Boating "Accident" or Something Far Worse? Missing Wife Swept Away in Bahamas | Lynette Hooker

Summary

---

Drop Dead Serious with Ashleigh Banfield

Episode: Boating "Accident" or Something Far Worse? Missing Wife Swept Away in Bahamas | Lynette Hooker

Release Date: April 9, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This gripping episode of "Drop Dead Serious" sees veteran crime reporter Ashleigh Banfield dive into the perplexing disappearance of Lynette Hooker, who was reportedly swept away during a boating incident in the Bahamas. Ashleigh uses her extensive boating experience and true crime expertise to probe the official story provided by Lynette’s husband, Brian Hooker. Joined by Captain Andy Norris—a retired U.S. Coast Guard captain, attorney, and maritime law expert—the episode meticulously interrogates the plausibility of the account, spotlights red flags, and discusses the emerging criminal investigation and tangled jurisdictional issues.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Breaking News Context [00:05 – 03:00]

• Ashleigh Banfield opens the episode by noting a crucial update: CNN has just reported that the U.S. Coast Guard—not Bahamian authorities—have opened a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker's disappearance.
  • The Coast Guard has also interviewed Lynette’s daughter (Brian's stepdaughter), Carly Aylesworth, who was already voicing concerns about the husband’s story.
  • Search-and-rescue has become a “recovery” operation, indicating little hope Lynette remains alive.

2. Ashleigh’s Instincts as a Boater [01:15 – 12:30]

• Ashleigh flags multiple inconsistencies in Brian's story from a boater's perspective:
  • The idea Lynette “bounced” out of a small, low-horsepower dinghy (in her words, “the engine on it doesn’t go so fast—just an itty bitty engine”) is suspicious.
  • The claim that Lynette was wearing "the keys" to the engine is also challenged; typically, such boats use a kill switch, not a traditional key, and the kill switch lanyard is generally worn when alone, not with a passenger.
• Notable Quote:
  Ashleigh Banfield, [03:25]:
  “You’re not wearing [the kill switch] if you’re sitting up forward. And here’s what’s interesting: Lynette Hooker’s daughter... says that her mom wouldn’t drive, it was always the husband who drove. So again, she don’t got no keys if she’s a passenger. There are no keys to a little itty bitty outboard engine. So I’m really suspect about this whole story to start with.”
• Ashleigh points out that boating in bad weather—especially in a small tender—is unwise for experienced sailors like the Hookers.

3. Stepdaughter’s Alarming Allegations [14:00 – 18:00]

• Carly Aylesworth (stepdaughter) has told multiple media outlets:
  • There’s a history of domestic abuse, including threats by Brian Hooker to throw Lynette overboard.
  • Brian did not inform Carly of her mother’s disappearance for 24 hours, despite search efforts already being underway.
• Notable Quotes:
  • Carly Aylesworth (as reported), [16:08]:
    “I’ve seen him choke out one of his daughters before and he had to go to court for that. I was only in third grade.”
  • Ashleigh Banfield, [17:40]:
    “So I’m going to stack up all the weirds, right? After a while, there’s coincidences and weirds, and then there’s just a big old pile and it starts to look pretty suspicious.”

4. Brian Hooker’s Voicemail to Carly [18:46]

• Audio played: Brian leaves a calm voicemail about the search, stating:
  “I just got a call from Search and Rescue... I found a flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard... They haven’t found her yet but they can now focus all of their efforts in a smaller area...”

5. Questionable Language and Behavior [19:15 – 23:00]

• Ashleigh reviews Brian's public statements and Facebook post, highlighting his immediate defensiveness and lengthy description of adverse weather—rather than an emotional plea.
• Notable Quote:
  Ashleigh Banfield, [19:51]:
  “The minute somebody comes out with defenses in the first... nine words—you don’t even get nine words out before you’re defensive about what happened. Okay, again, some people might be like that, but just add it to the list of what the fuck?”

6. Expert Interview: Captain Andy Norris [24:36 – 59:45]

a. Initial Assessment [24:36 – 25:45]

• Captain Norris notes that, absent other context, this would be treated as a standard search and rescue.
• However, when abuse allegations arise, it elevates suspicion and urgency.

b. Dinghy Logistics and Kill Switch Issue [25:45 – 27:33]

• Both Ashleigh and Andy agree: calling a lanyard-style kill switch “keys” is not typical among experienced boaters.
• Kill switches are meant for solo operation—using them with a passenger is unusual.

c. Impact of Domestic Allegations [27:33 – 29:43]

• From a legal standpoint, domestic violence history would strongly influence investigators' approach if this incident happened in the U.S.
• Jurisdiction is complicated: primary responsibility is Bahamian, but the U.S. can request involvement due to the American nationals.

d. Investigation Logistics and International Law [29:43 – 36:27]

• The U.S. must work through Bahamian authorities for any criminal case.
• The State Department, FBI, and local law enforcement coordination is discussed.

e. Analysis of Brian’s Social Media Statements [36:57 – 39:49]

• Both Ashleigh and Andy find Brian’s Facebook post to be “anticipatory defense” and “contrived,” striking an odd tone for someone grieving an active tragedy.

f. Boating Experience and Decision-Making [39:49 – 43:48]

• They question why experienced sailors would risk dangerous weather in a small boat at night, particularly when alternative shelter existed.
• Andy raises the point that, unless there was some compelling reason, boating in such poor conditions seems reckless.

g. Currents and Rescue Plausibility [43:48 – 45:43]

• Andy: A safe anchorage should not have such strong currents that a person is swept out of sight so quickly.
• Large, dangerous currents are unlikely in typical “safe harbor” mooring areas.

h. Technical Details: Where Was Lynette Seated, Kill Switch Logic [45:15 – 51:37]

• For someone to be “bounced out” as described, she’d likely have to be seated up front; meanwhile, it's usually the driver (at the stern, by the outboard) who wears the kill switch.
• Both experts insist that, logistically, the kill switch and “key” explanation is dubious, and such ejection would need extremely violent conditions—unlikely in a protected harbor.

i. Drinking Possibilities and Timing [52:30 – 56:26]

• The lack of a life jacket and potential for alcohol impairment is considered, though unverified.
• Timeline and location discrepancies are puzzling—why boat at night between islands unless necessary?

j. Forensic and Investigative Imperatives [50:43 – 59:19]

• Both Ashleigh and Andy stress the need for a thorough forensic investigation:
  • Environmental conditions
  • Boat capabilities
  • Exact positions and times
  • If Lynette’s body is recovered, look for signs of foul play pre-drowning.

