was only in third grade, so he's just repeating patterns.

[Nancy Grace]

From our friends at Fox and Friends, that's daughter Carly speaking. And like Dr. Toles told us, in one of those incidents, it actually went to court, and he was acquitted on one of the choking incidents. Blaine, again, thank you for speaking out tonight. Your wife, very close with Lynette. What is she making of all this new evidence?

[Blaine Stevenson]

She is handling it in the way that Brian Soulmate and the Coast Guard are in Florida. That's one portion of this. Her friend is in the Bahamas, and so be it. Let the Coast Guard do their job. Let Brian hide under wherever he wants to hide. If he doesn't care, we want the permission. We want to be able to search the Bahamas. We want the closure. Brian doesn't want the closure he wanted with his mom, but doesn't want with his wife. That's what my wife wants.

[Nancy Grace]

I see. That's a really good point, Blaine, because he left just as Carly, the daughter, was touching down. He left the Bahamas and came back to be with his ailing mom, who is apparently still alive. He has left her bedside pretty quickly, so he came to see her while his wife is still missing in the

[Blaine Stevenson]

Bahamas, which means closure is important to him.

[Nancy Grace]

You would think. But his mom has not passed away, so I don't know what closure we're talking about when it comes to that.

[Blaine Stevenson]

But then closure for Lynette would be just as important.

[Nancy Grace]

Exactly. Yes. Yes. Dave, Matt, what can you tell me about the lights aboard? The soulmate at the time, Brian Hooker, was allegedly, according to him, out in the water desperately looking for his wife, Nancy.

[Dave Mack]

This is the part that is difficult to explain away. Remember from the Time that Lynette and Brian Hooker left shore to head towards their soulmate on the dinghy. Nobody was on Soulmate. Nobody was on that boat from there on out, according to what Brian Hooker tells us. So lights are not just seen, Nancy. These lights are actually part of a security video. Seventeen minutes after leaving Abaco Inn. Security footage of the soulmate captures a bright flash of light. That's flash of light number one. A second bright event occurred around midnight. And multiple witnesses subsequently reported seeing flares being fired off the sailboat around 8pm a horizontal flare, not vertical. Distress signal goes up, weapon horizontal around 8pm so there's your shocking lights and flares, Nancy, on the soulmate.

[Nancy Grace]

Vanessa Walsh joining us, star of Unmasked True Crime, who has dedicated weeks and weeks of investigation into Lynette's disappearance. Vanessa, what more can you tell us about the lights that appeared on the soulmate, the yacht, when Brian Hooker says he's out far, far away in the dingy trying to save his wife who has disappeared in the water?

[Vanessa Waltz]

Well, there's a lot of intriguing theories I've seen about this. It will be interesting to see if they can corroborate that because it is an intriguing theory to think about the fact. Was there an argument on the boat that he said they never got back to? Was a flare gun shot in defense or as a potential. Just out of desperation, as a weapon? We don't know the answers to these questions, but that has been floating around quite a bit online. But it'll be interesting to see what they can pull from those witnesses that they were trying to locate. And the digital evidence on the boat either support or contradict Brian's story that night.

[Nancy Grace]

Brian Fitzgibbons joining us, Director Operations, USPA Nationwide Security. The witnesses, and there are more than one witness that states the lights being seen from the soulmate, while the husband says Brian Hooker, that he was far away trying to save his wife who bounced off the dinghy. What would the working theory be? That they were back on the soulmate and that's where an argument took place?

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

I believe so. And I want to point out one thing. Brian Hooker very quickly made a public statement and included, kind of casually included, that he set off a flare, an emergency flare. Okay. When witnesses are now coming forward, eyewitnesses saying that they saw a flare, not necessarily at the same time he said he shot it and not in the same location. Right now we have two flare stories. This is something that I'm watching very closely, is if the CGIS can verify that they Indeed went back to that boat. And the theory that you just mentioned was correct that they left the restaurant, they went to the boat, whatever happened, happened there and then the COVID up began. That's all going to be based on can CGIS pull data from this boat. Is there security footage? Did somebody's phone or watch connect the data? Here is going to be everything.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime stories with Nancy Grace

[Brian Hooker]

in the ways we're doing their thing. And you know you, 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 too. The search and rescue teams, how small a person is in 2 or 3 footers and 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 I 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 the 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]

And to you, Blaine Stevenson, Brian Hooker's friend there you hear him describing as Brian Fitzgibbons recounted shooting off the flares. But according to other reports when the dinghy was searched, no flares were missing and the life vests were right there in the floor. Now you've heard him talking about shooting off flares. What does that mean to you? And what do you make of multiple witnesses seeing lights and even flares, one being shot horizontally off the soulmate at the time Hooker says he's out looking for his wife on the dinghy.

[Blaine Stevenson]

Well, I've got two kind of two separate thought processes on that. One is he talks about two boats coming and he fired a flare for the first one and it didn't see it and then he fired a flare for the second one after it passed him and didn't see it. And I can, I can understand a boat going by and not seeing a flare. If it was shot behind him, they're not looking behind him. The second boat that came five minutes later would have saw the flare he fired for the first boat, though, right? Because it would have been heading towards the flare in his story. As far as lights and flares and the activity on his boat, I don't know what could have been. I mean, I don't know. When his sister showed up, was she on the boat that night? We. We got reports of he had family in town. He stayed with them. She's seen in a video. Maybe. Maybe they were on the boat the whole time and that's okay. Or maybe Brian's just so unlucky that he got robbed at the same time he lost his wife. It makes as much sense that he got robbed while he lost his wife off the back of a dinghy as it does his story.

