Missing US woman Lynette Hooker had ‘no chance,’ even an Olympic swimmer would struggle, pal says

BAHAMAS: After the probe team suspected the involvement of Lynette Hooker’s husband in her disappearance, her friend shared insight into the case. He said that Hooker didn’t stand a chance after going overboard in the water in the Bahamas, insisting that even an "Olympic swimmer would have a hard time" staying above water.

55-year-old Hooker has been missing since her husband Brian Hooker alleged that she was swept away in streams after falling from their dinghy last weekend.

It was impossible for couple to reunite, says friend

One of the couple’s friends, on the condition of anonymity, told Fox News that the weather conditions on the day 55-year-old mom went missing were severe and the couple was ill-equipped to deal with that.

“Their dinghy was really just too small to be out in those conditions. Their 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy with that electric motor, you shouldn’t be out in anything more than like 12, max 15 knots,” he said. “It’s really underpowered, undersized for the conditions they were in.”

Highlighting the severity of the weather and the couple’s helplessness, he added, “Even an Olympic swimmer would have a hard time getting back on — it would be impossible for two people that are 55 and 58 to reunite.”

Brian Hooker taken into custody over wife’s disappearance

The couple’s friend came forward only days after Lynette’s hooker’s husband was detained for his suspected role in his wife’s disappearance. However, Brian has denied any wrongdoing.

As per Brian’s statement to investigative authorities, Lynette fell into the water and was taken away by strong streams when they were returning to their Yacht in the dinghy on Saturday night, April 4.

The husband claimed Lynette had the boat key on her when she went overboard, causing the motor to cut off and forcing him to paddle back to the marina.

However, the couple’s friend said that it was normal for people to wear their keys around their neck while in a dinghy.

“People are really confused about a dinghy key. It’s common practice to wear the key — it goes on the outboard motor, and it’s got a tether on it that you wear on your wrist as the driver,” he told the outlet.

“So if you fall overboard, it stops the motor from the dinghy motoring away from you. And that’s what everybody does. And they’re really saying, ‘Why did she have the key?’ Well, she had the key because she was driving.”