← Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield
Exclusive: “Devastating” Evidence Secured, But No Remains Found | Lynette Hooker Missing in Bahamas
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If you're into tech, you will love this. TikTok is a live lab where users post instant reviews of the latest trends. Download TikTok and check it out. Why pay when you can slash TikTok, slash and free lets you cut prices all the way to zero. Download TikTok, search, slash free and share the link to get free items. Start slashing now. Foreign. Hey, everyone. I'm Ashley Banfield and this is drop dead serious. A lot to tell you about today in the Lynette Hooker investigation and how do I put this? I'm feeling sad and frustrated, angry at Brian Hooker and hopeful all at the same time. And let me tell you why. I have learned that despite three days of sonar drones, divers, Maggie the cadaver dog from Broward county, the Coast Guard and the investigative services agents have been unable to recover any remains of Lynette Hooker in the Abacos in the Bahamas. I'm just like, I'm just despondent about it because I really figured with the GPS locations that they had of where Brian was skulking around on the night of April 4, April 5, that they would find a place where perhaps her body or other evidence, like the dry bag and the ore missing, or she went out with the dry bag, those things. Like maybe they would have been able to find evidence of those things. But I can tell you they have not found her remains. And the Coast Guard cutter, along with its staff, they're scheduled to leave. One report says 10:30 in the morning, Friday morning, June 5th. So I'm recording this on Thursday night, June 4th, and just very sad. I really felt like they were going to find her and they haven't. It doesn't mean they won't. Okay? It's not over. It just means that this trip they did not find her. Devastating for Darlene, her mom. Devastating for Lynette's daughter, Carly. Devastating for Lynette's dad, Dan. Devastating for all of her friends and everybody who cares so much about her and about justice for her. But to that, I want to tell you something. I have worked on so many cases where they got convictions without a body, and I know you've probably heard the expression somewhere, like no body, no case. You can prosecute without a body. And I have seen it successfully done. So I don't want anyone to feel like it's over. It'll never happen. There'll be no justice. Oh, yeah, there will. And I still fully believe there will be an arrest at a prosecution of Brian who Hooker. Unless, of course, he pleads he's not charged with anything right now. Not guilty of any crime until he's proven in a court of law. But things don't look good for Brian Hooker. And let me tell you why. Just because they didn't find Lynette's remains doesn't mean they didn't find some things. And if you're wondering, well, why. How. All these weeks, Ashley, you've told us that abacos are like one big giant bathtub. They're shallow, and you can kind of see the bottom. And, you know, a body would be found. If it was anything happened in that area, you know, something would be found. It has been almost eight weeks since Lynette disappeared. We are two days away from marking eight full weeks. And so in that time, decomposition is almost assured. On land, maybe a little slower than in water. Warm Bahamian waters with a lot of wildlife as well. And so the potential for these searchers to have found even a skull or a mandible separated or just some, you know, disarticulated bones, that was the best they were hoping for, right? Disarticulated bones becomes harder and harder to find. That especially if there has been animal activity. And that's true for land as well. So that is likely a reason why Lynette hasn't been found. But it ain't because Brian Hooker's story is true. And to that end, this is where I become hopeful. It ain't over Brian Hooker. Because a big reason for the Coast Guard to be there with the divers and the sonar and the drones and Maggie is to retrace what Brian Hooker says he did and then actually discover evidence that should be there, that is not there. Because part of proving someone's story is a lie is disproving it with evidence that isn't there that should be there. And so I can't give you the specifics of what the Coast Guard investigators found and didn't find, but I can tell you that I've learned from my sources that the things they didn't find in the places they should have found things is as damning. And I can give you one quote, and this one sums it up for me. Plug your ears if you're sensitive to my F bombs, but here we go. He's fucked. Okay, so that gives me hope. You. Yes, I get it. Didn't find Lynette's remains. But the things they have found and the things they should have found that weren't where they should have been, those are the reasons why perhaps Brian Hooker is fucked. So let me tell you something else that Gives me hope. And that is what we witnessed happening today. We saw that dinghy, Brian and Lynette's kids, 8 foot, hard bottom dinghy. It's actually a hard dinghy. Right. It looks like it's one of those inflatables, but it's not. That has been in the custody of the Royal Bahamian police force for seven and a half weeks. It's something that the Coast Guard investigators really wanted to get their hands on a long time ago. We know that Maggie the cadaver dog finally able to get up and into that dinghy and have a really good assessment. Unfortunately, Maggie did not alert. So this is critical. And