Soulmate Is Gone: Coast Guard Moves Brian Hooker’s Boat as Case Heats Up | Lynette Hooker Missing

Summary

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Drop Dead Serious With Ashleigh Banfield

Episode Summary: "Soulmate Is Gone: Coast Guard Moves Brian Hooker’s Boat as Case Heats Up | Lynette Hooker Missing"

Published: May 26, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this intense, deeply personal episode, Ashleigh Banfield provides crucial updates in the disappearance of Lynette Hooker, focusing on the criminal investigation surrounding her husband, Brian Hooker. Ashleigh delves into suspicious recent developments—most notably, the Coast Guard’s removal of the Hookers’ boat "Soulmate" to a secure location—and scrutinizes the inconsistencies in Brian’s account of what happened the night Lynette went missing. With exclusive interviews, firsthand investigative findings, and her signature irreverent yet passionate tone, Ashleigh dissects critical clues and explores the real implications for the case as authorities close in.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Major Development: Soulmate Boat Moved by Coast Guard

• Timestamp: 00:55–03:00
  • "Soulmate" was unexpectedly towed from Fort Pierce, FL Coast Guard station to Fort Lauderdale—an unusually long 100-mile transfer.
  • Ashleigh suspects authorities plan to haul and protect the 46-foot boat as a crime scene, anticipating it will become central evidence at a potential trial.
  • Quote:
    "I think that boat is not long for the water… I think they're going to haul it out and put it up in dry dock until—say it with me—trial. Brian Hooker is not charged with anything yet, but I think he will be." — Ashleigh Banfield (02:11)

2. Recap: Brian Hooker's Inconsistent Story & Timeline

• Timestamp: 04:10–15:00
  • The host eviscerates Brian’s narrative: he claimed Lynette "bounced out" of their dinghy in rough seas, but all available weather evidence points to calm, safe conditions.
  • After Lynette supposedly went overboard, Brian did not participate in the search, ignored offers for help, and did not contact family for over 14 hours.
  • Ashleigh interviews Jim Todd, who details Brian’s evasiveness during the search.
    • Quote:
      "All the evidence points to the fact that the weather was lovely, there were no waves. And that story is garbage." — Ashleigh Banfield (06:30)
    • Interview (Jim Todd):
      "I would say easily in the range of 10 minutes... trying to establish where did she go over, how close to land... as I tried to become more specific ... Brian said something along the effects of, 'I can't. I'm not sure. It's just so confusing.'" (09:12–10:34)

3. Alarm Bells: Failure to Contact Family and Delayed Disclosure

• Timestamp: 13:00–18:00
  • Brian didn’t inform Lynette’s family about her disappearance until after a police press release went public, over 14 hours after she vanished.
  • This suggests, to Ashleigh, a "consciousness of guilt."
    • Quote:
      "You would think that one of your first phone calls would be to family... that's not what happened at all. More than 14 hours!" — Ashleigh Banfield (12:45) "I actually think his hand was forced. I don't think he did it of his own volition. I think he had to… after the Royal Bahamian Police put out a press release about what happened…" — Ashleigh (15:10)

4. Press Release Discrepancies & Law Enforcement Challenges

• Timestamp: 19:32–27:00
  • Ashleigh reads and analyzes the Royal Bahamian Police’s press release, highlighting factual errors about location and journey, likely due to unfamiliarity with local geography.
  • She uses this to emphasize the importance of granular detail—the “devil’s in the details” approach.
    • Quote:
      "This was weird. The fact that they said traveling from Hopetown to Elbow Key. No, they were traveling from the Abaco Inn on Elbow Key to their sailboat, which was anchored off Elbow Key." — Ashleigh Banfield (21:14)

5. On-the-Ground Investigations: Physical Impossibility of Brian’s Story

• Timestamp: 28:00–39:00
  • Listener “Nathan” provides investigative video, showing the actual topography and obstacles in the area where Brian claimed to have come ashore and walked to a subdivision—a journey Ashleigh describes as essentially impossible due to mangroves, sludge, and blackness at 4am.
  • Nathan’s images reveal how implausible Brian’s route and demeanor (clean slides, no evidence of a struggle) are if his story is to be believed.
    • Quote:
      "It's impossible to wash up on that rocky shore and then make your way to that subdivision through the incredibly thick scrub and the actual ravines filled with water and giant pools of black sludge... you didn't walk through that with your little blue slides and then just step onto the vessel the next morning." — Ashleigh Banfield (36:10–38:53)

6. Critical Clues: Artifacts & Evidence

• Timestamp: 40:00–45:00
  • Newer searches turn up possible artifacts (a hat, a scuba tank); Ashleigh clarifies which findings are likely evidentiary and which are not, providing insights from local sources and witness statements.
    • The hat may match one Brian was seen wearing but was apparently accounted for by witnesses.
    • Both scuba tanks are accounted for on Soulmate; the washed-up tank is not significant, but Ashleigh urges investigators to check air levels for potential clues.
    • Quote:
      "Investigators better freakin' find two scuba tanks on board Soulmate, because Brian and Lynette had two and they just filled them up on April 2... If only one of them has air in it, well, where did all the air go?" — Ashleigh Banfield (44:10)

