Nearly two months after Lynette Hooker went missing during a boat trip in the Bahamas, she has not been found and her husband, Brian Hooker, remains a suspect in the case. Now, Brian’s friend Daniel Danforth revealed why he doesn’t believe Lynette’s disappearance was an “accident.”
Lynette, 55, disappeared on April 4 during a couple’s trip to the Bahamas. At the time, Brian, 59, claimed that she fell from their dinghy during bad weather as they motored back to their yacht.
Brian was initially taken into custody in connection to her disappearance on April 8, and was released on April 13 without charges. However, he has remained a suspect in the case as the search for Lynette continues.
While appearing on Thursday, May 28, episode of NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich Tonight, Danforth admitted he didn’t think Lynette’s disappearance was an accident.
“Everything points to it not being an accident at all,” Danforth said.
Danforth added that if “it was an accident,” he believes Brian should be making more of an effort to search for help and ask “for the resources to come and assist in aid” and “stand up for your own defense.”
“And there hadn’t been any of that on his part. It hasn’t been nothing but lies from the very beginning. From the story he told me the day after, to the story he told our other friend Blaine Stevenson, that there’s not ever been a consistent story all the way to the point where he was interviewed by the media that he immediately left the Bahamas,” Danforth continued of his suspicions. “And the family deserves the truth. You know the mother and the daughters.”
Danforth went on to say that he’s “so thankful that the investigation is going on.”
“Just taking a lot of diligent work and good cases don’t happen overnight and I’m thankful for the authorities and just for continuing their effort [they’ve] put into it and taking the time to build a really good case against him,” he said.
The friends of the couple’s suspicions about Brian’s involvement have grown after the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed they are conducting a new search after GPS data contradicted Brian’s account of the events.
Officials said that Brian’s account caused investigators to search “in the wrong area” of the Sea of Abaco as they looked for Lynette, according to NBC News. The Coast Guard has since requested permission from Bahamian authorities to allow divers to resume their search of the sea.
Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, told the outlet that she provided DNA to the Coast Guard in order to aid its investigation regarding her mother’s disappearance.
While he is still considered a suspect in the case, Brian has denied any wrongdoing in connection to Lynette’s disappearance.
“I’ve never harmed Lynette, and I would never harm Lynette, and I want to find Lynette,” he told NBC News in April.
