EXCLUSIVE: A security guard at the Bahamas boatyard where Brian Hooker washed ashore hours after his wife disappeared into a dark and stormy sea last weekend, said the American appeared thirsty and exhausted.
Edward Smith works at Marsh Harbour Boatyards, a boat storage and repair facility in the tourist destination, and was alerted by another employee that a man had stumbled onto the property talking about a key and a woman.
That man was Hooker, 58, who is currently being held in a Freeport, Bahamas, jail, after he said his wife, Lynette Hooker, fell off their dinghy while motoring back to their yacht from a bar in Hope Town.
On Saturday, April 4, Hooker and his wife had been dining and drinking at the Abaco Inn – a restaurant in Hope Town, known to locals as “Elbow Cay” – several miles by sea from the small beach covered by jagged rocks where he landed in Marsh Harbour.
“He said he was on a cay, like at a bar, having something to eat or drink, and they came out to go to another place or back to their boat, but somehow they got out in the rough weather, and they had that incident, the lady [went] overboard, or whatever,” Smith told Fox News Digital on Saturday.
Smith declined to be video recorded or photographed.
Hooker was arrested for questioning while police investigate Lynette’s disappearance. He told police that seas were rough just after sundown when the pair attempted to return to their yacht, and that Lynette fell overboard with the dinghy’s key in her pocket, cutting off the engine. Hooker drifted and paddled on the dinghy for the next several hours, eventually arriving on the boatyard’s shore around 4 a.m. the next day.
“He drifted from that time until the time he hit here,” said Smith.
HUSBAND OF AMERICAN WOMAN MISSING IN THE BAHAMAS SPEAKS OUT FOR FIRST TIME, SAYS HE IS ‘HEARTBROKEN’
Police have not charged Hooker with a crime, and he maintains that Lynette fell overboard by accident. He was arrested and transported to Freeport, a separate Bahamian island, on Wednesday. Bahamian law calls for a 48-hour limit to hold someone without charging them with a crime.
Under special circumstances, that time can be extended. In this case, it was, as Hooker’s attorney, Terrel Butler, said Friday night that officials decided to keep Hooker in custody for up to another 72 hours. The deadline for his release is now Monday at around 7:30 p.m., but he could be released at any time if authorities decide not to charge him.
He is being questioned in relation to the Bahamian crime “causing harm resulting in death.”
Smith said Hooker did not appear suspicious when the pair met.
“He was more exhausted than anything else,” said Smith. “He was asking for water. He wanted water to drink.”
“I asked him, ‘so where is the lady?’” Smith recalled. “He says, ‘she’s in the water.’”
Smith said he asked Hooker what time Lynette fell in the water, to which he replied 7 p.m., which shocked him.
“So I say, ‘from seven? And you’re just reaching [the shore] now?’” Smith said. “He said the wind was blowing so strong, so when that happened, the boat blew away from him and he couldn’t really see in the dark.”
According to Smith, Hooker told him that when he last saw Lynette, she was swimming back toward Hope Town with a yellow bag on her person. He said Hooker was wearing a yellow bag when he washed ashore, too.
Hooker told Smith he tried to signal for help from the small vessel.
“He said he sent up two flares,” said Smith. “The first flare he sent up, there was a boat that passed and they didn’t respond to it. He said another boat passed, he sent up another flare, and they didn’t respond to it.”
Smith called the police to assist Hooker. He said the police arrived at about 5 a.m., and Hooker was still talking to them when Smith’s shift ended at 7 a.m.
Bahamian authorities have been tight-lipped about the process, but the investigation into Lynette’s disappearance remains ongoing.
A second employee of the boatyard told Fox News Digital that police returned there Saturday, but did not elaborate on their activities.
A source with knowledge of the investigation told Fox News Digital on Saturday that authorities are searching for Lynette’s body near Hope Town.