7. Brian Hooker Under Scrutiny: Case Closing In

• Timestamp: 46:00–50:00
  • Ashleigh concludes that the mounting circumstantial evidence and the authorities’ increasing actions (Coast Guard and Bahamian police, plus Coast Guard Investigation Service) indicate the case is rapidly progressing toward indictment.
  • She credits her informal—but relentless—investigative network for debunking many of Brian’s claims.
    • Quote:
      "You see what I'm saying? I don't think Brian Hooker counted on bitches like me who will not stop. The details matter. The devil's in them." — Ashleigh Banfield (41:18) "Soulmate's on the move, y’all. And you know what else I think is on the move? This case… If we're lucky, maybe it'll be on the move so much so that soon I'll be able to report that there's an indictment. Girl can dream." — Ashleigh Banfield (49:38)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Brian’s Story:
  "It's exhausting giving this guy grace, right? Just exhausting. Even after a few drinks." — Ashleigh Banfield (08:20)

• On the Importance of Citizen Investigation:
  "I don't have the power of subpoena… but Lindsay and I have the power of making friends and then tapping those friends for everything they know… That has yielded a remarkable network of investigation for us." — Ashleigh Banfield (43:30)

• On Case Momentum:
  "Truth isn’t just serious. It's drop dead serious." — Ashleigh Banfield (49:53)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:55–03:00 — The Coast Guard moves "Soulmate" 100 miles to Fort Lauderdale
• 04:10–15:00 — Deconstructing Brian Hooker’s story & timeline
  • 09:12–10:34 — Jim Todd interview: the search and Brian's confusion
• 13:00–18:00 — Brian’s failure to contact Lynette’s family and suspicion of "consciousness of guilt"
• 19:32–27:00 — Ashleigh analyzes press release location discrepancies
• 28:00–39:00 — Nathan’s field investigation: the real Marsh Harbor terrain
• 40:00–45:00 — New evidence: hat and scuba tank; which artifacts matter
• 46:00–End — Ashleigh’s closing thoughts on the investigation’s progress

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Episode Tone and Style

Ashleigh is characteristically brash, frank, and personal. The episode is unsparing in critique of Brian Hooker and full of dark humor, but remains highly focused on facts, evidence, and credible sources, often letting listeners "in" on little details and behind-the-scenes moments from her decades of crime reporting.

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Final Thoughts

This episode provides intense scrutiny of Brian Hooker’s statements and actions, highlights the tireless pursuit of truth by Ashleigh and her network, and makes clear the case is reaching a tipping point. For listeners, it offers both an engrossing narrative and a revealing look at the small details that can unravel a lie in true crime investigations.

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Tip Line:
If you have information, photos, or video relevant to this case, email: [e-mail]

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Transcript

[Ashley Banfield]

Neighbor game. Oo.

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[Ashley Banfield]

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

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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[Ashley Banfield]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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

[Ashley Banfield]

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[Ashley Banfield]