I know many of you are probably asking, well, where was the dinghy stored? I mean, if it's been rained on for seven weeks, that would make a difference. And you are right. And so I discovered from sources that that dinghy was actually kept in a warehouse like garage out of the elements, out of the weather. So thank God for that because that does preserve the evidentiary value of that dinghy. Pisses me off that Maggie didn't alert on the dinghy. And if Brian Hooker not saying he did because he's not charged with anything. But if Brian Hooker killed his wife on board soulmate like I have theorized and I believe is more logical story based on his lies, but again, he's not charged with anything, then if he put Lynette's body into that dinghy and took her somewhere to dispose of her body. It's curious how long she was in the dinghy because when I have spoken to experts in decomposition, dogs like canines who have this expertise, they can detect decomposition on a surface after a body has been dead for three hours. So within three hours from death, that's when decomposition can be detected. But if Lynette was not in that decade dinghy for more than three hours, then maybe that's why Maggie didn't alert in that dinghy. But I was so happy to see video of that dinghy actually being obtained and secured by the Coast Guard and brought back to the cutter. So we watched that dinghy coming in on one of the oth boats and it was taken right after you see the video that we shot of it coming into the Abaco Inn on the bow of the Oth rib. And then they let some of the Coast Guard members off onto the dock and then took off right away made right for the cutter. And that was kind of through tillou cut and out to the eastern side of of Elbow Key where the, where the cutter was Positioned. So that's good. This is all very good news. Having that dinghy helps a lot. And I can't tell you what else was found on that dinghy, but I can tell you this, this, this trip was not a waste. I already told you that they were able to establish what isn't where it should be from their searches. That's important. I already told you that they got the dinghy. They've been trying to get that for a long time. Don't know what was in it, don't know what kind of forensic clues it's going to hold. But I did see the NT300, the engine on the back of the dinghy, but the Torquito is nowhere to be found. Where is that Torqeedo engine? Because that's the engine that was on that dinghy just a couple years ago. And most live aboard cruisers. The sailors that you know, live on board their boats say you usually have a backup. And you don't throw that stuff away. You don't get rid of it. Having a backup. This is your lifeline. Your dinghy is the only way you get to shore. And I know that that Torquido engine, not onboard Soulmate. So where was it? Was it used for something like waiting something down in the water? Don't know that yet. But there's again reason for hope because the Bahamian police turned over valuable evidence to the Coast Guard investigators. That's music to my ears right there. And this will make the difference in the case. There's a lot of work they still have to do in order to put this case together. But the fact that the Bahamians handed over critical evidence, and I'm not talking about the dinghy, that's critical. That one I could see with my own eyes. But the stuff I don't know, I can't see, but have been assured through my sources that the Bahamian police turned over this critical evidence to the the Coast Guard investigators for them to take back out to the cutter evidence bags, get it into impound and lockup and get ready for a case. I've told you that one of the things that we found out exclusively here on Drop Dead Serious before everybody else just started stating it as fact, was that this is officially a murder investigation. A suspected murder of Lynette Hooker. That's a big deal, right? It means that this is the kind of case where you're, you know, crossing every T and dotting every I and your evidence is really critical. Like I said, no body, no matter. There's a lot of Other evidence, and the way it's been put to me from sources, multiple sources, I'll say at that is that this trip was not a waste. Not a waste at all. In fact, worth the trip is how it was put to me and well worth it by someone else. So there you have it again. I'm with you. I'm disappointed. I. I wanted for Darlene and Lynette and Dan, Lynette's dad, Lynette's mom, Darlene, Lynette's daughter, Carly. I really wanted for them to have Lynette, you know, I wanted Lynette to come home. I think you all did, too. This is an innocent woman whose CO workers at AT&T described her as just like a bright light, just a darling personality, someone that they couldn't wait to be around, like a favorite coworker. And, you know, one of her co workers said to me, and it made me cry. Is that she? He said she seemed lonely married to this Brian asshole. And that broke my heart because she was really connected to her friends at, AT and T. They loved her, right? I don't know how many of your co workers love you, but these co workers loved her. They did not love him. He was a dick. The way they described him, he was a complete and total conniving dick that he just could not just manipulate people more connive and try to stick it to the man. And he was like a shop steward. He was a union steward. And he used to use his power just to screw with the company, even if the employees were, like, not complaining and didn't want that. And then, of course, you