{"id":684077,"date":"2026-06-04T14:58:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/684077\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T14:58:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T14:58:19","slug":"brian-hooker-may-have-left-us-friend-claims-but-former-prosecutor-says-feds-likely-have-him-in-crosshairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/684077\/","title":{"rendered":"Brian Hooker may have left US, friend claims \u2014 but former prosecutor says feds likely have him in crosshairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOPE TOWN, Bahamas \u2014 A cadaver dog and a K-9 team from Florida\u2019s Broward County were seen on the ground in the Bahamas on Wednesday near where Lynette Hooker was last seen before she disappeared, as US investigators reignite the search for the missing American<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They were spotted near the Abaco Inn, where the US Coast Guard has been working on land and in the water, along with local law enforcement, in the search for Hooker, who vanished while on a trip to the Bahamas with her husband<\/a>, Brian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Coast Guard and other teams were seen walking the beach and shallow water near shore.<\/p>\n

As investigators renew the hunt for Lynette, speculation is swirling over where Brian may be following the mystery around his wife\u2019s disappearance.<\/p>\n

A source claiming to be a close friend of Brian\u2019s said he may have left the US by way of the\u00a0California-Mexico border<\/a> by land or \u2014 possibly \u2014 by water.<\/p>\n

It is possible given Hooker\u2019s\u00a0extensive boating experience, the source said.<\/p>\n

The Coast Guard Investigative Service is conducting a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker\u2019s disappearance. Facebook \/ Lynette Hooker<\/p>\n

The close friend said, \u201cYou\u2019re telling me, Brian, 6\u20194\u2033, Marine Corps tattoo, ultra-white hair, smirk of the century \u2014 has not had one person at a Safeway, a QT [QuikTrip], or a Buc-ee\u2019s, or In-N-Out, spot him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Another source, who asked not to be identified by Fox News Digital, said in times past, they had the ability to cross the US border from\u00a0San Diego, California, into Tijuana, Mexico, for day trips. During those trips, border personnel didn\u2019t always require a show of passport, or even ID, the source said.<\/p>\n

US\u00a0law\u00a0requires a passport or passport card for anyone crossing the border into Mexico.<\/p>\n

All US citizens need US passport books if re-entering by air. Land and sea border crossings accept additional travel documents, such as US Passport cards and\u00a0Trusted Traveler\u00a0cards.<\/p>\n

The couple was headed back to their sailboat, which is their full-time home in retirement, when Lynette apparently fell overboard. Facebook \/ Lynette Hooker<\/p>\n

Law enforcement officials seized the sailboat from the Bahamas and docked it in Fort Pierce, Florida. Matt Symons for NY Post<\/p>\n

While the world waits for word on where Brian may be,\u00a0divers with the US Coast Guard\u00a0arrived in the Bahamas to search an area in the Sea of Abaco for any new clues that may lead to Lynette.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is probably a lot more evidence than what the media or general public is even aware of,\u201d said Nicole Parker, former FBI special agent and Fox News contributor.<\/p>\n

Brian was initially\u00a0detained, questioned, then released\u00a0by Bahamian authorities in April. He flew back to the US shortly after.<\/p>\n

They were spotted near the Abaco Inn, where the US Coast Guard has been working on land and in the water, along with local law enforcement, in the search for Hooker, who vanished while on a trip to the Bahamas with her husband, Brian.\u00a0 Facebook \/ Lynette Hooker<\/p>\n

When asked about the possibility of Brian jumping the border, Julie Rendelman, former federal prosecutor, current criminal\u00a0defense attorney,\u00a0said:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t fail more than if you let an individual who\u2019s the subject of a\u00a0potential murder of his wife, not only leave the Bahamas to go to the United States, but then disappear altogether,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey would have a lot of answering to do. I am going to guess they know where he is, but they are not acting on it until they\u2019re more comfortable with their case.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brian Hooker has not been accused of murder or any criminal wrongdoing. Fox News Digital has repeatedly reached out to his lawyer.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital has reached out to US\u00a0Customs and Border Protection\u00a0for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOPE TOWN, Bahamas \u2014 A cadaver dog and a K-9 team from Florida\u2019s Broward County were seen on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":684078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,62039,2808,14739,38137,3,40984,21,19,22,20,25,194,24],"class_list":["post-684077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-bahamas","tag-florida","tag-missing-persons","tag-murders","tag-news","tag-true-crime","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-us-news","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=684077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/684077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/684078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=684077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=684077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=684077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}