Visit your nearby Lowes. Hey, everyone. I'm Ashley Banfield and this is drop dead serious. And guess what? Soulmate's gone. Gone. Moved. No longer at the Fort Pierce, Florida Coast Guard station. I thought it would be there for a long time, but nope. Today in the morning. And I'm recording this on May 22nd. It's the Friday of Memorial Day long weekend. So I've had a couple drinks. Again, I'm not a boozer, but like the last episode in this one, I just have to be honest. I've had a few drinks. So I may be all over the map, but this morning, that boat, that sailboat was towed away from Fort Pierce from the Coast Guard station 100 miles south all the way to Fort Lauderdale, the Coast Guard station in Fort Lauderdale. So look, no matter how hard I tried, I tried everything to get some pictures of it coming into Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale. But it was like dark by that point. By the time it came in. 100 miles of towing is a long effing tow. I have towed so many boats in my time and look, if I'm going three miles, I'm like, oh, kill me know. This is horrible. Hundred mile long tow. So that would take, you know, let's see, 12, 15, 15 hours maybe. In any case, too dark to get pictures of it when it was being pulled into Coast Guard Station Fort Lauderdale. I'm trying to find out what it is about Fort Lauderdale's Coast Guard station. What? What? What's there that would require soulmate to be transferred? Maybe it's bigger. Maybe there's more dock space. But here's what I know. I think that that boat is not long for the water. I think that that boat at 46ft, takes up a lot of dock space. And I think they're going to haul it out and put it up in dry dock until. Say it with me, trial. Brian Hooker is not charged with anything yet, but I think he will be. And I think all of the things that they have taken off of Soulmate, and Soulmate itself is a crime scene surrounded by crime scene tape. So I think they're going to put it into a protective environment somewhere because, listen, weather is a. And it can do a lot to a boat and also looky, lose, and also, you know, you name it. Out in the elements. Not the great, not the greatest place to keep evidence. So my suspicion is that they're going to get that big old sailboat up into a safe environment indoors or at least wrapped, maybe, maybe shrink wrapped, I don't know. But it has moved. And so there's the latest saga in the crime scene that is known as Soulmate. But there's a couple of other things that, that we're finding out that taken alone, you might think, I don't know, maybe. Maybe not such a big problem. But taken with everything else that's happened in this story, it's just another piece of like, Brian Hooker is a shit. I already can't stand this guy. No matter what, I can't stand him. But when you hear what I'm about to tell you, you're probably going to feel a little more like that if you don't already do feel that way. So it turns out on April 4, when Brian concocted this ridiculous story about Lynette Hooker, his wife of decades, bouncing out of the back of the dinghy on the way from the lovely Abaco Inn bar to their lovely sailboat where they've lived on board for four years. Oh, the seas were 2 to 4ft and the wind was howling, and I just couldn't reach her. All the evidence points to the fact that the weather was lovely, there were no waves. And that story is garbage. But what's really incredible is what happened after we've talked about him sitting on his ass in the Conch Inn for a couple of days while Hopetown volunteer fire and rescue members searched for Lynette in the Sea of Abaco. And he did nothing. He did no searching, that's for sure. He didn't take Jim Todd up on his offer of a phone number to rent a boat to go out and help the search prompted by Brian Hooker. Brian asked Jim Todd, can I get a phone number for somewhere that would rent a boat? Because I've got help in the search. So Jim Todd gave him the phone numbers, and then Jim Todd followed up, and he never called the phone numbers. Brian didn't give a. About the phone numbers. Looked like it was just optics because he never called and he never rented a boat. And he didn't go out and search for Lynette, you know, the wife that he would never leave the Bahamas without. Yeah, bounced out like, what, 36 hours after getting out of lockup. So, okay, timing is everything. And Brian's story is, is that Lynette bounced out of the dinghy around 7:40, let's say 42:45. 7:45 on Saturday night, April 4, the night before Easter Sunday. So you would think after a harrowing night of losing your wife in the current and the wind and the waves and the sea was angry, my friend. Baloney. And then floating without any propulsion with a broken oar, and I can't even say it without vomiting in my mouth for nine hours and washing up on Marsh Harbor. You would think that one of your first phone calls would be to family. Oh, my God, Lynette is missing. She bounced out of the dinghy. And I've been trying to find her, and I'm in a crisis, and I don't know what to say, and I needed to call you right away. You would think that's what would happen. That's not what happened. No, that's. That's not what happened at all. So 4am he washes up on Marsh harbor and then finds his way to the boatyard after a whole other bullshit story about knocking on doors that he could never get to and seeing a car that drove off without helping him that he couldn't get to, given the topography, walking to the boatyard, which now he absolutely couldn't get to from this other story. But okay, Brian, he's at the boatyard. And the boatyard night security guard has quite a story to tell about this weirdo that sort of, you know, wandered onto the grounds at four in the morning. And so the, The. The security guard sets in motion getting the authorities involved. And by 7 in the morning, 7, 7:30, Hopetown Volunteer Fire and rescue is pulling Brian off of the shore of Marsh harbor onto their vessel to go look for Lynette. So he's kind of been on shore for like, three hours at this point while they're mobilizing the sleepy people to come get out of bed and get, you know, rally the troops and the vessels and all the rest. We go to search for this woman. Because they all believe this story. Why wouldn't you? So. So it's 7:30 in the morning and he's out with this fire and rescue boat that has police officers on board looking for Lynette, trying to point out where it all happened. And he, you know, surprise, surprise. He can't. I was just so confused. He said, jim Todd told me. Oh, and I was just so confused. Kept being the answer. Jim Todd kept trying to get him to focus. Brian, did it happen here? Did it happen there? Did it happen here on the shore? I mean, we're. It's simple, you know, it's really not that confusing of a trip from Abaco Inn to Soulmate. In fact, let me. Let Jim Todd explain to you what it was like being on the bow of the search and rescue vessel with Brian Hooker. Take a look. How long were you up on the front of the search and rescue vessel with Brian as you all sort of tried to establish where it was that he says she went overboard?

[Jim Todd]

I would say easily in the range of 10 minutes.

[Ashley Banfield]

Talking to him.

[Jim Todd]

Yeah. To say, okay, she fell off here. How close to land was that? Would she have flown? Would she have swum in that direction or would she have swum in this direction? It was that kind of conversation.

[Ashley Banfield]

And effectively you're trying to establish where did she go over, how close to land and how close to the Soulmate yacht.

[Jim Todd]

I was more focused on just the simple context of where to look. I can't say that I cared about where the sailboat was. I was just thinking about where should we look? If she went off here and we were this close to land, what part of land might it be? And so where should we be looking?

[Ashley Banfield]

Were you able to establish that?

[Jim Todd]

No, as I got. Well, I'll say as I tried to become more specific. Pointing at a particular piece of land, could it be there or could it be a little bit further? Could it conceivably be behind? Brian said something along the effects of. I can't. I'm not sure. It's just so confusing. May not have been precisely those words, but the demeanor and the effect of his comments were, I can't be sure. It's just very confusing.