all know what a douchebag he is. He was fired from AT&T for masking his location on his GPS device, on his van, on his work van. So, master of disappearing, of trying to have no one know where you are or what you're doing, this is the kind of guy we're dealing with. But I love the fact that all the things he didn't think of, which is usually how cops catch criminals, there's a lot of that. And I was very buoyed in the last three days talking to my sources in the Bahamas about what they were finding, despite the fact of what they weren't finding, what they were finding and what they should have been finding but didn't. So it's like, prove the negative. I love it. I love it. And I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say, we don't know that this is the last visit right by the coast Guard. We don't know that they could come back. They may have follow ups. They could come back. They don't have to bring the big cutter. They can fly. They did last time. Right. It can be done. And so if they do come back, if they get additional intelligence, if, say the Bahamian police or a tipster finds something, here's an interesting piece of protocol. It's not immediate that the American investigators can take Lynette's remains and come back to the US and repatriate her. There is quite a protocol and it's sticky. It's frustrating. I don't know if you've ever had a relative die overseas, but my sister in law's mom did and it was a nightmare just trying to get her mom's body back to Canada from Britain. And we're all within the Commonwealth. It was really, really frustrating and fastidious. And so there is a protocol of what happens with someone's remains, especially in a criminal investigation. That was a natural death for my sister in law. But so yeah, it can be a very difficult process. So I know for a fact that even if the investigators had found Lynette's remains, they weren't going to trumpet it. Not to me, that's for sure. They might have told Darlene or Carly or Dan, but they weren't going to tell the media. They certainly weren't going to allow us to know about it unless we accidentally stumbled upon it. And that is because of the delicate protocols and politics. You know, it's just the way it has to be. And so anyway, if that happens again and there are remains that are found, you know, expect that this is going to rear its head in the future and God, I hope it does. It's the best hassle you'd want, right? You want that hassle because it means you found Lynette. A couple of other things I can tell you about today. And again, I'm recording this on June 4th. On Thursday, there was a concerted effort to dive in two places that were super interesting to me. Soulmate, where Soulmate was anchored, they were diving and using sonar, all in that area. Because don't forget, there was a witness who around 9:30 at night swore that she heard a giant splash. Not a little splash, a very significant big splash right off of Soulmate. People who were with her also saw flares going off. Multiple people in that group saw flares going off. And I've heard it two different ways. Going up into the sky and going across the water might have been the angle they were looking at or their memory. But, you know, more than one witness saw flares going off from Soulmate. Not from way over north of Lubbers, where Brian says he, you know, eventually threw the anchor down and fired off flares and boats ignored him. Bullshit. But on board Soulmate. And so divers were there going around the area where Soulmate was anchored. And they know where Soulmate was anchored because Hopetown Fire and Rescue came to Soulmate that next morning. So they knew where Soulmate was anchored. The exact spot, not so much. Although there is some AIs data that has them there. So they actually have a really good read on where from the witnesses and where from the original data where it was anchored. So that's great. And they dived that area because what was the splash? What might have been thrown overboard, what might have gone overboard in, say, a struggle? I don't know. And. And I love the fact that there's a witness to say that, too. So that's not the only place they were looking. They were also seen looking north of Burl Ives home. Now, if you've been watching this podcast, you know, I love this part of the story. This beautiful home that's on the western shore of Elbow Key, right down on the water. Giant white home right at Aunt Pat's Bay. They were searching there in that whole area where he said this happened, where, you know, things should have fallen out, things should have happened. Things should have been retracing his steps. They were over there. So that was happening a lot today over those mangroves. Do you remember me pointing that out? Gosh. I think, like, in week two that the Coast Guard said, we are really interested in those mangroves right there. That's behind the spot where, you know, Brian said this story happened, because I'm not gonna lie, mangroves would be a very good place to hide a body. Right. Plausible deniability, I guess. Oh, she must have floated in there and then eventually decomposed and not my fault. Bye. But not if your little GPS has you around in there late at night when you say you're floating without propulsion because out went your wife with the keys to the boat, and you lost an oar, and oops, big, strong marine can't paddle to shore with one oar. I could have paddled me five, six. Yeah, I could have done that with one oar. Or you know what I would have done in that lying story? I would have