7. Jurisdictional Delay and Concerns [58:00 – End]

• Ashleigh expresses concern at the slow response in opening a criminal investigation (several days since incident), suspecting local (Bahamian) authority processes may be less rigorous than the U.S.
• The episode closes with a call to continue following the case as new developments emerge.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Ashleigh Banfield, [03:17]:
  “There’s no fucking keys to an outboard...I’m willing to say that might have gotten lost in translation...But the kill switch is for when you’re alone...It’s not for when there’s someone else in the boat with you.”
• Carly Aylesworth (via Ashleigh), [16:15]:
  “The fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story...I do believe something might have happened to her.”
• Captain Andy Norris, [37:59]:
  “The way it was said in the first sentence in particular would cause you to think, hmm, why is he, in an anticipatory manner, asserting kind of a defense now? ...maybe it's an anticipatory defense to mask something.”
• Ashleigh Banfield, [39:49]:
  “That sounds like a guilty guy. Now, I’m not saying he is, and I’m not saying a crime’s been committed, but just the way I read that statement in all the crimes that I’ve covered...That just looked awful.”
• Ashley Banfield, [43:11]:
  “That’s why we have the expression safe harbor.”

---

Important Timestamps

• [00:05] – Ashleigh introduces the case & breaking news
• [14:00] – Stepdaughter’s abuse claims and timeline discrepancies
• [18:46] – Brian Hooker’s voicemail to Carly
• [24:36] – Start of interview with Captain Andy Norris
• [36:57] – Dissection of Brian’s Facebook statement
• [43:48] – Questioning the "current" and boat’s safety
• [50:43] – Call for forensic investigation & review of kill switch logic
• [59:19] – Wrap-up thoughts, jurisdiction concerns, and next steps

---

Tone and Observations

Ashleigh Banfield’s signature irreverence and skepticism drive the episode, combined with sharp technical expertise from both her and Captain Norris. The analysis leans heavily into facts, logic, and lived boating experience, challenging the official narrative and portraying the story as stacked with “weirds” and red flags. The show is unafraid to speculate based on expertise, while careful to avoid direct accusations in the absence of formal charges.

---

Summary in Brief

In this episode, Ashleigh Banfield unpacks the disappearance of Lynette Hooker, focusing on multiple implausibilities in her husband’s story. Bolstered by boating knowledge and legal insight from Captain Andy Norris, the show scrutinizes the technicalities of the reported accident, the stepdaughter’s disturbing domestic abuse claims, and the cross-jurisdictional hurdles now in play. With more questions than answers, Ashleigh stresses the urgent need for a robust criminal investigation—underscoring how seemingly small details on the water can point to a much darker reality.

---

Transcript

[Ashley Banfield]

Foreign.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Hey, everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield, and this is drop dead serious. Such are the perils of podcasting. I have just wrapped up an entire episode on this mysterious boating accident near Abaco in the Bahamas where a husband says he was just bouncing along with his wife in the little dinghy when out she went. And. And the current took her away. And wouldn't you know it, she's de. And so many other details that I'm about to tell you about that just don't pass the smell test. And I've wrapped up the episode and boom, CNN drops a big piece of information that you need to know before watching this episode. So, in a nutshell, basically, Lynette Hooker is missing. Brian Hooker, her husband tells the Bahamas police, she just fell overboard and she had the keys to the engine. I'll get there. And she was separated and a current took her away, and I paddled ashore and. And there we are. Don't know where my wife is. So my big issue was in his story, in all the details, because I'm a boater, y'.

[Ashley Banfield]

All.

[Captain Andy Norris]

