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“I guess it was too much closeness. We decided to call it quits. I’m not going back,” Lynette Hooker shared with a friend in early 2024, months before she disappeared in waters off Abaco.

“I quit my awesome career, sold my house and gave away everything I own to cruise,” she wrote, reflecting on a life she had left behind, CBS reported.

“It was real bad. I can’t be out there with him,” she said in another message.

According to her mother, the relationship between Lynette and her husband, Brian Hooker, was complicated. “They loved each other but were not good for each other,” she said, describing a cycle of breakups and reconciliation. She alleged that when Brian Hooker drank, he could become “mean” and “hurtful,” and recalled instances where Lynette was physically harmed.

In a WhatsApp message weeks later, a friend reached out to Lynette after noticing a shift: “Looks like things are on the up and up.”

By late February, the couple had reconciled.

Lynette’s mother said their life at sea appeared picture-perfect and seemingly full. But the private messages tell another story.

Now, Lynette’s story has taken a tragic turn.

Lynette remains missing after Brian reported that she went overboard during a nighttime boat ride on April 5. Authorities have since launched a criminal investigation, and he has been questioned by police. His attorney has said he denies wrongdoing and is heartbroken, seeking release to assist in the search.

Through a GoFundMe campaign, Karli Aylesworth hopes to raise $18,000 for a memorial and support ongoing efforts to locate Lynette Hooker, the American woman who went missing in the Bahamas after falling overboard in the Bahamas.

“Anything would help,” she said.

After the disappearance of her mother, Lynette, in waters off the Abacos, Aylesworth is searching for answers while bracing for the unknown.

She is calling for a full and complete investigation, adding her mother’s relationship with her stepfather Brian Hooker was rocky.

Authorities have since opened a criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Lynette’s disappearance, and Brian was arrested as part of that process.

Police have not publicly detailed the outcome of that investigation, and Lynette has not yet been found.

Brian said Lynette fell overboard during a night boat ride and was lost to the sea. He said strong winds and currents made it impossible to save her, and that he paddled back to shore alone, reporting the incident hours later.

But for Karli, that explanation is not enough.

In a social media post, Brian thanked those supporting the search and for keeping Lynette in their thoughts.

Karli has asked anyone with information to contact her.

As the search for Lynette Hooker continues in Bahamian waters, another struggle is unfolding within the family, still trying to make sense of what happened.

Bahamian authorities have made it clear that Lynette’s husband, Brian Hooker, is not accused of any wrongdoing. The case remains an active investigation.

But for Lynette’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, the questions have not gone away.

“For one, I don’t understand how she got the key,” she said.

According to police, Lynette, 55, went missing after reportedly falling overboard from a small dinghy during a nighttime trip in Abaco.

Her husband said the couple had left Hope Town around 7:30 p.m., heading toward Elbow Cay, when she fell into the water. He told investigators she had the engine key at the time, and that strong currents carried her away.

But for Aylesworth, that detail is difficult to reconcile.

“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.”

In the hours after the incident, Brian Hooker left a voicemail for his stepdaughter.

“Hello, honey, it’s Dad… they found the flotation device that I threw to Mom when she fell overboard,” he said.

Aylesworth describes her mother as experienced, someone who had spent more than a decade sailing and who was a confident swimmer.

She shared that she wants a full and thorough investigation, saying she struggles to fully accept the sequence of events as described.

Aylesworth also noted that her mother and stepfather had been separated in recent years before reconnecting.

After the incident, authorities say Brian Hooker was left in a powerless vessel without the key.

He paddled through rough conditions, eventually reaching shore hours later, around 4 a.m., where he made his way to the Marsh Harbour Boat Yard and contacted police.