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Daughter of missing American in Bahamas says Brian Hooker using mother’s illness as ‘excuse’ to leave country
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 on 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 on Monday night after five days behind bars, and made that promise in interviews with news outlets on Tuesday morning.
“He wants to continue with the search for his wife, because that is his main focus,” his attorney, Terrel Butler, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “So as long as he can remain in the Bahamas, he’ll remain in the Bahamas.”
FRIEND OF BRIAN HOOKER SPEAKS OUT, QUESTIONS DISAPPEARANCE OF WOMAN IN BAHAMAS MYSTERY
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 on Wednesday afternoon. “He has traveled to [the] United States of America to be at her bedside during this critical time.”
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.
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Aylesworth, who arrived in The Bahamas on 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 to the town of Marsh Harbour, close to where her mother went missing.
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Hooker abandoned the couple’s 40-foot sailboat, called “Soulmate,” anchored near a marina in Marsh Harbour.
The New York Post snapped close-up photos of the idle boat.
Immediately following Lynette’s disappearance, Aylesworth told Fox News Digital she was aware of “prior issues” with Brian’s behavior.
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“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.”
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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.
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.
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James Comer raises felony questions over Ilhan Omar’s finances after disclosure discrepancy
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is raising questions about possible felony conduct with Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar’s finances after a glaring discrepancy between an initial disclosure listing up to $30 million in net worth and a revised filing showing less than $100,000.
“Who makes a multimillion-dollar mistake on their financial disclosure form?” Comer asked Monday on “Hannity.”
“Either her accountant went to one of those ‘Quality Learing Centers’ in Minnesota, or she lied about it,” he continued, mocking an allegedly fraudulent Minneapolis daycare whose sign was notoriously misspelled.
“If she lied about it, that’s a felony.”
COMER WARNS WALZ ABSENCE AT MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING WOULD BE ‘ADMISSION TO GUILT’ BY GOVERNOR
The remarks come after an amended disclosure showed Omar and her husband’s assets were between $18,004 and $95,000, a sharp drop from an earlier disclosure that estimated their holdings between $6 million and $30 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The sharp dropoff drew scrutiny from Republicans and a congressional watchdog.
Omar’s office said the congresswoman is not a millionaire and blamed a major accounting error for the discrepancy.
MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS VOW NEW CRACKDOWN AFTER $1B FRAUD MELTDOWN THEY SAY WALZ LET SPIRAL
“The amended disclosure confirms what we’ve said all along: The congresswoman is not a millionaire,” Omar spokesperson Jacklyn Rogers told the Journal, adding that the filing was corrected “as soon as the discrepancy was identified.”
Her attorney also pushed back on allegations of misconduct, saying it is common for lawmakers to rely on accountants when preparing financial disclosures.
“While the error is, of course, unfortunate, there is nothing untoward, and nothing illegal has occurred,” the attorney said in part.
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Fox News Digital previously reached out to Omar’s office for additional comment regarding the matter but did not receive a response.
Republicans have seized on the incident, criticizing Omar and speculating that fraud could be at play.
“If she made a mistake, [she never explained] how the mistake happened. It’s not possible,” Comer said.
“You review that financial disclosure form. Before you hit enter, you enter all the assets in, and then it pops up and you review it, and you hit it again, so it’s highly unlikely that she made the mistake.
“This isn’t going to go away from her, so we’re going to continue to try to push for answers and see if her name pops up in any of these frauds that Vice President Vance and the House Oversight Committee are detecting in Minnesota,” he added.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., criticized Omar as a “complete fraud” over the weekend, amplifying the Republican voices critiquing the development.
“Quite frankly, if she is discovered to be involved in any of this fraud personally, that she benefited from it, even by her actions of promoting it and trying to resist investigations, she should be held accountable to the fullest extent,” he said.
Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
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US updates travel advisory for Caribbean country, cites crime and terrorism concerns
→ The State Department updated a travel advisory warning Americans to reconsider visiting a Caribbean destination amid crime and terrorism concerns.
→ A popular European city proposed a nightly tourist tax aimed at raising millions to address overtourism.
→ What was once a go-to cheap escape is now raising eyebrows for reasons beyond price.
→ A viral incident showed airport lounge passengers hoarding food and leaving messes amid overcrowding issues.
→ An airline debuted bunk-style sleeping pods with four-hour access priced at nearly $500 on long-haul flights.
→ A cruise startup began accepting dogs and cats onboard, reigniting debate as most major lines continue to ban non-service animals.
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→ Archaeologists uncovered hundreds of medieval cannonballs at a construction site in a coastal city.
→ A 2,000-year-old Roman shipwreck was discovered with cargo still clustered on the lakebed where it sank.
→ The Library of Congress identified a lost 1897 film featuring one of cinema’s earliest robot characters.
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Health officials issued brown water advisories after storm runoff contaminated coastal waters with bacteria and debris, raising risks for swimmers.
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Byron Donalds cracks down on persistent border blind spot leaving US vulnerable to overstays
FIRST ON FOX: Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds introduced legislation that would require biometric tracking of every entry and exit from the United States, as part of a Republican push to crack down on visa overstays and fraudulent immigration documents.
With illegal crossings down sharply under President Donald Trump’s second term, Republicans are shifting toward the next phase of immigration enforcement — tracking visa overstays and closing documentation loopholes. Donalds’ bill aims to force full nationwide use and federal oversight of the biometric entry-exit system.
Donalds told Fox News Digital exclusively he introduced the legislation on Monday.
“Thanks to President Trump’s decisive actions, our borders are more secure than they have been in decades. We are now moving to finish the job by introducing the Reform Immigration Through Biometrics Act, which provides the oversight needed to ensure every entry and exit is fully verified,” Donalds told Fox News Digital.
FLORIDA SHERIFF SAYS ICE PARTNERSHIP ONLY THE BEGINNING IN ILLEGAL MIGRANT CRACKDOWN
The bill would close gaps to ensure full coverage at every port, provide system flow updates and identify what is “slowing” it down by requiring DHS to report to Congress. The biometric data system collects fingerprints, facial images and iris scans.
Immigration reform is a central focus of the second Trump administration, with officials shifting attention toward internal tracking and enforcement gaps, not just border crossings.
The biometric entry-exit system was first introduced a decade ago, following a 2004 recommendation from the 9/11 Commission to strengthen national security through a comprehensive tracking method.
HOUSE GOP BILL COULD TRIGGER SELF-DEPORTATION FOR SOMALI REFUGEES AMID MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE
Previous administrations failed to fully implement the system across all ports of entry, leaving it incomplete. A final rule issued in December 2025 now mandates a nationwide rollout.
Donalds’ legislation aims to ensure it is fully executed this time by holding DHS accountable.
“The border has been secured, but the work is far from over,” said Donalds in a press release. “Visa overstays and fraudulent documentation remain a large piece of the overall illegal immigration puzzle that needs to be addressed.”
Data from the Border Patrol cited by Pew Research found there were 237,538 migrant encounters at the Mexican border in 2025. It is the lowest number since Richard Nixon was president in 1970 when 201,780 were encountered.
Donalds, a candidate for Florida governor to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, said he anticipates “swift passage” of the bill.
“Republicans are steadfast in our commitment to the mandate entrusted to us by the American people,” he told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for comment.
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