I'm a boater. So there were a lot of things that stood out to me, little details that really stood out to me where I said, I don't know that that happens. And I don't think that happens. My spidey senses were like on fire right away. And I kept wondering, we're four days, I'm recording this on the 8th of April, Wednesday. And my spidey senses said, why are the authorities not investigating this as a possible crime? Where's the criminal investigation in the Bahamas? And there wasn't one. And so I did my whole podcast and I did my entire interview based on that fact and many more. And wouldn't you know, it seems CNN is just reporting now that the US Coast Guard, not the Bahamians, the US Coast Guard has opened a criminal investigation into the disappearance of this American woman, Lynette Hooker, after her husband, Brian Hooker, reported that she just fell overboard and the current took her away. And, well, she had the keys, so I couldn't get the engine going to get her. So a couple of other things that you should know about CNN's report as well. They say that the U.S. coast Guard has also interviewed their daughter. Well, actually, you know, it's Lynette's daughter, Brian's stepdaughter, so that's important. And apparently that interview with Carly Aylesworth happened today. Again, it's Wednesday, April 8th. She had been sounding the alarm that she didn't like what she'd heard went on. You're going to hear in just a moment all the things that she's upset about and she has very good reason. So a couple things. The Coast Guard, according to cnn, is there in the Bahamas and that they had been helping with the Bahamians during the search and rescue, but that it's now turned into a recovery, meaning they don't believe they're going to rescue a live person, but maybe recover the body of a dead person. But interesting to note that the Coast Guard is there, according to cnn. I also love the expression that Berian apparently uses with the Bahamian police. According to cnn, they say that Brian told police she just bounced out of the boat during strong currents and was not wearing a personal flotation device. Bounced? That's going to matter here because I'm going to show you the dinghy that they've been riding in and using in and putting on social media and it looks to be about 8ft as well. And it's often referred to in boating as a tender that goes in between land and the boat that the bigger boat that you either live on or you're using and you've got moored somewhere and you can't walk over water. So you got to take a little boat and they're usually small and drag behind a bigger boat or go up on deck. But the tender, the little rubber dinghy that they're seen in, well, the engine on it doesn't go so fast. It's just an itty bitty engine. Looks like to be, you know, two, four, maybe a six horsepower. So bounced. I'm a highly suspicious of that term bounced. You got to be going at a bit of a clip in order to bounce off a wave. Not saying it can't happen, but it is like, wait, I'm sorry, this thing's like, it's very, very SL and so bounced isn't doing it for me. I have bounced on the side of a dinghy before and tried to hold on for dear life. But it's usually when you're going in like, you know, you got like a 25 or 35 horsepower, maybe even more on the back and you're cooking along and you're hitting the waves and you're bouncing this one, I think that is a big red flag. There's also something that you should know that's coming up in the discussion that I have in the interview that I have. I have been so suspect of the story that was told that she bounced out and she had the keys and then without the keys, the engine stopped and I couldn't get going again. Well, there's no keys, right? There are no keys to a little outboard engine. I haven't seen him in my lifetime anyway, and I've been boating for almost six decades. And so I thought maybe they're talking about a kill switch. And as it turns out, it looks like CNN's reporting suggests it may very well be a kill switch that he's referring to. Let me just tell you what CNN reports. Quote, strong current subsequently carried her away. And, quote, he lost sight of her. Brian told the Bahamian police Lynette was wearing the keys, also known as an engine safety lanyard, when she fell off the dinghy. Okay, that makes more sense. Now think about it. When you're on a jet ski and you put that little bracelet around you that has a little coily cord that goes into a plug that if you go bouncing or flying off, the jet ski will stop and you can swim back up to it. It's not just going to keep going off to the horizon. Right. And leave you to drown. Those are called kill switches in just common parlance. And you have to be the driver to be using the kill switch bracelet. And usually you're in the boat by yourself when you do that, because why would you want something to kill the engine if you fall out? You'd want the other person in the boat to go and drive the engine and the boat back around to you. So that doesn't pass the smell test for me either. No, that you get in the boat with two people and you put the kill switch on your wrist. Wouldn't happen. That. That is nuts. That's nuts. And also, Lynette's daughter Carly says that mom never drove the boat. It was always Brian who drove the boat. Okay, I'm willing to suspend disbelief there, because maybe there was drinking involved and maybe she. He was too drunk. Whatever it is, maybe she was driving. But again, put in the. Unless you were afraid of the other person in the boat. If you were afraid of the other person in the boat, you might put the kill switch on so that he couldn't push you over and drive off. That's a possibility. And think of that one. Anyway, so I recorded this entire podcast just before that news broke, like, literally minutes before. I just wrapped it up. So I just wanted to give you all of that before you begin watching right now. Hey, everyone, I'm Ashley Banfield, and this is drop dead serious. Have you been following this very, very strange boating accident in the Bahamas? So I have, first of all, I love a mystery, but also I'm a boater. And not only am I a dinghy boater, but also other kinds of watercraft and yachts. Like, I actually have been a sailor on the kind of sailboat that the Hookers have been sailing on. Lynette and Brian Hooker apparently been sailing for over a decade. Been married for 25 years. Lynette went overboard when they were taking the little eight foot dinghy from land out to the yacht. She went overboard. Brian says, I couldn't get her. The current took her away too quickly and she had the keys and the engine stopped and I couldn't. So all that, to me, who's a boater and spent a lot of time in a dinghy, especially them little inflatables, was like, what the, what the? That's not exactly how it works. You don't have keys to these little dinghy boats. They're usually outboards. Either you pull start them or push button start. But you don't have keys. There are no keys. Okay, look, I'm willing to say that might have gotten lost in translation. Whatever gave a telephone, it was reported one way, it came out the wrong way. But let's just talk about the logistics of it. Because there are kill switches that exists in those kinds of boats, right? A kill switch is like, it's like a little plug in that goes into the engine and if you pull it out, the engine stops, right? And unless you put it back in, you can't restart the engine. And typically those are for when you're alone on a sea doo. You've probably seen, you know, put the kill switch around your wrist in case you get bumped off and the thing keeps going without you and goes into the sunset and you're left alone and you need the thing to stop, right? So that's usually what a kill switch is for when you're alone and in those little boats. Okay, maybe there's a kill switch on that engine. It's not that I haven't seen it before, I have, but you'd be the driver and the driver is usually holding on to the outboard, right? There's a shaft and it usually has the speed on it. Sometimes the speed is elsewhere on the engine, but, but generally you've got like a handle, right, that you're holding on to, plus the side of the boat. So you're, you're positioned this way. If you're going forward, you're holding the microphone here, you're, you're holding the, the shaft of the outboard. Sometimes you have your hand on the side of the boat. You drive that way for balance, you know, for positioning. And so that kill switch would be around this wrist in case. Boink. You get bounced out. Out comes the kill switch with the little coil that's on your wrist. But if there's somebody else in the boat, you don't put the kill switch on your wrist because why would you? Why would you? The kill switch would stop the engine. And if you get bounced out, they can't come get you. The kill switch is for when you're alone. The kill switch is to make sure the boat doesn't take off and maybe even circle back and cut you up or leave you alone to drown. It's when you're alone. It's not for when there's someone else in the boat with you. Keys. There's no fucking keys to an outboard. And if you've ever seen the pictures of, you know, Brian at least, and Lynette's little, what looks like a little eight foot tender, the thing you get back and forth from your yacht to the mainland or to a dock or to another boat that's a little outboard. And I've seen that engine on that. I don't know that this is the one they were in. I'm only presuming because it's on their social media accounts. That looks to be like something between a 2 horsepower and maybe at the max, a 6 horsepower. I don't even think it's a 6. Almost looks like a fishing troller. I mean, honestly, you don't get a lot of speed on those. Which leads me to my next issue. If Brian Hooker is saying that Lynette, you know, somehow ended up falling out of the tender, well, I can understand getting bounced out, but not with an engine that low horsepower. Right? That thing don't even get going. Doesn't matter how big the waves are, you're not going to bounce out when you can barely get that thing going. You want a little bit faster, you might bounce and bounce out. Don't get me started again on the kill switch. You're not wearing it if you're sitting up forward. And here's what's interesting. Lynette Hooker's daughter, her name is Kristina Carly Aylesworth. She says that her mom wouldn't drive. It was usually the husband, Brian, who would drive. So again, she don't got no keys if she's a passenger. There are no keys to a little itty bitty outboard engine. So I'm really suspect about this whole story to start with. Also, I've been boating for my whole life and you may have seen some of my Instagrams. I used to go into town from the island where I live in the summertime in Canada. I usually live up in Canada with my family for better part of three months. And I would have to take a boat into town in order to do the TV show from the studio that I built in the main town nearby. And then when that show was over late, late at night, I'd get back in that boat and get back out to the island and didn't matter what the weather was. You can't walk to an island, you got a boat. And so I would often go in really inclement weather, lightning, rainstorms, windstorms, waves, all the rest. I'm pretty careful about that stuff. I don't go flying through there so that I bounce out of my boat. I've been doing it forever. Along with most of my friends and neighbors and loved ones up there, we've learned how to live in a boating community in an island community. So these guys have been boating for at least a decade. They know, and they're getting in their little tender that's only eight feet. Eight feet is just a little longer than a six foot long man, right? And Brian's saying the weather's terrible. So what are you doing getting into your tender to go out to your yacht, you know, shelter where you are on land. Everybody knows that if the weather's brutal and awful, you really shouldn't be getting into a little eight foot boat to go out to your yacht. That's not safe. But let's just say that's what they did. Maybe there was drinking involved, I don't know. But still, so much of the story does not make any sense. And then we hear that Carly Aylesworth tells Fox News there's a history of him choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. What? She continues. So the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there's more to the story. Carly says, I do believe something might have happened to her. Not only that, but Carly Ailsworth also told Fox and Friends, quote, I've seen him choke out one of his daughters before and he had to go to court for that. I was only in third grade, end quote. Again, this is Brian Hooker's stepdaughter, Carly Aylesworth, whose mother is now missing, right? Brian's wife, Carly's mom, now missing with this weird story about falling out of the eight foot dinghy on the way out to the yacht and the current swept her away and oh no, I paddled into Marsh Harbor. She also says that when Brian drank alcohol, his Persona would change. She said, quote, he starts to act more like a more smart assy and more picking at you. And like, I know this will irritate you, so I'm gonna do that type of attitude. That's what Carly Aylesworth said about her stepfather, Brian Hooker. This all happened Saturday night, and I'm recording this on April 8th on a Wednesday. So it's been days. And we've just come to learn that Carly says that her stepfather didn't even tell her that her mom had been swept out. This is his story. Swept out by a current and he couldn't reach her. Didn't even tell her for 24 hours. What's that? Right? I mean, the search and rescue is going on for 24 hours and you don't tell her daughter until 24 hours later? That's weird again. Okay, maybe some people do that. I'm going to stack up all the weirds, right? Because after a while I start saying there's coincidences and weirds, and then there's just a big old pile and it starts to look pretty suspicious. So Carly is, you know, back here in the US Wondering what the f. This happened at Abaco in the Bahamas at this recording. They haven't even opened a criminal investigation on this yet. They're sort of taking his word for it, but I'm sure that they're maybe looking, trying to figure out what's what. But dudes, come on. It's like Wednesday. This happened Saturday. Brian said that he tried to get her. She was swept away by the currents after falling from the dinghy. They were trying to reach their yacht. He's 55. She is. Let's see. Sorry. She's 55, he's 58. Eight. Her daughter says, quote, Brian's always driving, so he basically is in charge of the key. Again, using the. The term, the key. It. It's. It's not a key. I mean, look, I. I could be wrong here. I've just never seen a key to a little outboard. Especially something with that tiny little horsepower. Could be talking about the kill switch. That might be it. Maybe it's something like the engine to a jet ski, but not. Not what I saw. It's just a tiny little thing if that's the one they're in. But usually one of those little rubber dinghies. It's not like a jet ski. You don't have keys to those. So I'm surprised at that. She goes on to say so the fact that my mom had. It doesn't make any sense again could be the kill switch plug, it could be that they're talking about. Then the news is that Brian paddled to the Marsh Harbored boatyard. The Marsh harbor boatyard arriving at 4am before his wife was reported missing. So whatever time at night, Saturday night, they're supposedly heading back out to the yacht, she goes overboard, flies away by the current. He can't catch up to her and then he starts paddling. 4:00am here's the voicemail that Brian Hooker left for Carly Aylesworth, his stepdaughter, the daughter of Lynette, who's now missing and maybe presumed drowned at this point. Have a listen. This is what CBS was able to obtain.