[Nancy Grace]

Where are you getting the rob theory

[Blaine Stevenson]

if he's not on his boat because he's on a dinghy, Somebody broke onto his boat to cause all those lights to shoot off a flare on his boat. He's just had a bad string of luck. Yeah, it's as probable as the second boat not seeing the first flare.

[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

[Dave Mack]

paddling

[Brian Hooker]

many hours until I landed on Marsh island about four miles away. Dingakey was not attached to me, you know, so when we were around trying to get back in the boat and some of 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 it's fun, you know, 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. That pulls up on a barge. And, you know, we hit the next stop, and we stayed too long. We left too dark. All kinds of. No life jackets. I had 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 life jackets all. We had these other ones all the time.

[Nancy Grace]

That is from our friend Vanessa Walsh at Unmasked True Crime. But there's more.

[Brian Hooker]

I said, I've never harmed Lynette, and I never would harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette. No one has told me not to stop looking, and I'm gonna keep looking.

[Nancy Grace]

From our friends at NBC. That is not what the daughter and Lynette's mother say. Back to Blaine Stevenson. This is a longtime friend of Brian Hooker's. Given the loud and ominous splash that was heard, given the lights on the soul mate at the time, he says he's in another place. What is your message to Brian Hooker tonight?

[Blaine Stevenson]

I feel like the world's painting you in a bad light. I feel like there is a bunch of information coming out that makes your story, myself included, makes your story not true. Let's get together. Let's go find Lynette. Let's prove your story right. Let's give finality to everybody. You're doing no good in Michigan. Let's go find Lynette and let's get this solved. That's what needs to happen to Josh

[Nancy Grace]

Colesrud, veteran trial lawyer. What's your advice for Brian Hooker? Keep hiding under the bed?

[Josh Colesrud]

Well, I think that his attorneys are doing the right thing, which is instructing him not to make any statements to the media and frankly, to keep his mouth shut. You are under a microscope. All of your actions and words are going to be scrutinized to the very letter. Now, you know, there are going to be pundits that say, why aren't you out there, you know, searching for your wife? But, you know, you have law enforcement doing that, and you know you're going to be blamed regardless of what you do right now. So, you know, his attorneys are doing a good job. They need to make sure that he doesn't incriminate himself and frankly, needs to be prepared for an arrest and maybe charges down the road.

[Nancy Grace]

Oh, my goodness. So you're not recommending that he go post haste back to the Bahamas to try to find his wife?

[Josh Colesrud]

Absolutely not. No. It's a foreign jurisdiction. Bahamas have primary jurisdiction in this case. It's a third world country. You do not want to get stuck in the justice system in any country, especially one that's outside of the United States.

[Nancy Grace]

And to you, Dr. Rachel Toles, what is your advice for Carly, her daughter?

[Dr. Rachel Toles]

Yeah, I mean, this is incredibly tragic, and I'm sure she's still in shock. And I think that for her it's just, again, taking care of yourself. Mother's Day obviously, just passed recently, and so it's an incredibly hard time for her. So just be kind. There's no obviously. You know, when your mother or someone you love is missing, you can't really grieve it because you don't really have that closure. And so you can't even say there's no right or wrong way to grieve because, you know, but it's unfortunately likely that she's, she's, she's passed, you know, and so if she, whatever she feels is totally normal. She feels angry, you know, just do whatever it takes to take care of yourself right now because this is an incredibly, probably going to be the hardest time of your life.

[Nancy Grace]

I do know one team is trying to solve the mystery of Lynette's disappearance. Vanessa Walsh, star of Unmasked True Crime. Earlier, we heard Brian Fitzgibbons refer to CGIS Coast Guard Investigation Services. They have the boat. Why and where is it?

[Vanessa Waltz]

What we know about that is that, you know, Brian and Lynette's yacht was being surveilled by the US Coast Guard, and as it was en route from the Bahamas headed back to the U.S. it was seized by the Coast Guard. There are reports that there were two unidentified males on the boat at the time. I don't think it's been verified who they were, but it's been widely assumed that those are people that Brian hired to bring the boat back. The fact that the Coast Guard sees the Soulmate tells us that the investigation this has moved far beyond a routine missing persons investigation. That boat is very possibly a crime scene. And investigators clearly believe that there may be evidence on the boat that's worth processing and preserving.

[Nancy Grace]

Brian Fitzgibbons, USPA Nationwide Security what do you make of the Coast Guard seizing the boat, the yacht, the Soulmate, as it's on its way back to the

[Brian Fitzgibbons]

U.S. yeah, I think they're going to want to go through with a fine tooth, combination everything on that vessel that's creating digital forensic evidence. You know, you're going to have navigation systems. It's been reported now that there were multiple security cameras on the boat. So did those catch anything, you know, wifi, any type of communication device? And I've even heard that these batteries, some of the batteries and power equipment generate a log that will indicate when events took place on the boat. So that's going to be the number one thing. The second thing is obviously doing a deeper dive on that vessel to see if there were cleaning agents used to see if there was blood spatter or any type of physical evidence of an altercation taking place there.

[Nancy Grace]

If you know or think you know anything about Lynette's disappearance, please call toll free 800-424-8802. Repeat, 800-424-8802. For the U.S. coast Guards, we remember an American hero, Detective Kerry Orozco Omaha PD, NE. Just 29, shot in the line of duty after seven years on the force, leaving behind a husband turned widow, Hector, and children Olivia, Natalia and Santiago. American hero Detective Kerry Orozco. Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an I heart podcast. Guaranteed human.