Lynette Hooker’s Husband Brian’s Voicemail to Stepdaughter: Full Transcript

A voicemail left by Brian Hooker to his stepdaughter, Karli Aylesworth, has been released amid the larger investigation into the disappearance of Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old Michigan woman who went missing after a nighttime boating incident in the Bahamas.

The message, first aired by CBS News and shared widely on social media, was left after authorities launched a large-scale search for Lynette, who Brian Hooker said fell overboard from a dinghy during rough conditions near Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands.

Why It Matters

The voicemail left by Brian Hooker has drawn intense scrutiny because it provides one of the earliest documented accounts of his version of events following Lynette Hooker’s disappearance and is now a focal point for questions raised by her family.

Lynette’s daughter, Aylesworth, has said the message conflicts with what she knows about her mother’s boating habits, including who typically operated the dinghy and controlled the keys. Those discrepancies have fueled public attention and calls from family members for a thorough investigation into how Lynette ended up in the water.

Brian Hooker posted about his wife Lynette’s disappearance on Wednesday. | Brian Hooker/Facebook

What To Know

According to CBS News, Brian Hooker left the following message for Aylesworth: “Hello, honey. I just got a call from Hope Town Search and Rescue, and they found the 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 on a smaller area, and they’re still out there searching today…I love you. I’ll talk to you later.”

CBS News reported that the voicemail was provided directly by Aylesworth and played during its broadcast as she questioned her stepfather’s version of events.

According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Lynette Hooker went missing on the evening of April 4 after she and her husband boarded an 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy to travel from Hope Town to Elbow Cay. Brian Hooker told investigators that his wife fell overboard with the boat’s keys. He said strong currents carried her away and that he eventually paddled to shore to report the incident several hours later.

Authorities later shifted the operation from rescue to recovery.

On Wednesday, the Royal Bahamas Police Force announced that a 59-year-old man who is a U.S. national but whom they did not identify, was taken into custody shortly after 7 p.m. in Marsh Harbour and is being questioned about Lynette Hooker’s disappearance.

The Associated Press and Reuters reported the man is Lynette’s husband Brian

Bahamian officials have stressed that at this point, Brian Hooker has not been charged with a crime.

Who Is Brian Hooker?

Brian Hooker is a Michigan man who had been sailing with Lynette for years. The couple documented their life aboard a yacht named Soulmate on social media under the handle “The Sailing Hookers.”

The couple had been married for decades and had extensive experience on the water, a detail repeatedly emphasized by Lynette’s daughter as she calls for deeper scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding her mother’s disappearance.

Aylesworth has publicly expressed doubts about Brian Hooker’s account, telling CBS News that her mother was an experienced swimmer and sailor and questioning how she could have been holding the boat’s keys if Brian typically drove the dinghy.

On Facebook, Brian Hooker said he was “heartbroken” by his wife’s disappearance and thanked local authorities and volunteers involved in the search.

Hooker said he was “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.”

What People Are Saying

Lynette Hooker’s daughter Karli Aylesworth told CBS News: “I don’t understand how she got the key. Brian’s always driving. So he basically is in charge of the key. So the fact that my mom had it doesn’t make any sense.”

Brian Hooker wrote on Facebook: “Despite desperate attempts to reach [Lynette], the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”

What Happens Next

The Royal Bahamas Police Force continues to investigate the case, with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. Officials have said the investigation remains active as they seek to determine exactly what happened on the water that night.