[Ashley Banfield]

Hello honey, I just got call from Booktown Search and Rescue and I found a flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard. And so there, that's a. They haven't found her yet but they can now focus all of their efforts in a smaller area and they're still out there search, searching today. So I just wanted to update you and let you know. I love you. I'll talk to you later. Bye bye.

[Captain Andy Norris]

So the last Brian told officials, according to cnn, he saw his wife swimming toward the shore. They've been boating for a decade. They, they know how to swim if they're going back and forth, you know, in little dinghies. You're just not a boater like that without knowing how to swim. And maybe the weather was terrible but how terrible were would the weather have been that you would get in an eight foot dinghy? I mean it couldn't have been, you know, eight foot swells. No way, no chance. So if she's swimming towards shore, unless she's absolutely hammered and gulps water and somehow passes out and I mean I guess it's possible but again, yet another what? Just add that to the pile. You know obviously Carly is trying everything she can to, you know, raise the red flag here. They haven't started as of this recording, this criminal investigation which I feel like should have started on hour one. The minute I read these facts I'm like what do you mean the keys to a little outboard? What? But Carly says I, you know, the more time goes on the more I disbelieve that she will come back alive. I don't think that you can tread water for that long but I hope maybe she's on A little island somewhere. You know, they're doing search and rescue in the Bahamas. They're trying. It is really sad. But here's something that is weird. Late today, Brian Hooker broke his silence on his Facebook and this is what he posted. I'm going to read it, and then I'm going to tell you what I think about it. Says, quote, I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Key in the Bahamas. Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her, and that is my sole focus. Okay, so. Okay. So much. I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Key in the Bahamas. How about just. I am devastated and I am looking for my wife. I need all the help I can get. Please, God, please. I hope she's okay. What's with all the excuses and all the defensive stuff? Unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette. I mean, that just to me. The minute somebody comes out with defenses in the first 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Nine words. You don't even get nine words out before you're defensive about what happened. Okay, again, some people might be like that, but just add it to the list of what the fuck? So I found somebody who is literally the perfect man for the job in trying to answer my questions and get me off the ledge and explain away some of these weird. The pile of weirds, right? Especially when it comes to boating and the law. And wouldn't you know it, I found Andy Norris. Andy, or should I say Captain Andy Norris, is not only a retired captain, he's also retired from the U.S. coast Guard. He's also an attorney and he is the owner and president of Trade Wind Maritime Services, Incorporated. So he's a captain and he's a lawyer. So he can answer all the questions that I have being a boater. And I know full well all the stuff about the dinghy that I've already laid out. Right? But also law, especially when it comes to maritime circumstances. That's his. That's his whole backyard. Right? And how you even get a criminal investigation going and what the United States can do to help if anything. So here is my conversation with Captain Andy. Quick note from my sponsor. This episode is actually brought to you by Wild Grain. And if you love really good fresh bread, but you don't have time to hunt down a bakery. Go out, get it, bring it home. This is honestly one of the easiest food subscriptions that I've ever tried. Tried. Wild grain sends bake from frozen sourdough breads, pastries, even fresh pastas right to your front door. Everything is made with simple ingredients that you can actually pronounce and it tastes incredible. It's also easier on your tummy. The best part is you just pop it in the oven. That's it. No thawing, no prep, and in about 25 minutes your kitchen smells like a bakery and a voila, fresh baked goods. And don't just take my word for it. They have over 40,000 5 star reviews and they've been voted the best food subscription box by USA Today for three years. Andy, given what we know and what we don't know because this is very early on, we don't even know if this will result in a criminal investigation. What do you make of what has transpired this early in the case of Mr. And Mrs. Hooker in the Bahamas?