[Ashley Banfield]

So, okay, all right. So they have picked him up from shore. They've driven about four miles across the way to where this incident supposedly happened. It didn't. They've gone up and boarded Soulmate. Right. Brian got onto Soulmate. And so did one of the police officers. And they went down below deck for about an hour while the rest of the search and rescue folks and the other police officers on board the search and rescue vessel just stayed and waited there, tied up to Soulmate. So let's just say it's now 8:45 and they're out searching for Lynette, trying to get him pinned down to this story that he doesn't seem to be able to provide, which again, in itself is ridiculous. And by the time they get back to Marsh harbor and then he goes and talks to the police about whatever his story is and he gets picked back up by search and rescue, he said multiple times during the day to reach out to family. Like, I don't know, Lynette's daughter, Carly Aylesworth, maybe. How about Lynette's mom, right? That would be Darlene Hamlet. How about the rest of the family? And he didn't do that. He didn't call any of them all day long. All day Sunday, he washes up on Marsh harbor at 4am he encounters a security guard. Right at that time, presumably security guard has a phone or the boatyard has a phone. Brian has a phone. That's the best part of all of this. Brian has a phone. Oh, I didn't have a SIM card. I couldn't call anyone. Bullshit again. And if anyone would know that's it would be, I don't know, a guy who used to work for a phone company at&t as a telephone repairman and installer and as a like certified tech geek or self proclaimed tech geek who networked his entire boat. You don't know that you can make an emergency call without your SIM card. It says it right there. Emergency calls only. You didn't call anybody. You didn't call for help. He just floated, according to your own story, across to Marsh harbor in nine hours. Four miles. Which wouldn't take nine hours. But okay. It's exhausting giving this guy grace, right? Just exhausting. Even after a few drinks. When do you think Brian finally called Lynette's mother to let her know about this calamitous incident where she bounced off the dinghy? Bullshit. But okay. When do you think he called Lynette's mother to tell her what had happened and that Lynette was missing in the Abacos, do you think? Maybe four or five hours after the incident? Six, eight hours after the incident? 10, 12 hours after the incident. How about more than 14 hours? How about more than 14 hours? I know it Sounds fucked up to me too. Like, believe me. And I actually think his hand was forced. I don't think he did it of his own volition. I think he had to, and here's why. So, Darlene Hamlet, that's Lynette's mom, gets the phone call from Brian after the Royal Bahamian Police force put out a press release about what had happened the night before. A press release release. That's what finally got Brian to think. Maybe I better call Annette's family and tell them what's happened. Not. Holy shit. I'm losing my mind. I can't find my wife. My God, it was such a horrible accident. I've got to call her mom. I gotta call our daughter. You know, the stepdaughter you've raised since she was three didn't think to call her either. The Royal Bahamian Police force posted about a missing American woman at 5:51pm on Easter Sunday, April 5. That's 13:14 hours after he washed up. Washed up on Marsh harbor and, you know, encountered the security guard, the night watchman at the boatyard. Wow. Fourteen hours later, the Bahamians put out a press release. And it wasn't until after that that Brian called Darlene and guess, guess when, like within minutes. Coinky dink? I think not. Oh, shit. The Royal Bahamians put out a press release. I guess I'd better call Darlene because she's gonna find out any minute now from the press. I call all these actions a bad facts, but also consciousness of guilt. Brian's not charged with any crime. Not yet, but oh my God, his stories, they make for, I don't know, really good indictment writing. If I were writing an indictment. Well, I wish I were. Can I read you the press release? Of course I can, because this is a one way conversation right now. But I'm very, very thankful that you're listening. By the way. Subscribe. I would love it if you'd subscribe and do a like as well. It's really very helpful and I so appreciate it. And by the way, while we're at it, if you have information about this case or you know something or someone, or you have video or pictures, please reach out to us at dropdeadseriousinfomail.com drop deadseriousinfomail.com it's super helpful and you guys have been amazing and one of the people who reached out to us has been incredible and has been the subject of many episodes. Nathan has been out searching and in a moment you are going to see his most Recent search. And it is really telling. You're going to learn a lot from this most recent search, because guess where he decided to go and go in deep. That whole place where Brian says that he just washed up on shore in Marsh harbor and then, you know, went and knocked on doors, two doors, and then a passing car just, you know, ignored him and took off. Yeah. Well, Nathan's going to go and show you what the topography is there. We've already learned from Jim Todd. You did what now, you liar. It is impossible to wash up on that rocky shore and then make your way to that subdivision through the incredibly thick scrub and the actual ravines filled with water and giant pools of black sludge. I'm going to show you all that. Nathan is going to show you all that in just a moment. And by the way, lock the sludge away for later, because you know what happens with sludge if you're mucking about in sludge. It doesn't really clean off easy. And so if I were a betting man

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

[Ashley Banfield]

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

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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

[Ashley Banfield]

Yeah, the bird looks out of your league.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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

[Ashley Banfield]

Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.

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[Ashley Banfield]

Visit your nearby Lowe's.

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[Ashley Banfield]

Mastercano.

