Brian Hooker hightailed it out of the Bahamas to visit his ailing mother, leaving behind the yacht named “Soulmate.” His wife Lynette‘s location is still a mystery nearly two weeks after she allegedly fell overboard on a dinghy as it was traveling to the larger boat.

Brian’s attorney, Terrel Butler, tells TMZ … Brian left the Bahamas Wednesday to attend to his mother, who is sick.

While he’s gone, Brian’s keeping his boat anchored in Marsh Harbour, a town in the Abaco Islands, Bahamas, while police and the U.S. Coast Guard continue their search for Lynette. TMZ just obtained photos of Brian’s “Soulmate” yacht parked at a dock.

A Coast Guard official told TMZ Tuesday … they are still “conducting a criminal investigation into the disappearance of Mrs. Hooker.” And the Royal Bahamas Police Force says Brian remains a suspect in the case.

As you know, Brian was released from police custody on Monday after prosecutors failed to charge him with a crime following Lynette’s disappearance at sea on April 4.

Brian says the couple left Hope Town on an 8-foot dinghy to motor to Elbow Cay, where they were going to pick up the “Soulmate” yacht. But, Brian says, they hit rough weather during the trip, and Lynette went overboard … she was wearing a lanyard with the boat’s keys, causing it to stop. Brian paddled the boat for hours back to land and reported her missing.