[Ashley Banfield]

From the news reports, it is that she fell in the water in sort of challenging environmental conditions with winds and waves and that sort of thing. People fall in the water all the time and that is the. And they would be the object of a search and rescue action. So on its face, in the absence of any other circumstances, I would characterize it as a fairly typical search and rescue case.

[Captain Andy Norris]

I am trying to play through everything that happened because I'm a boater and actually I'm a dinghy operator. I'm a captain of moderate vessels. But you know, I don't know a lot of 8 foot hard bottom dinghies that have a separate key that if you fall in the water and get separated from the engine it would stop. The eng familiar with kill switches, but usually that's when you're alone in the boat and you're connected to the outboard and if you go over, the engine stops and you can make it back to your boat. It's not typical when you're in a boat with someone else.

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, that was what I took it to be too, from the story. I mean, it sounds like it was a kill switch of some sort. And you know, I don't know why. If the boat came equipped with it then then, you know, why not use it or at least maybe that's a good standard practice. And I don't know really from reports whether it was their boat, it was a dinghy that, you know, that they towed behind their sailboat wherever they went or Whether there's something that they rented from shore or were using from shore from a marine or anything like that. So it may be that, in fact, there's a. There was a kill switch on the boat, and it just. That's just the way it was, you know.

[Captain Andy Norris]

And listen, it could be the game of telephone here. I haven't heard specifically Brian Hooker saying the words she had the keys and fell overboard, but certainly if somebody were to. To me, she had the keys and fall overboard, I'd slap handcuffs on them. Because again, a kill switch is not keys. It's just a little plug and it pulls out. And any boater, and these folks have been boaters for a long, long time, knows that and would never call a kill switch keys. Am I crazy?

[Ashley Banfield]

No. No. I think so. I think you're right. The kill switch is a pretty well known, first of all, as a. As an item of equipment. But also the term I think is pretty. Is in common use. But again, at least from what I've seen, I'm relying on media reports. And as we all know, those can oftentimes be just, you know, not through any intentional reasons, but it's just if people aren't skilled in nautical lingo, for example, then they just may use a term like key for something that. That a boater like you would know is a kill switch.

[Captain Andy Norris]

And I'm accommodating for that because that's what I assume before we actually see any kind of formal quotes given to the police or the investigators. You know, it must mean a lot to you. I mean, I couldn't be talking to a better person, someone who's a captain, who's got Coast Guard experience, who's also an attorney. It must mean a lot to you that Lynette's daughter, Lynette being the missing woman. Her daughter, you know, does. None of this is sitting well with her. She is quite vocal saying that Brian, Lynette's husband, has been rough with her before. Here's a quote that the daughter's name is Carly Aylesworth. She said there's a 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 mean, from an attorney's perspective, that must mean a lot.

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, there's certainly grounds for. You know, I think I alluded to before, in the absence of anything else, this could be a routine case. But with facts like that, it certainly raises a level of concern, let's put it that way. And so yeah, it does. Assuming that what the daughter is reporting is correct and true, then those very same circumstances happen. Maybe it's just horribly bad luck, or maybe there's something nefarious behind it in

[Captain Andy Norris]

the US that would tickle the spidey senses of investigators and they would dig deeper right away, knowing that perhaps this daughter is suggesting there's a history of some kind of domestic abuse. That would be a big, big incentive for investigators to move more rapidly into that direction. But this is the Bahamas, and every jurisdiction's a little different, and maritime incidents are also different. Can you walk me through a little bit of how that complicates things here?

[Ashley Banfield]

Yeah, for sure. If it's in Bahamas, then they're going to have the primary jurisdiction, whether it for law enforcement purposes, whether it happened on land or in their waters. I presume from the description, it's very close to Bahamian land. So it'd be in their territorial sea and in those waters, that's the sovereign waters of Bahamas, and they would have the principal law enforcement jurisdiction. So they would have primacy. Now, if the US Had a particular interest in this case, they could ask the Bahamians to conduct more of an invest or to conduct an investigation at all, or to duck to conduct more of an investigation than they otherwise might. Or the US could request from the Bahamians that they be permitted to join, to join a Bahamian investigation or to otherwise participate in what Bahama is doing. But your point's a good one. Ultimately, it's Bahamas. They're going to be in charge. And anything that the US Would want by virtue of the fact that these are Americans, would be then done at the request request to the Bahamians and at the behest of the Bahamians.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Andy, I always just assume, you know, Americans are really good at never leaving one of their own behind, you know, and I had just assumed that investigators from the US Would be there lickety split. Does it require pressure from a local family to say, hey, my mom deserves justice? I want investigators to head over, or do the FBI and, you know, the US Government just keep an eye on things like this when they hit the headlines?

[Ashley Banfield]

I think in a case like this, it would be the pressure, the facts, first of all, again, assuming they're true. But either way, they're allegations and they're being made. And so they raise the spiny sense, the hackles, as you alluded to. So in the absence of any sort of concerns along those lines being raised by a loved one or by whomever, investigators wouldn't necessarily have a reason to get involved. Criminal investigators. There still would be potentially investigations into the incident, even if it was just there was no suspicion of potential foul play at all. But if we're talking about the involvement potentially of criminal investigators, then it would be at the instigation of a family member. Somebody would have to come forward and give criminal investigators a reason to get involved. Really.

[Captain Andy Norris]

And who would that daughter even reach out to? Local authorities, FBI? Like what do you do?

[Ashley Banfield]

Yeah, I mean that's a good point. First of all, the media, so the story, I mean, so you and I and everybody else who's going to wants to read about this story, can see what, what she's saying. So that's not a bad starting point. But she could go to her local authorities and then through them, local authorities, even if it's state or county or whatever it is, they'll have ties to federal authorities ultimately would probably be the FBI. They would be the ones who would have sort of nation to nation law enforcement contacts. And so it would be presumably a request from the FBI, coordinated maybe by the, by the embassy or the State Department.

[Captain Andy Norris]

I want to be real specific. Brian Hooker has not been charged with any crime and the Bahamians haven't even said so far at this taping. And it is, let's see, 4:19 on April 8th. I want to be clear about that too because it could change any minute. They haven't even said that a crime has been committed yet. And to my knowledge a criminal investigation hasn't really even started. But, but in this netherworld where you have a foreign national who could get on a plane and leave your jurisdiction really quickly, would the Bahamians ask him to stay put? We've seen it happen before in the Dominican Republic when a young girl went missing, well, a woman went missing off the beach and the last person who was with her was sort of pressured to stay in the Dominican Republic until they could finish their investigation. Even though he wasn't charged, would the Bahamians do the same thing?