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[Ashley Banfield]

Visit your nearby Lowe's. When they went and just reamed that boat, a new one picked up all the evidence off Soulmate once they had, you know, impounded it at the Coast Guard station, Fort Pearson, Florida. Maybe there's some shoe wear that has some sludge on it. I don't know. But it'll be really interesting when you see the sludge pools and everything else that he found. And one very important hat. We're gonna walk through all that in just a moment, but I want to read for you this press release because there's some things in it that also made me shake my head and made me realize, like something that Lindsay and I learned when we were there actually is playing out in this press release. It actually is now evident when we read the press release and we learned that the Royal Bahamian police force, they move around a lot, right? Like they'll station them, say, in Freeport or then they'll station them over maybe, maybe somebody might be in the little itty bitty tiny office that we got pictures of on Elbow Key. There wasn't anybody inside. It looked like a playground, but there's actually a police station, one room station, that they move them around a lot. And so consequently, the locals say to us they're not that familiar with our, our terrain and our idiosyncrasies of where we live. And. And I was like, really? Because that seems weird, but okay. And now I'm seeing it in this press release. So let me read. Okay. For immediate release. Northern Bahamas. Abaco police investigation underway into missing woman at sea. And don't forget, this is. This is just 13 hours after she sowed sea, so to speak, bounced off the back of the dinghy. Police on the island of Abaco have launched an investigation following reports of a woman who went missing at sea while traveling from Hopetown to Elbow key on Saturday, April 4, 2026. Let me stop there. Hope Town is way the f north on Elbow Key, right? They weren't, they weren't all the way north in, in the Hopetown harbor area. They were at the Abaco Inn. They were on Elbow Key and they were halfway sort of Down Elbow Key at the Abaco Inn. And they were coming out from the Abaco Inn and taking a quick shot down south like a thousand yards to get to their sailboat. So this is kind of weird. And I remember getting this press release and like trying to do the math on where all of it was. And I was totally upside down when I got there because I thought that they were up in Hopetown, you know, at the Hopetown Inn and Marina where we were staying. That was so far north they weren't anywhere near there. So this was weird. The fact that they said traveling from Hopetown to Elbow Key. No, they were traveling from the Abaco Inn on Elbow Key to their sailboat, which was anchored off of Elbow Key. So there's the first weirdness of the cops that didn't seem to get it where all this happened and to be really granular because I think, listen, devil's in the details and the map here matters. If you're leaving Elbow Key, you've got to go out this like deep channel called the White Sound channel. Okay? And deep is all relative in the Abacos. But you go out that channel and then you take a right to head north to the, say, Firefly Inn or, or Hopetown Inner Marina. Or you turn left to go south, south. And about a thousand yards south is this really pretty little anchorage called Aunt Pat's Bay. And you know the old Christmas guy, Burl Ives, behind the Christmas specials, He had a house there. He doesn't own it anymore. Clearly Burl Ives isn't with us anymore. But that house is still there. Everybody calls it Burl Ives House even though it's owned by someone else now. But that is where Soulmate was anchored. Would have been about a 12 minute ride, dinghy wise, from the Abaco Inn to Soulmate. They never made it to Soulmate. Or that's Brian's story. I believe they did. I think you do too. But anyway, Brian's story is they got halfway there and boink, out she went in this, you know, Andrea Gale storm. Nothing of the sort. I'll remind you of the pictures that we have at 7:41pm yeah, that's Aunt Pat's Bay. Pretty calm. There's no, what, two to four foot seas? Brian is trying to get us to believe that 7:41pm exactly in the area where he says all hell broke loose because of the weather and the waves and the current and the tides. Yeah. We also have video from not far away, just up at Firefly Inn, that I told you if you come out White sound channel and you turn just a little bit north and you go like another thousand yards. You'll be at the Firefly Inn and we've got a dinghy just going out quietly on the glassy water at 7:15, 7:30. Yeah, he's full of shit about the weather and I think everything else. So let me continue. According to preliminary information, a male complainant, Reed Brian Hooker, reported that he and his wife, both U.S. nationals, departed Hopetown again was the Abaco in around 7:30pm aboard an eight foot hard bottom dinghy en route to Elbow Key. I don't know what that means because they were already on Elbow Key and helped. Hopetown is on Elbow Key. So again I think these are maybe police officers who aren't yet super familiar. I'm really just curious about how this all got okayed, but okay. During the journey his wife reportedly fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel's engine to shut off. Strong currents subsequently carried her away and he lost sight of her. He then paddled the vessel to shore. Not quite. He says he tried to paddle to her with his oars and then boink. One of the oars broke off its pin and he lost it. It's never been recovered. And I guess he's not strong enough as a former marine to be able to paddle with one or to save his wife. Again, in super calm water. P.S. in very shallow water, like maybe 5ft. More like 3 or 4. As close as that dinghy could be to shore. Because you, you go as the crow flies in a dinghy. As long as the water's deep enough, you don't have to go all the way out the deep channel like the, the deep drawing boats. You, you can scoot along reefs and stuff as long as you've got, you know, a foot or more of water anyway. Yeah, I guess he just couldn't possibly jump out or throw the anchor out or paddle with one oar to reach her. See why I keep saying he's full of shite? Because he's full of shite. The man arrived at Marsh Harbor. Oh yeah. And then paddle to shore. He didn't paddle to shore. He went, well my job is done here. I guess I'll just kick back and like drift. Oh and there's lubbers quarters. I guess maybe you know, there's a quarter half mile, maybe I'll throw the anchor