GREAT ABACO ISLAND, Bahamas — As more details emerge about Brian Hooker's final moments with his wife before she disappeared into the sea, Fox News Digital recreated the route Brian and his wife Lynette took moments before disaster struck.
Mo Monestime, who has spent 15 years chartering boats in the Great Abaco Island area, guided the excursion through the tropical Bahamian waters. He first exited a small harbor across from the Abaco Inn, where the Hookers had drinks before attempting to return to their boat.
The route calls for a turn southwest after clearing the harbor, and followed by a short ride between the western coastline of Elbow Cay and the eastern coastline of Lubbers Quarters. That was the route the Hookers attempted to take at around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 4.
According to digital maps Bahamian island, while police continue to investigate Lynette's disappearance. Bahamian law allows a 48-hour initial hold time before filing charges against a suspect, which can be extended under certain circumstances. The first deadline for his release was Friday night, but his detention was extended by 72 hours. He is expected to be released or charged with a crime by Monday night.
Lynette's fate remains uncertain, but local authorities have announced that their investigation has shifted to a recovery effort.
Butler said Brian has been cooperating with authorities and "categorically and unequivocally denies any wrongdoing."
Brian has maintained throughout the investigation that he is innocent of any criminal wrongdoing, and issued a statement on Wednesday mourning his wife's disappearance.
"I am heartbroken over the recent boat accident in unpredictable seas and high winds that caused my beloved Lynette to fall from our small dinghy near Elbow Cay in the Bahamas. Despite desperate attempts to reach her, the winds and currents drove us further apart. We continue to search for her and that is my sole focus," he said on Facebook.
"Not being found, that’s the mystery," Monestime told Fox News Digital.
"It is very hard to disappear, because, again, we’re so close to land," Monestime told Fox News Digital. "So if you do fall overboard [and] drown, somebody will see you the next day. Again, we can see bottom, you know? I’ll be driving the boat, I will see stingrays, I will see turtles, so I would see a human body. Somebody would see something. Somebody would say something, like, ‘Hey, we just saw something strange in the water.'"
Monestime said drownings happen occasionally near Elbow Cay, but then reiterated that victims are recovered quickly.
"Again, you could see land all the way, the whole time," he said. "Even if you fall overboard in pitch dark, you still could see the lights from the shore."