[Ashley Banfield]

I think they could, absolutely. They could whatever their domestic law would allow. But again, this gentleman is in the jurisdiction of the Bahamas, a sovereign state that has its own entitlements under international law. It has its own laws. So assuming that Bahamian law allows for the detention of suspects or even persons of interest in a potential case, then yeah, they could detain him in their country. That would certainly be permissible and legal. Also the U.S. presumably, if there was enough interest on the U.S. side, the U.S. could ask that they detain him on the U.S. behalf and ultimately potentially extradite him to the U.S. as well. So there are mechanisms for preventing the movement of people, preventing the movement of vessels, for sure.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Yeah. And I would think if the Bahamians detained him, then suddenly the State Department gets a lot more interested, you know, in a case and maybe the gears start turning a little faster. That's interesting that you brought up the extradition issue as well. So explain to the viewers and listeners right now how, how does jurisdiction play here? Because when you have Americans who are not in America and there is a crime committed against Americans, it doesn't seem to like you can prosecute on the US Shore.

[Ashley Banfield]

You could, assuming that the US Has a law that reaches into that particular jurisdiction. So clearly the Bahamas could, again, as I mentioned before, it's in their national jurisdiction. And just because you're American, if you're in Bahamas and you want to go murder somebody or steal something, you can get prosecuted in that country under their laws. In terms of the US if in fact there is evidence indicating some sort of foul play, could the U.S. prosecute any. The perpetrator in the United States? Assuming that the US has laws that make this act, whatever the act, is criminal and that that act can be committed outside the United States, yet punished inside the US Then yeah, absolutely. As a matter of, as a jurisdiction,

[Captain Andy Norris]

we've seen it with people who have been up on murder charges for murdering a US Citizen in East Asia. And they, their plane landed in the US and they were arrested even after serving over there. So double jeopardy didn't even apply at that point. They, they actually suffered, you know, a form of double jeopardy and were prosecuted here in the US I want to read you something that Brian Hooker recently actually posted on his Facebook because again, as a lawyer, I want you to

[Ashley Banfield]

put on your social media post.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Right. Yeah. Never, never talk is the thing I always tell people. But I, I read this very differently than the average person might read this. Being a crime and justice reporter and as a lawyer, I want you to be thinking of how it sounds. He wrote this on Facebook again on Wednesday. That would be today, April 8th. Quote, I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her, and that is my sole focus. End quote. What's your first thought?

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, so you know, the very first part of that, where he kind of goes out of his way to say an unpredictable weather and sees it seems almost sort of advanced exculpatory rights. Unnecessary.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Right.

[Ashley Banfield]

The second sentence sort of said the same thing where you could say, as a matter of fact, there was these circumstances. But the way it was said in the first sentence in particular would cause you to think, hmm, why is Eastworg, in an anticipatory manner, asserting kind of a defense now? It is potentially a defense to make himself appear less negligent, perhaps, or less at fault. Or, you know, maybe it's, it's, it's an anticipatory defense for, to mask something.

[Captain Andy Norris]

I mean, you're being, you're, you're being far more charitable than I would be. I read that first line and I thought, shut your mouth. Stop defending yourself. Your wife may still be on an island searching for food. Like I thought, if this were my loved one and what he said really happened, my post would be, God help us. Help me find my wife. I'm begging the Bahamians to get every search and rescue vessel out there. I am heartbroken. This has been the worst thing that's ever happened to me. I wouldn't want to suddenly defend myself against what people thought of me.

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, I mean, it does have an element of sort of a fourth and being contrived, you know. So, yeah, that's the, that, you know, that was the sentence that and the usage that, that kind of would, would draw my interest in, in what he said. And I agree with you. I mean, and you see these sorts of statements all the time when people are missing and the family is distraught and you see these sorts of statements, it's, it's definitely odd.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Yeah, I, I, right away I thought, okay, that sounds like a guilty guy. Now, I'm not saying he is, and I'm not saying a crime's been committed, but just the way I read that statement in all the crimes that I've covered, And I mean, 38 years now, I'm not new at this. That just looked awful. But, okay, I, I want to get you to put the boat captain hat back on and note this that they are not newbies on the water. They've been sailing together for more than a decade. They've been married for 25 years. I have been in many a dinghy, and I have also been in bad weather and bad water, and I've taken risks that maybe I shouldn't have but needed to get where I was going because I was on an island and you can't walk, you Gotta take a boat if you're gonna get where you need to go. But they were headed out. As he tells the story, they were headed out to their yacht. And as most people know, you take a tender, you take a smaller boat, and you get from land to where your yacht is moored, anchored. Why on earth would anybody do that in horrible weather that could have this kind of a result? If you've been sailing together for more than a decade, and you presumably, as a yachtsman, would well know how dangerous that could be.

[Ashley Banfield]

Absolutely. I mean, as. As you've alluded to. I mean, the more one operates on the water, the more one becomes familiar with the unpredictability and the myriad dangers that the sea poses. So with that level of experience, why indeed set off from shore at all, if, in fact, that's what they did? Now, if they did, then she would have agreed to or acceded to getting underway under those conditions. So if, in fact they actually got underway at all, and assuming that she had her own volition, free will, then she participated in that decision. But. But we don't know those circumstances. It seems like a pretty bad decision in, certainly in retrospect, but as you've also said, you know, sometimes people sort of take risks.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Got to get where you got, you

[Ashley Banfield]

know, got to get where you want to go. And then, you know, in retrospect, it was a very bad idea, but you did. So I would think that as part of any investigation that's conducted, criminal or otherwise, certainly what they will be looking into. Were there any circumstances that mandated haste? Did they have to get out there? What were the known. Did these conditions suddenly worsen or were they like that? What type of boat were they using? We've seen reports on that, but.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Good. That's a good point. I didn't think of that. I don't know. And we have a lot of facts we don't know. But I don't know if they were on land where there was any shelter. Maybe they were on an excursion, you know, checking out the beach, and it's a remote place with no shelter, and along comes a lightning storm and they're trying to get back out to their. To their boat. But I do want to ask you this. He says that she was swept away by a current and he couldn't get to her. And she. They kept getting separated, and last he saw, she was swimming to shore. Listen, I know the difference between a raging river and a current in the ocean. And in the water, if your yacht is moored nearby and there is a Current strong enough to sweep someone away from you that swiftly to the point where you can't get her and you can never see her again. Is your yacht going to be safe moored there? Is your yacht going to be able to hang on in that kind of a current?

[Ashley Banfield]

You know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of unknowns really, to that. I wouldn't, first of all, I wouldn't envision that it's that much of a current where. Assuming that they're kind of in a harbor. That's where you anchor, right? In a harbor. That's what you do.