actually gotten out of the dinghy and stood in the way in the water. Because where he was might have been three feet of Water, Yeah, that's what we're talking about with this guy. But no, he can't do anything. And he's blowing all the way to Marsh harbor, you know, wham. And then eventually a mile out, he finally decides to put the anchor down and then shoot off flares. All of it's bullshit because also it's not dark till 8 o' clock at night and he's saying, I can't see her. And the waves are so big and it's so dark. Nope. No. You left the abaco in at 7:30 and it was bright and sunny. And I stood there in that exact location and I watched. It wasn't even dark at 7:55. By 8pm in five minutes, the sun just shoots down below the horizon far enough for it to go dark very quickly. But 7:55, you can still kind of see. Yeah. So it's 7:45, it's nice and bright. So all of it, everything he says is garbage. I will remind you that I am in the northern, you know, the northern location for this podcast up in Canada. So you are going to hear the frogs more and more because this is the time of night at 8:30 that they get really loud. It's mating season right now. And it gets so loud that we've closed windows sometimes. We're about 100ft from the, from the marsh where the frogs are going bananas and the rain is starting to. So you're probably going to hear the rain soon as well. So my apologies. But hey, it's natch. So we know this was all garbage. We know he didn't make this actual, you know, this trip where the disaster happened and then he floated to Marsh harbor. None of that. So they're out making sure they can prove that. And they're out making sure, I don't know, for a jury to be able to show them all the things that I have seen personally for myself. Because you can't take the jury on a boat ride to show them all this, you know, implausible story. So videotaping and following his footsteps, very good reason. And also proving that the things he says happened didn't happen there. Where's the dry bag? Where's the Oregon? Where's all this shit you said went out? Because, you know, in the Bahamas, in the Abacos, all that stuff washes up. If you've seen Nathan's videos, you can see sailors and, you know, motorboats, hats and all their debt, you know, their mugs and their glasses and all the rest. All that just floats up on shore or you can kind of see it down below like it would be in your pool. Yeah, so proving what he said is garbage is just as important as finding Lynette and. And finding all those things. 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You can always go to the description, click the link right there. Van man, real ingredients, no exceptions. Now, if you felt like, well, maybe they found a whole bunch of other stuff underwater. Maybe not, Lynette, but maybe a whole bunch of other stuff. The way it's being reported to me is that the search was fruitless, but that the evidence that the Bahamian police turned over to the U.S. coast Guard investigators was fantastic. Lots of great stuff. So it's frustrating that that search didn't yield maybe all the things we had hoped it would. But like I said, it ain't over. And murder's forever. And again, hello, murder investigation. So murders forever. And it doesn't mean that they can't keep searching, and it doesn't mean that looky loos and people who just paddle board up on beaches might not find something, right? They very well might be. There is so much tourism and so much like exploration of these beautiful little beaches all around the Abacos. And with this story, a lot of people are out looking. People that we have connected with are out searching all the time. Marinas out there. Nathan's out there, and they plan to go out again tomorrow. Even after the coffee Coast Guard cutter leaves, they feel like there's still areas that, I don't know, maybe this skulking line bag might have gone. And maybe, just maybe, it didn't show up on G gps. In any case, all is not lost. That's important. Watching Maggie come ashore today, I was reminded just how much work that cadaver dog has done. And if you missed earlier episodes, Maggie and her handler Chris are on loan to the Coast Guard from Broward county, from the sheriff's department there. There's such a nice team, those two. We got a chance to meet Chris and Maggie when we were in the Bahamas, Lindsay and I, what, seven weeks ago. She did not alert on land either. So super frustrating that she did not alert anywhere in the water that we know of and did not alert on the dinghy and didn't alert in any of her land searches. But I'll also say this. Just because Maggie didn't alert right now, again, there is still hope because I've covered a number of cases where dogs have actually alerted to human remains from decades prior. So it's not as though that goes away. She can go back. Other dogs can go back. It is not a done deal. So I do keep open the prospect of hope when more tips come in. And by the way, to that end, please, if you know anything, if you saw anything April 4, the the night before Easter Sunday, send us your tips. It's easy. Drop dead serious info gmail.com. drop dead serious info gmail.com and if you don't want to talk to me, I understand. How about this? Download the Coast Guard investigative service app and you could do anonymous tips. It's CIS C G I S CIS anonymous tips. Download the app, send in your tip. They will love you for it and many of you have. And so thank you. Just wish you'd send them to me too because they can't share with me. But I do share everything I