FREEPORT, Bahamas — The husband of a missing American woman who was held in a Bahamian jail for five days before his Monday night release will remain in the Bahamas, according to his attorney.
Brian Hooker said in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday that he would never hurt his wife, Lynette, who vanished on Saturday, April 4. He would not discuss details about what happened that day, saying that he did not want to take any chance that something could interfere with the search for her.
Hooker teared up talking about being apart from his wife of about 25 years.
“Lynette is my life,” he told NBC. “We belong to each other.”
MISSING AMERICAN WOMAN’S HUSBAND BRIAN HOOKER RELEASED AFTER ARREST IN BAHAMAS DISAPPEARANCE
Hooker was behind bars at the Central Police Station in Freeport from Wednesday to Monday evening as the Rohal Bahamian Police Force (RBPF), in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard, investigated the disappearance of his wife off the coast of Elbow Cay in Great Abaco Island.
“He wants to continue with the search for his wife, because that is his main focus,” Terrel Butler told Fox News Digital. “So as long as he can remain in the Bahamas, you remain in the Bahamas.”
She said that on Tuesday, Hooker will meet with Bahamian police in an attempt to recover electronics, including his phone and computer, that were confiscated during the investigation.
He maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, which is still ongoing, and his time in custody. Bahamian authorities have the option to arrest Hooker again if they see fit.
It is unclear whether Hooker is currently in possession of his passport.
Hooker walked out the front door of the Central Police Station, attorney in tow, at around 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday night. The pair bolted for a taxi, and Hooker stayed overnight at a local hotel.
Lynette Hooker was last seen the night of April 4 after the couple left the Abaco Inn on a dinghy headed back to their anchored yacht.
According to Brian, the wind gusts and choppy waters rocked their eight-foot dinghy as they left the harbor outside the restaurant and resort, and Lynette fell overboard. Subsequently, he said, he drifted and paddled about four miles before washing up on a rocky beach in Marsh Harbour, where he encountered a security guard at a boatyard who called police.
Hooker said he initially helped police with the search before he was taken into custody on Wednesday.
LYNETTE HOOKER MISSING IN BAHAMAS: TIMELINE OF MICHIGAN WOMAN’S DISAPPEARANCE, HUSBAND’S ARREST
Bahamian law allows for a 48-hour detention in jail without charging someone with a crime. Under special circumstances, that detention can be extended, and in Hooker’s case, it was. He spent 72 more hours behind bars after authorities decided not to release him on Friday night.
Family members, including his step-daughter, made claims of abuse against the 58-year-old, who is from Michigan but retired to his boat with his wife several years ago.
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“I’ve seen him choke out one of his daughters before. And we had to go to court for that,” Karli Aylesworth told Fox & Friends last week. “So he’s just repeating patterns.”
Hooker denied wrongdoing and has spoken publicly about the incident, saying in a Facebook post that he is “heartbroken.”
“I am 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,” he wrote. “Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus.”
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