[Captain Andy Norris]

It's why we have the expression safe harbor.

[Ashley Banfield]

That's it. That's kind of it. Right. I mean, you know, and so the whole idea of using a harbor or the equivalent is that it is more sheltered from things like currents and wind and waves than the open sea. So I would imagine that the current is not going to be ripping through that area or roaring in that area. It wouldn't make for a very good anchorage. And assuming that they, you know, as experienced boaters, they were, they made themselves aware of local conditions. And it's not like that those things are unknowable. There's books and tide charts and et cetera that people can consult to understand the local conditions. So I would imagine the current there was not rip roaring. And in fact, they were in even closer to shore, presumably than the boat itself because they were on the way from shore to the boat when she went overboard.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Right.

[Ashley Banfield]

So. So, you know, but again, depending on the reporting and how it's reported, you know, sea state can be very difficult. And we do all. We always hear, you know, you hear about people being pulled out by undertow from abuse like rip current. So. And I don't know what type of swimmer she was. The story says she didn't have a personal flotation device on. So that's unfortunate.

[Captain Andy Norris]

And that I expect she's a swimmer, though, if she's been sailing for more than a decade. I don't know a whole lot of sailors that can't swim. But, but like you said, a lot of experienced swimmers have been killed in rip currents that they can't swim against. I just, I would really want to see some forensic investigation to get Nellie drill down on the exact facts of where you said you were exactly at the time you said you were there. Because I think that would make the difference here. I definitely want to ask you about a moment of logistics that's playing in my head. I have been in a rib before one of those inflatables. Right. But the dinghy and I don't know if this is an inflatable dinghy. I'm envisioning it is because it said hard bottom and if you bounce against waves, it can be very bouncy. If you're sitting on the front and the edge, usually you're sitting on the edge of a, of a, of an inflatable. And if you do hit a big wave, you can get bounced out. But that's typically if you're in the front, not so much if you're in the back holding on to the outboard. So that would say that Lynette would have to be in the front in order to get bounced out like that. So this whole holding onto the keys business doesn't make sense.

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, I mean, that part you're kind of stuck with that if you're, if you're the husband, because that's what, you know, you've said. So you're kind of stuck with that. And that does have her then toward the after part of the boat. If she, if it is an outboard, then she's sitting on the sponsor somewhere.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Well, it's eight feet, so we're sure it's an outboard, right?

[Ashley Banfield]

No, you think it's an outboard. And I'm not particularly envisioning a rib just, or inflatable. Just from the stories that I've seen, it made it sound like it was a hard, but anyway a hard shell boat of some sort. But either way, yeah, most likely an outboard. Right. That's where you're holding onto your control, controlling the, both the engine speed and the, the direction of the vessel by the movement of the, of the, you know, engine.

[Captain Andy Norris]

You're holding onto the shaft and it's

[Ashley Banfield]

like a good handle. You're at the very, you're at the very aft, the very stern of the, of the boat.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Have you ever seen anybody bounce out of the stern of the boat while holding onto the shaft of a outboard motor, which is a pretty good, you know, handle in itself.

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, and I would say those are some pretty violent conditions. Yes, you can bounce pretty hard. If you're going through the wake of another boat, you know, that's water skiing or whatever like that, you can get bounced pretty hard. But unless you got some pretty significant thunderstorm or tempest that has blown in, you know, yes, you might have some waves, but it's pretty significant if you're going to get bounced out of a boat. Those are some pretty significant waves.

[Captain Andy Norris]

So as A lawyer, you gotta go back and forth between the lawyer hat and the captain hat. But as a lawyer, doesn't this just scream for a fulsome forensic investigation?

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, forensic would be, it'd be really forensic in terms of the environmental conditions that would, that would be something that would be capable of sort of scientific factual determinations. The nature of the boat, the capabilities of the boat, the speed of the boat, the construction, etc. Of the boat. Those would be the sorts of things that absolutely should be investigated. Now forensically, if her body, if in fact there is a body and if her body is recovered, then that also could provide some significant forensic details as well as to the nature of death, whether it's drowning and whether there's evidence of foul play related to that preceded the drowning. They can sort of sequence those, those sorts of things. So absolutely there's, there's, it's, it's a bad case. Just, just all around in terms of the, the fact that somebody died in these conditions that are, are unusual. And then with the allegations that the daughter's making, it goes from sort of unusual to I would say suspicious.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Yeah. So much of it doesn't make any sense to me, especially the whole business about the keys. Because anybody who's ever been in a boat before knows that an outboard doesn't have keys. It's a little stern drive on an eight foot tender. You don't have keys, you have kill

[Ashley Banfield]

switch, if that some do something.

[Captain Andy Norris]

But yeah, in fact I don't even. I think the only kill switches I've seen recently are on a really small tender, maybe even smaller than 8ft or you know, like a jet ski or something where you're going fast and the risk of bouncing off is regular and you're usually a sole passenger and you

[Ashley Banfield]

don't want to get run over by the boat if anything, or it, you know, screaming off into the distance with you in the middle of the ocean.

[Captain Andy Norris]

But even more, but even more importantly, if I were at the helm of an outboard and someone else were in the boat, I would not want the kill switch on because it would mean if I bounced out, that person could not come to get me anymore. You know, it's only to stop the vessel so that you can swim back to it, so that you can, you know, you're alone out there, you need that vessel, but if there's someone else in the boat, you need them to come and get you.

[Ashley Banfield]

Yeah. And also I would say along, not really along those lines, but the getting back to kind of the Getting bounced out is the higher the sea state, the slower you're going to go. Right? And sometimes even if you're going slow, you're getting bounced around. But again, that's some significant sea state. So I would assume that if the waves were kicking up, they would have been going slow, which would have minimized the amount to which people could be forcibly ejected from a boat like that.

[Captain Andy Norris]

The daughter also weighed in and I'll just quote her. She said, Brian is always driving, so he basically is in charge of the key. He says the key. So the fact that my mom had it, it doesn't make any sense. Again, she says Brian was always the driver. And I suppose that's also a variable. If anybody's had some drinks, you change you, you know, you do whatever and

[Ashley Banfield]

then, you know, the drink part of it. It occurred to me as we were talking about the fact that she didn't have a flotation device on. Assuming this whole scenario is, is as related. But she didn't have a PFD on. And, you know, why couldn't she swim to shore? She was swimming to shore, but, you know, maybe there was alcohol involved and we had impacted her motor function. So we just don't know that.

[Captain Andy Norris]

He said, I last saw her.

[Ashley Banfield]

Sorry. That would be also part of the investigation for sure, would be with their activities.

