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“Knowing what I know about Brian, he lied about everything,” Brian Hooker’s stepmother, Donna Hooker, says.
She discussed her stepson during a livestream appearance on the “Surviving the Survivor” podcast and revealed she is determined to help investigators track down any leads in the case regarding Brian’s missing wife, Lynette Hooker.
Lynette, a 55-year-old mother from Michigan, vanished from the Bahamas while on a sailing trip with her husband on their sailboat, “Soulmate.” She was reported missing April 4 when Brian told investigators she fell from a dinghy.
At first, Bahamian authorities detained Brian and questioned him about his wife’s disappearance; he was ultimately released and traveled back to the US in mid-April.
The Tribune, a newspaper in Nassau, reported that Brian’s stepmom has never been contacted by investigators despite knowing him for decades.
Donna Hooker told the outlet she believes she could provide valuable insight as authorities continue investigating Lynette’s disappearance.
Donna Hooker, who was married to Brian’s father for more than 40 years, said she lived with her stepson during part of his teenage years in the 1980s.
She described him as intelligent, quiet and reserved. She said investigators in both the Bahamas and the United States have not reached out to her, but she is willing to answer any questions.
“He had his own room and everything, and he would stay in his room all the time,” she said to the outlet. “He was quiet and, for a long time, he would just stay in his room and not do much of anything,” she said.
She said, over the years, it became harder to get ahold of her stepson. She said she and Brian’s late father, George, would try and reach out to him through his sister, Jennifer, who lives in California.
Donna Hooker told a journalist the last time she saw her stepson was in April 2022, when he visited his father after George Hooker suffered a stroke, and she has not heard from him since.
She said she learned of Lynette’s disappearance from a family member in Texas who told her to turn on the news and that Jennifer never responded to multiple messages after reportedly traveling to the Bahamas following Brian’s initial release from Bahamian custody.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Coast Guard Investigative Service, which is investigating the case.
Brian Hooker has not been accused of any crime or wrongdoing.
Fox News Digital reached out to his attorney for comment. His attorney previously said he has been in contact with investigators.
The investigation into Lynette’s disappearance is active and ongoing.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
English (US)