out there and fire off some flares. And no boats are paying attention again. It's all so preposterous. The man arrived at Marsh harbor boatyard around 4am that's like 9ish hours later. It's only four miles away. And with that screaming wind he talked about, wouldn't take four, wouldn't take nine hours. Man arrived at the Marsh Harbor Boatyard around 4am Sunday, April 5, 2026, where he informed an individual who then alerted the police. Individual is the security guard at the boatyard. In response, police officers, along with members of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. We got some pictures of those guys. We were over there. They would not talk to us. One of them was actually struggling to tie up their rib, their big boat that they had. And I thought, wow, you, you boat for a living. It was kind of weird because I'm a boater and I could just see him kind of like having a tough time tying up that their. Their vessel, which I thought was weird. Anyway. Members of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and Hopetown Fire and Rescue. That's not the correct name. They're Hopetown Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Please give generously. They had initiated a search of the surrounding area. The investigation continues. What time do you think Brian called his sister? You know, the one that was like on a plane asap came to the Bahamas to rescue his ass after he got arrested and thrown in detention for five days. I wonder if he called his sister before he called Lynette's mom Darlene, or Lynette's daughter Carly. Be fascinated to find that out. Maybe we'll learn at trial. Again, he's not charged with anything. And I asked that question, when did he call his sister? Because his sister seemed to get to the Bahamas really fast. Right when Lindsay and I traveled to the Bahamas, it took us like two days to get all the way to. To Marsh Harbor. We had to fly. First we were coming from different places. We had to fly to Fort Lauderdale. Then we had to get a flight to Nassau. Then we had to get this puddle jumper from NASA to. To Marsh Harbor. And it took like a whole day of flying and a whole day of scouting and planning that the flight. So you tell me what you think. So again, the press release comes out on April 5, Sunday, 13 hours after the incident of her bouncing off the. But 13 hours after his story began. And Darlene gets the phone call, like right after, within minutes. I asked when the sister got the phone call because 48 hours later, she's in Marsh Harbor. And I know that because CBS got video of her. Here she is with Brian. He's carrying his yellow dry bag, which he washed up on the boatyard with. Apparently that's What? All the reports say he had his yellow dry bag at the boatyard. This is at 1:00pm on April 7th. On Tuesday, April 7th. So again, Darlene gets the phone call at around 6:00 clock at night, Sunday night, 24 hours later, it's 6:00 clock Monday night. And then the next day at 1:00', clock, his sister's already in Marsh harbor with him. And they are spotted outside across from a restaurant called Colors in Marsh Harbor. It's pretty interesting. So with all of that in mind, Nathan, who is just again, so amazing, like, Nathan has gone out and searched so many of these places in the Bahamas for us. And then he sent us his video so that we can watch along with him what, what the terrain looks like. And he's also just looking for clues, anything that he might be able to find. Some disturbed earth, something of Lynette's, maybe the ore, the dry bag. All those things should have washed up somewhere, right? And so now Nathan is taking us to a place where a lot of people on Elbow Key have said you should check. And if you look at the map of Elbow Key part the way down, you'll see this lovely beach area called Tahiti Beach. And it's super gorgeous because at low tide, it's basically like you just walk in the water, you walk up to the bar, the manta rays swim all around you. It's gorgeous. And actually, Brian and Lynette were there the day that she disappeared. They were there in the morning, well, actually in the afternoon that she disappeared on April 4th. And then they got in their dinghy and they went to the Abaco Inn and then they got in their dinghy and that was the end of that. So if you were to go around the bottom end, like just travel southward around Tahiti beach and through a cut that takes you out to the Atlantic. On the eastern side of Elbow Key, there's this. There's this cut called Tilou Cut. A lot of people said to Lou, cut, maybe she's there. Maybe he put her there. Maybe he thought she'd get whisked out to the Atlantic where it's deeper and then be lost forever. But other people said, nope, she'd have been washed out. And then those roiling waves and wind would have blown her right back on the northern and southern shores on either side of Tolu Cut back onto Elbow Key. So that, that made sense. But there are a few other little keys around in that area. One in particular called cooperjack Cay. First of all, coolest name ever for an island. Cooperjack Cay. There's a northern cooperjack and a southern Cooper Jack and somebody lives on the southern. And it's highly unlikely that anything could happen there because it's small, it's walled and there's, you know, it's occupied. But northern cooperjack Cay is actually pretty desolate and we have come to know the people who own it. They reached out again. Drop dead serious info gmail.com. and so Nathan was given permission to go and search Cooper Jack North. And some of the video that he has sent to us is just. It's really interesting because I think it's really helpful to see it for yourself to know what it looks like, if there's a potential there to get rid of a body. Because really at this point we're trying to game out what Brian might have done, might have thought to do. Again, he's not charged with anything yet. But here's Nathan's video of, of North Cooper Jack. And you can see again those shorelines. They're angry. A lot of these shorelines aren't these beautiful soft white sand beaches. You are not going to be able to bury a body on this shore. You can get your dinghy up on that shore for sure. Right? But there's Nathan showing us those really, you know, hard surfaces that you wouldn't be able to dig through. And again, to our knowledge, he doesn't have a shovel. He's a live aboard at best. He's got a paddle or an oar that's now missing. Right. Again, he's not charged with anything yet.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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[Ashley Banfield]

