Brian Hooker promised to stay and search for wife Lynette but left abruptly the next day

The daughter of the American woman missing in the Bahamas says she thinks Brian Hooker is using his mother’s illness as an “excuse” to leave the island nation after he spent five days in a Freeport jail.

Karli Aylesworth told Fox News Digital on Friday that Hooker’s mother has been “terminally ill for a while.” Hooker abruptly left the Bahamas Wednesday after saying he would remain in the country to search for his missing wife, Aylesworth’s mother, Lynette.

He was released from a Bahamian jail Monday night after five days behind bars and made that promise in interviews with news outlets on Tuesday morning.

Aylesworth told NBC on Friday that she “never imagined” her mom would disappear, adding that “she was a great person and didn’t deserve this.” She said part of her feels like her stepdad is “going to get away with this” and walk away a free man, but “I hope that doesn’t happen.”

Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth arrives in The Bahamas

Karli Aylesworth and her partner Steven arrive in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, Thursday, April 16, 2025. Karli is the daughter of missing American woman Lynette Hooker. (Matthew Symons for NY Post)

Hooker has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with a crime.

Hooker’s attorney, Terrel Butler, told Fox News Digital Tuesday that he “wants to continue with the search for his wife because that is his main focus So, as long as he can remain in the Bahamas, he’ll remain in the Bahamas.”

But about 24 hours later, Hooker changed his mind.

“Following his release from custody without charge, Mr. Hooker is now facing another emergency. In addition to the trauma of his wife of 25 years being missing, Mr. Hooker has received urgent word of his mother’s grave illness,” Butler told NBC News Wednesday afternoon.

“He has traveled to [the] United States of America to be at her bedside during this critical time.”

Brian and Lynette Hooker on dinghy

Brian and Lynette Hooker sit on a dinghy in the water in an undated image. (Brian Hooker/Facebook)

Butler did not say where in the U.S. Hooker was going, but a source familiar with the case told Fox News Digital he landed in Atlanta.

Aylesworth, who arrived in the Bahamas Thursday, has been critical of her stepfather since her mother Lynette went missing.

“I think it shows his character. He somehow lost my mom at sea and cries on camera saying he’ll never stop searching, then leaves the next day,” Aylesworth told the New York Post upon her arrival in the town of Marsh Harbour, close to where her mother went missing.

Soulmate boat anchored in calm turquoise water near a shoreline.

The “Soulmate,” owned by Brian and Lynette Hooker, in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, April 16, 2025. (Matthew Symons for NY Post)

Hooker abandoned the couple’s 40-foot sailboat, “Soulmate,” anchored near a marina in Marsh Harbour.

The New York Post snapped close-up photos of the idle boat.

Immediately after Lynette’s disappearance, Aylesworth told Fox News Digital she was aware of “prior issues” with Brian’s behavior.

Miscellaneous items including dumbbells, a colorful bag, and a striped towel sitting inside the cabin of a boat.

The inside of “Soulmate,” the boat owned by Brian and Lynette Hooker, in Marsh Harbour, Bahamas, April 16, 2025. Inside the boat are dumbbells and various miscellaneous items. (Matthew Symons for NY Post)

“There have been prior issues brought to my attention, which may be important for any thorough investigation. If this truly was an accident, I can understand and live with it,” Aylesworth said. “However, there needs to be an intensive review of the facts and circumstances of this tragic incident before that can be determined.”

She also told “Fox and Friends” that something “doesn’t add up” with her mother’s disappearance, and accused Brian of having a “history of domestic violence” and anger issues.

Brian Hooker and Terrel A. Butler standing inside the Central Police Station in Freeport, The Bahamas

Brian Hooker stops by the Central Police Station to pick up his wedding ring and watch with his lawyer, Terrel A. Butler in Freeport, Bahamas, Tuesday, April 14, 2026.  (Matthew Symons for Fox News Digital)

Hooker says Lynette’s disappearance was an accident caused by high wind and rough seas. The pair left The Abaco Inn bar on Elbow Cay in their dinghy at dusk on April 4, headed to their anchored sailboat just off the cay’s western coast. The ride was a short one, but Brian said Lynette fell overboard in the choppy waters.

He has always maintained that he is innocent of wrongdoing, and has not been charged with a crime.

He spent five days in jail — the maximum allowable under Bahamian law — while police investigated. That investigation remains ongoing despite his release.