Federal investigators continue to examine the disappearance of American sailor Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas, with experts pointing to a lengthy gap in her sailboat’s tracking data as a potentially significant piece of the case, as reported by The New York Post.

Lynette Hooker disappeared on April 4 while returning to the couple’s sailboat, Soulmate, with her husband, Brian Hooker. The couple had left shore at Hope Town in the Bahamas at approximately 7:30 p.m. that evening.

According to Brian Hooker’s account to authorities, rough waters caused Lynette Hooker to fall from their dinghy while they were heading back to the sailboat, which served as the couple’s full-time home during retirement. The Hookers frequently traveled throughout the United States and the Caribbean, according to social media posts.

Authorities said Brian Hooker paddled to shore and arrived in Marsh Harbour at approximately 4 a.m. on April 5.

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New attention has centered on data obtained through marine tracking company VesselFinder. Records reviewed by Fox News Digital showed that Soulmate’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) stopped transmitting at 9:29 p.m. on April 4 and did not resume until 8:40 a.m. on April 5.

The AIS system broadcasts a vessel’s identity, speed, and location. The interruption lasted more than 11 hours.

Tad DiBiase, a former federal prosecutor and author of “No-Body Homicide Cases: A Practical Guide to Investigating, Prosecuting and Winning Cases When the Victim is Missing,” told Fox News Digital that determining why the tracking data disappeared could be critical.

“I believe there’s evidence that the tracking of the boat was turned off at a time that closely parallels around the time that she went missing. All of those things are highly suspicious,” DiBiase said.

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DiBiase said investigators will likely seek additional information about both the vessel’s movements and the couple’s relationship.

“I’d wanna know a lot more about their relationship and then I would want to be very certain that the tracking system was turned off, what time it was turned off, all of that kind of forensic evidence,” he said. “I’d want to make sure that it was very solid and very clear what happened and what the position of the boat was, as opposed to where he said the boat was.”

The Coast Guard Investigative Service is conducting a criminal investigation into Lynette Hooker’s disappearance.

Blaine Stevenson, a friend of Brian Hooker, previously told Fox News Digital that Brian returned to Soulmate with search-and-rescue personnel on the morning of April 5.

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Investigators have recently expanded their efforts. CBS News first reported that U.S. authorities requested permission from the Bahamian government to search a new area of the Sea of Abaco after investigators discovered GPS data that allegedly contradicted statements Brian Hooker made regarding the night his wife disappeared. Sources later confirmed the information to Fox News Digital.

According to a source in the Bahamas, the proposed search area includes waters reaching depths of approximately 25 feet. The renewed search effort is reportedly based on GPS data collected from Brian Hooker’s phone while he was using a marine navigation application.

A U.S. official also confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Hookers’ dinghy allegedly traveled through the same area.

The Coast Guard seized Soulmate in early May and transported the vessel to Fort Pierce, Florida. The sailboat was later moved to Fort Lauderdale after authorities were unable to remove it from the water.

Brian Hooker has not been charged with any crime.

His attorney, Crystal Marie Hauser of Michigan, previously urged the public not to rush to judgment.

“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.

Fox News Digital reported that it reached out to Brian Hooker’s attorney for additional comment.

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