[Captain Andy Norris]

And we haven't heard that yet. We haven't heard about alcohol yet. CNN reported that Brian told officials he last saw his wife swim towards the shore. And then he apparently left a voice note for his stepdaughter. And this is what it said. And this is again, Carly Aylesworth. The stepdaughter has told the media that this is what the voicemail says. Hello, Honey, it's Dad again. Stepdad, but hello? Honey, it's dad. I just got a call from Hopetown Search and Rescue and they found the flotation device that I threw to mom when she fell overboard. So put your captain hat back on. If you're tossing a flotation device to someone in the water who apparently can't even swim against this current, how are we finding the flotation device but not the person?

[Ashley Banfield]

Well, because the person may have sunk and the flotation device by design is going to be on the surface. But yeah, so it's again, wouldn't the

[Captain Andy Norris]

flotation device be hella gone by that point? It's so light and if the current is strong enough to pull someone who's boating for over a decade so far away from this boat that they can't make contact with each other again, I would feel like that flotation device would be in America by now.

[Ashley Banfield]

Flotation devices are by design in a color like orange that's going to be, or at least as much as possible. And so we do know that the Bahamians did mount a search and rescue operation with US Assistance, it sounds like. And so that could well have been something that was spotted by a vessel or from a helicopter. And frankly, it helps him. However, if this is something that you're staging or if it's something that then you toss it out there and then you say, look, I exerted all these efforts. So I mean it's an interesting fact and. But it'll have to be considered along with all the other facts.

[Captain Andy Norris]

So one of the things we were talking about drinking a little bit and I just came across what Kayla Aylesworth, the stepdaughter, Brian's stepdaughter, has said. She says that Brian's Persona would change after drinking alcohol. Quote, he starts to act more smart assy, more picking at you. And like, I know this will irritate you, so I'm going to do that type of attitude. This is what Kayla is saying about her stepfather. But we don't know at this point whether alcohol was involved because he said that he paddled to shore and I think he rolled in around 4:00'. Clock. Yeah, he paddled into Marsh harbor boatyard at 4am and of course said that it was the night before that they had been going out to their yacht. So he'd been out paddling with his hands, so to speak, you know, for hours and hours. Do you know much about Marsh harbor or Hopetown or Elbow Key in the Bahamas?

[Ashley Banfield]

I don't know a thing about it. Just saw a picture in one of the news stories. But what it tells me is that assuming this is the island that they were leaving, then there are facilities on the island. Right. You refer to a yacht club and other things. And from the pictures I saw, there were definitely facilities. So the one theory that they didn't have shelter because there's a thunderstorm coming up, they wouldn't have shelter on land because it was a deserted key or otherwise. That doesn't seem to be the case.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Well, I'm struggling here because again, facts matter. And all I can tell you is that Lynette and Brian left Hopetown, which is, you know, populated after, and that's Abaco, I believe. Hopetown's in Abaco, right? I think it is. I'll double check. So Brian and Lynette and Brian left Hopetown after sunset on the Saturday to reach Elbow Key. I don't know about Elbow Key. I don't know if that's where they ended up. All I know is that he then paddled into Marsh harbor boatyard at 4 o' clock in the morning.

[Ashley Banfield]

Yeah, I mean, so were they trying to reach a different island? That's kind of not the best idea at nighttime in a, in a teeny little boat, especially if there's kind of weather conditions. That's not a good plan at all.

[Captain Andy Norris]

The whole thing is questionable.

[Ashley Banfield]

I mean, honestly, is this key a separate little island islet? So, you know, maybe a look at a map to see where those things are and how they relate to each other would be, would be instructive.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Andy, you know, gosh, I mean, just with all of this, knowing that a criminal investigation hasn't been opened, it's Wednesday, this happens Saturday night. Does that sound like Bahamas time or does that sound like this is how long it usually takes there in America? Would it take this many days with this set of early facts?

[Ashley Banfield]

I would have to think that with the daughter in law or the stepdaughter whatever, with her coming forward with these facts, I don't know how vigorously or in what manner and when she started coming forth with these things. These are, there's the, the case looks like bad judgment from the start, but that might be all there is unless and until there's more, as we've alluded to and you know, the daughter coming forth with these facts is what's going to cause lead to a criminal investigation, if there is one. So, you know, it really depends on how vociferously and when she started coming forth with these, with these things that raise suspicion.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Why I'll say you and I may have another conversation in the coming days, especially if suddenly there is is an official criminal investigation opened. Thanks so much for talking to me. I love the fact that I found a captain who's also a lawyer. I appreciate it, Andy.

[Ashley Banfield]

There's a few of us out there, but it was nice talking with you and interesting case for sure. So I appreciate you reaching out and enjoyed it.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Let's pray for Lynette Hooker and that maybe she will, as her daughter suggests, be somewhere on an island waiting to be rescued. But it sure doesn't look good on Wednesday.

[Ashley Banfield]

No, it's been, if it was Saturday, then, you know, we're, we're getting past some critical time periods for sure.

[Captain Andy Norris]

Thank you, Andy. I appreciate it.

[Ashley Banfield]

Thank you.

[Captain Andy Norris]

So there you have it. Super interesting conversation with Captain Andy. I don't think it's going to be my last conversation with him because I think this story is going places. I think there will be a criminal investigation here. There's way too many things that don't make sense. Look, I'll admit I have not been to the location. I have not seen Elbow Key and where the yacht was parked in relation to the land, how far, how deep, how protected. I haven't seen any of those things, but I think others have or will soon. And I really think if that little tiny rubber dinghy with the hard bottom is the one that he's talking about with that itty bitty engine on the back. Yeah, I'm not so sure about the whole key thing. Lynette's holding the keys. It ain't like a car, y'. All. It just ain't. I'm willing to be proven wrong if this is a really new fangled engine that takes some kind of a key, but I ain't never seen one. And honestly, the whole idea that the key holder would be not sitting in the part of the vessel where you've got the shaft to hold on to. Right. Especially if you're driving. But Lynette's daughter says she wasn't usually the driver. And I don't think anyone's going to bounce out of that thing because you can barely get that thing going. It goes about as fast as you can walk at a little pace, not the kind that would bounce you out. Right. There's just too many inconsistencies, too many things that don't make sense at first blush. And that's why first blush isn't good enough. Investigations are, and I really hope that the Bahamian authorities are going to that direction. In the meantime, thank you for listening, thank you for watching, thank you for subscribing. And if you haven't boink, boink, boink, hit the subscribe button and also hit the like. It really does help our, our little podcast to grow and, and be relevant and stay in business. And I so appreciate you helping me to do that. Thank you again, everybody. And remember, truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.

[Ashley Banfield]

Sa.