get with them. But just the law is such that they can't share that evidence. I understand it. This is the prosecution, right? They're probably going to prosecute this guy. He's not charged yet. Brian Hooker. But tick tock. All right, a couple of other things. The meeting that happened yesterday at the Abaco Inn, I got a little bit more color. Big meeting of all the investigators at the Abaco Inn. We were wondering what's this about? Can shed a little bit more color on that meeting. Now apparently it, I believe it may have been called by the Bahamians and that there were senior level high ranking Bahamian officials at that meeting with the Royal Bahamian Police Force and the Royal Bahamian Defense Force and they had called that meeting somewhere in the middle of the day with the Coast Guard and their representatives. And then shortly after the Bahamian police, my sources tell me, had indicated that the Coast Guard was no longer allowed to use any local help to get around, to boat around, you know, captains, boats, et cetera. That they were only allowed to use the Bahamian government boats. That's a bit frustrating, right? Like, come on, use all the help you can get. If the Coast Guard needs to get to 100 different locations and fast. I saw how the Bahamians treated the Coast Guard the first time around. They left them on the dock for hours and hours. So this is frustrating to hear that now the edict comes down, you can't use any local boats and captains because I know that many local boats and captains were actually pitching in, helping. And so the Bahamians apparently made that. The Bahamian police, the authorities made that edict. And then right after that meeting, those captains and boats were all released. Frustrating. But I haven't heard any complaints yet and I don't suspect I will about how the Coast Guard was treated this time, whether they were were able to get to all the locations they needed. They had their own over the horizon rib Again, O T H R I B rigid inflatable boat over the horizon means it goes fast. It's not the slow, big moving cutter. They had their own. You've seen it in all the pictures. The orange one and then of course the very large. Super awesome. I wish I had one RIB that the Bahamian authorities had as well. Multiple ribs that they had. So. So that meeting apparently happening yesterday and the Bahamian authorities cracking down. And I can also tell you that the searches yesterday were actually delayed because of lightning. So the weather wasn't great. I showed you that yesterday. That there was a lot of rain made it a little bit more difficult for the divers. Like the sunny Bahamas makes it easier to see under the water, but when you've the rain and the overcast, it just makes it a little trickier. And then of course, in, in the lightning, all bets are off. Boats don't go out, divers don't go down. So they, they were delayed yesterday in some of their work because of the lightning. Something that happened today that was a little bit of shock and awe in the middle of the day. And unrelated to Lynette Hooker's story, the Hopetown fire and rescue guys had to like peel out fast and head to Hopetown Marina because there was a fire on board a catamaran, like a huge fire on this beautiful catamaran. And they had to respect, respond to that. And they were kind Enough to, you know, give us some video so that you could see what they have to respond to in the middle of an emergency, right in the middle of dealing with the Lynette Hooker and. And the Coast Guard and the Bahamian Defense Force and the Bahamian Police Force, there they went and did their volunteer work. Again, huge pitch. Please give generously and donate to the Hopetown Volunteer Fire and Rescue. You can find it so easy. Hopetown Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Because this is what they did just today. Double duty, all volunteer. These guys are amazing. They have helped the Coast Guard immeasurably. And so, yeah, there you go. I'm on my soapbox. Please help them out. It would really be kind and wonderful. All right, so there's the day, you know, encapsulated. It is not easy to get this information. And so I'm feeling very buoyed by the fact that I was able to sort of really get a handle on what was happening in this search and recovery effort. I want to leave you with this, though, because it feels sad, obviously, that I have to report to you that Lynette's remains weren't found. But I really want to use these words carefully because I think it's important when I say that the investigators felt that this trip was well worth it. I can say to you as well that whatever they were able to get their hands on, beyond the dinghy, which was a focus for a long time, getting that dinghy, and they got it. But beyond getting that dinghy, there were things they got that were, quote, potentially devastating for Brian Hooker. So, TikTok, thank you, everybody, for listening. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to subscribe. Subscribe. It really does us a huge solid if you do that. It's easy, it's free, and it's like super fun. I don't say that, but I will continue to follow this and bring you all of the updates as they happen. I have a special little episode coming out for you as well, and that is the body language expert who basically breaks down everything that Brian Hooker said and did and what he saw in Brian Hooker. Oh, you're gonna love that one. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. And remember, the truth isn't just serious, it's drop dead serious.