Visit your nearby Lowes.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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[Ashley Banfield]

Visit your nearby Lowe's. But Cooper Jack is really secluded. So the friends of ours that we've become pals with throughout this whole ordeal have talked us through a lot of it. The southern end of Cooper Jack seemed to be more amenable to the possibilities of maybe somebody thinking, this is so desolate and uninhabited that I can get rid of a body here. But Nathan is showing you really what it looks like. And when you're looking at these pictures, remember you're looking with beautiful blue sky, puffy clouds and bright sunshine. And if someone were trying to get rid of a body, say, I don't know, at midnight, it would be pitch black, real dark. You would have had to know your way around if this was going to be a choice that you would make to get rid of a body. And again, where are you going to bury a body in this? This is very inhospitable to that kind of thing. Maybe higher up on the bluffs there, it's softer. But again, that's pretty tough to dig on an angle like that and bury a body in an ore and any other detritus that would, you know, give up the goods on a potential murder. Again, not saying that Brian did that. He's not charged with any crime yet. He is part of a criminal investigation, though. Two of them. In fact. The Royal Bahamian police force are investigating him and so is the Coast Guard investigation Investigative Service. And if you know sieges, they're badass. They're like. They're like Jason born of the sea, basically like the FBI of the water. But they are no joke. These guys are really good at what they do. So just again, the scrub, the hard terrain, just look at it. It is nasty. So one thing I want to say as well about Cooper Jack, Key north is that there are some people, places on this key that are soft and sandy and pretty. But Nathan couldn't get to them because of weather, access, few things. He will go back at some point. He said he's going to try but it's a little out of the way. It's possible, but it's a little out of the way. And again at in the dark, navigating with just a dinghy getting through the tulou cut. This might have been tricky. Not, not impossible, but it might have been tricky. And there might be better, more opportune places again for the sinister act of potentially getting rid of a body. But let me take you to another spot that Nathan searched for us. And here my friends, are some fantastic clues about Marsh Harbor. So these are videos that Nathan took of the basically the exact spot where Brian washed up on shore at Marsh harbor and then says he went through all the thick scrub to find a subdivision to knock on two doors. Well, this is what he would have had to go through at 4 o' clock in the morning and note what's on the ground there. This is like water and mangroves and wetlands and sludge. And this is next to impossible to get through at 4am and it goes back a long way. The subdivisions are a long way away from here. And this is what he'd have to get through to walk away from the lights of the boatyard. Don't ask why anybody would do that. You'd walk to the lights of the nearest right settlement. He's walking away from the lights that are north of this and he's deciding that this is where he's going to walk. Like look at this. The bullshit that is evident when you actually see the topography of the landing site at Marsh Harbor. And it gets worse than that. Jim Todd told us there's actual ravines of water like you, you wouldn't even be able to get through it without like really arduous work and soaking wet and you know, a struggle. And again, the boatyard is only 150 yards that way. And you've been watching the boatyard approaching for hours if you've been drifting up. But then you choose to take this route instead. Okay, in this video what you're going to see is Brian's supposed path to the boatyard. And look closely on the top left hand part of your screen there you can see the boatyard in the distance. So he would either walk through this scrub or he could just walk the shore 150 yards to get to that boatyard. And again, he's been floating up to this island for nine hours. So you think he'd be zeroing in on those lights, the only lights for such a long distance on that shore, and think I got to get to those lights cuz those Lights are on, there's something there. But no, instead, this is what he says. He's cutting through these mangroves, the water, the scrub, the harsh rocks, the terrain doesn't take the shore and in fact doesn't really even take this particular route, even though you can see the boatyard there. He took the opposite. He went south, south through total blackness and says he reached a subdivision and knocked on a few doors. But like I said, it's impossible. It's next to impossible in pitch blackness to walk south away from the lights of the boatyard into total darkness. How could you possibly even know what's beyond the darkness to get to some subdivision where, by the way, there were plenty of houses, not just two. He only knocked on two doors, he said, but also take a look at what is what your feet would be up against the sludgy black goo. And he's wearing black bluish slides, as according to Jim Todd when he's rescued from Marsh harbor at 7am or 7:30 the next morning, he's wearing these blue slides. And you just try walking through all this shit, you know, in blue slides. The blue slides should have been covered in it, but they weren't. Jim Todd never mentioned a bit about dirt, just that he had blue slides on. And since Jim noticed the blue slides, you would think Jim would say blue slides absolutely caked in this sludge. Because this is what he'd have to walk through if he really went to the subdivision. If he really went to those houses and knocked on those doors, this is what he'd have to walk through in slides. And again, why would you, why would you go into the blackness, total blackness, and deal with this when just 150 yards to the right along the shore are the bright lights of the boatyard that you have been staring at as you've been approaching shore for hours? If your story is true, which I think we all know it isn't. But look at all the sludge. Look at all the goopy mucky gunk. So forgive me again if all I keep saying is that Brian Hooker is big fat liar. But it's images like Nathan's here that pretty