Brian Hooker, the husband of the Michigan woman missing in the Bahamas, told CBS News’ Cristian Benavides that he “won’t be able to stop looking” for his wife Lynette Hooker, and that he wants to believe she is still alive. Hooker was arrested last week in connection with her disappearance and released from police custody on Monday.

Brian Hooker shared a photo of himself and his wife, Lynette, to Facebook along with a statement prior to his arrest in connection to the disappearance of his wife.
Brian Hooker shared a photo of himself and his wife, Lynette, to Facebook along with a statement prior to his arrest in connection to the disappearance of his wife.

Brian Hooker/Facebook

In one of his first interviews since being released from police custody in the Bahamas, Brian Hooker told CBS on Tuesday he is choosing to believe his wife is still alive and plans to go back out and search for her. Hooker, who told investigators his wife fell overboard and vanished in rough waters, was released without charges .

“I won’t be able to stop looking,” Hooker told the outlet.

Lynette Hooker, a 55-year-old mother and sailor, went missing on April 4. Her husband of 25 years told authorities she fell from an 8‑foot dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Abaco Islands that evening as the couple was traveling back to their yacht, according to police.

Brian Hooker was arrested and questioned several times in connection with her disappearance before being released without charges. The US Coast Guard has since opened a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance.

“I believe I’ve been told that people have lasted in the Bahamas after falling overboard for days and even weeks,” he told CBS, adding with so many islands, the search area is vast and there are many possibilities for where she could have taken refuge. He said he is “not really capable of just turning away from this.”