Husband of American woman who vanished in the Bahamas hires US lawyer after returning from island

The husband of a missing American woman who vanished in the Bahamas has hired a lawyer in the U.S., according to a report.

Brian Hooker has retained Michigan-based attorney Crystal Marie Hauser after he returned to the U.S. last week, according to ABC News. His Bahamas-based attorney told Fox News Digital he traveled to the U.S. to tend to his "very ill" mother.

Brian Hooker told Bahamian officials that his wife fell off a dinghy after leaving shore at Hope Town at around 7:30 p.m. on April 4, adding that Lynette fell off with the ignition key. Local authorities said that he arrived at a marina at Marsh Harbour at around 4 a.m. on April 5 after paddling to shore, roughly eight hours after his wife went overboard.

Hauser had a message for Americans following Lynette Hooker's disappearance.

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"I would ask those watching to treat him the way you would want to be treated, to give him the benefit of the doubt, and to consider that not all of us, nor you, considering your own relationships, the way you speak to one another, we all handle things in different ways," Hauser said.

Responding to claims of domestic violence from Lynette Hooker's mother and daughter, Brian's attorney said they are baseless.

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"Be open-minded to the fact that just because Karli and Darlene are making these claims, there's absolutely no evidence to support any of the allegations – absolutely none," she said.

Hauser said she imagines Brian Hooker's "heart" is in the Bahamas, but did not reveal if he plans to return to the island.

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Criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno told Fox News Digital that Brian Hooker's move to hire a U.S.-based lawyer is smart.

"I think it makes sense for him to hire one regardless, body not found, nothing solved… Smart to hire a lawyer in the state," Rotunno said.

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Brian Hooker hasn't been charged with a crime and was released from jail by Bahamian officials, who declined to charge him at the time, but left the investigation into Lynette open.

After Lynette Hooker went missing, Brian said in a Facebook post that he was "heartbroken."

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"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," he wrote. "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."

Lynette Hooker's daughter, Karli Aylesworth, flew to the Bahamian island on Thursday to help with the search.

Aylesworth told NBC News she questions Brian Hooker's version of how her mother went missing, adding that she spent three hours talking with police.

"I feel like this was probably preplanned, if anything, like, it doesn’t seem like just some accident," Aylesworth said.