much prove Brian's story is not possible. Oh yeah, just. Just wander through that, Brian. Just, you know, clickety clack in the pitch black darkness, just way go off to the subdivision to knock on some doors. So you see what I'm saying? I don't think Brian Hooker counted on bitches like me who will not stop. The details matter. The devil's in them. And I'm no different than CJIS agents. They have way more bells and whistles and tools than I do. I don't have the power of subpoena Lindsay. And I have the power of making friends and then tapping those friends for everything they know, everything they can see and other friends that they know that they can connect us to, who can see other things. And that has yielded a remarkable network of investigation for us. Just that alone from Nathan just tells us. Yeah, you didn't walk through that with your little blue slides and then just step onto the vessel the next morning. You never told anything of anybody about all the sludge that you had to walk through, just that you had to get through some scrub. What about all the scrubby, sludgy filth and water? And how about those rivers that you would have had to go through as well to get to that subdivision? Yeah, it didn't happen. Didn't happen. And some Bahamian just drove off and didn't stop for me. And then I fired off my flares while I was at anchor off levers and two boats just didn't stop for me horse. They didn't because you weren't there. And they weren't there. You're full of witnesses. Saw a flare going off from Soulmate, but, man, you sure are creative, fella. Again, he's not charged with anything. Hey, huge, huge thanks again to Nathan for doing this amazing work. It's so telling. And it's also very disproving of some of Brian's. Right. And Nathan's not the only one who's gone out and taking videos for us. There is a woman who has provided this next video to us. She wants to remain anonymous. God bless you for doing this, and we so appreciate you, But I want you all to look at her video now because she came across an artifact as she was searching. And this is on Marsh harbor as well. And it stood out to us because we've all been very curious about a hat that Brian was seen wearing. In a photograph that we obtained in at 7pm leaving the Abaco Inn, he was wearing a hat. And we're just not entirely sure if it might have been a hat that looked like this, because it sure looked like a hat like this. And we asked Brian's friends and Lynette's family, did he wear a hat like this? And he did. Was this his hat? So we vetted every which way but Sunday to figure out if that hat mattered, because that video was taken right where the. Do you remember the. The green floaty that he says he tossed to Lynette, and somehow it miraculously washed up just a hundred yards away from him, 100 yards south of him on Marsh Harbor. So that hat is in that same vicinity. The vicinity. And it was also a scuba tank that she was able to videotape as well. I don't want to roll the video of that scuba tank, because I was super interested in the scuba tank, because I've said all along, investigators better freaking find two scuba tanks on board Soulmate, because Brian and Lynette had two, and they just filled them up on April 2, two days before she went missing at Great Guana Key. So two scuba tanks better be on board. And if only one of them has air in it, well, where did all the air go out of the second one? I don't know. I just really hope investigators look at how much air is in those tanks, both of them, because we don't know that there was any diving that went on between April 2 and April 4 when she went missing. But in between that time, there was a lot of sailing that had to happen, not so much diving time. So, anyway, important to note that near the scuba tank that was found sort of just washed up on shore right around Marsh harbor, where Brian's floaty and his dinghy washed up, there was the hat and the scuba tank. Well, I can put to rest two of those. And for this reason, reason I have learned from sources that there were two scuba tanks found on board Soulmate. So at least they're the two scuba tanks that they use that we've seen pictured with the black bottoms. Those were found on board Soulmate. I do not know about the air levels. I'm still trying. Can't get everything. I'm lucky for what I can get. So the tank that's washed up on shore at Marsh harbor, not a concern. It looked pretty beat up and old. It doesn't seem to be a concern for investigators at this point, even though it was right in the vicinity. The hat, also, I did some investigating on the hat and wondered when Brian washed up on shore, did he have a hat? Because he sure had one when he was leaving the Abaco Inn on the photo that we had. Right. And as it turned out, yes, the security guard and other witnesses saw Brian, and our sources said that he did have his hat. Jim Todd did not recall any hat on Brian as he was welcoming him on board the. The search and rescue vessel. But that could have gone into the dry bag. Right? Brian could have stuffed that hat into the dry bag. But the hat, in fact, was on his head when he got to that boatyard. And it was witnessed by. By locals. So sources tell us that since the hat was on his head, the hat that you see that's out there may not be as. As significant in terms of evidentiary value. Anyway, I just wanted to dispel that in case other people see that wonder. Hold it. There's a hat. And I remember that he was wearing a hat at the Abaco Inn. So anyway, that's the latest in our investigation, but like I said, soul mates on the move, y'. All. And you know what else I think is on the move? This case. I think this case in this investigation is on the move. And I think it's doing well. And I think if. If we're lucky, maybe it'll be on the move. So much so that soon I'll be able to report that there's an indictment. Girl can dream. Thank you everyone for listening and watching. Don't forget the tip line. It's super important. If you know anything, if you have anything, if you've got video, if you've got friends who have video, friends who have information, drop dead serious info gmail.com drop dead serious info gmail.com don't forget to like and subscribe. And thank you so much. Truth isn't just serious. It's drop dead serious.

[Liberty Mutual Spokesperson]

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[Ashley Banfield]

To Louis Mastercano.