What began as a summer outing ended in heartbreak. Nineteen-year-old Marly Kinney disappeared during a boating trip on Kentucky’s Grayson Lake, prompting one of the area’s largest recent search efforts. When rescuers finally located her days later, an entire community was left mourning. Meanwhile, authorities continue investigating the circumstances surrounding her death, while the boat’s captain faces a separate charge related to allegedly operating the boat under the influence. For Marly’s loved ones, the search may be over—but the questions are only beginning
Tragic end in search for teen who vanished from boat in Kentucky lake after captain arrested with blood alcohol allegedly TWICE the legal limit
A teenager was tragically found dead near a Kentucky lake on Sunday after she vanished during a boat trip to the landmark known as ‘Sex Rock.’
Marly Kinney, 19, was last seen alive at around 4pm Wednesday near Grayson Lake, about 180 miles east of Louisville.
Witnesses said she was last spotted at a location known as ‘Sex Rock.’
Cameron Conley, 23, was operating a boat on the lake Wednesday and told staff at the Marina that he was unable to find a female passenger when he docked, per a citation filed in Carter District Court viewed by FOX 56.
Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources recovered Kinney’s lifeless body near Grayson Lake at 3.45pm, about five days after she was reported missing, according to TMZ.
The teenager’s cause of death has not been released and was still under review by the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Frankfort.
The boat captain, Conley, had been arrested after police said his blood alcohol was allegedly twice the legal limit.
State police noted that they smelled alcohol on Conley as he spoke to them, according to the citation viewed by the outlet. They also claimed his eyes were bloodshot and glassy.
+8
View gallery
19-year-old Marly Kinney vanished Wednesday at Grayson Lake, Kentucky, roughly 200 miles east of Louisville
+8
View gallery
A woman who said she was boating with her family near Kinney and her group of friends shared a photo of them jumping from a rock known by locals as ‘Sex Rock’
+8
View gallery
Cameron Conley, 23, was charged with operating a boat while under the influence. He allegedly told Grayson Lake Marina staff that he could not find a female passenger on his boat
The boat captain allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol and agreed to a preliminary breath test.
Conley’s blood alcohol content (BAC) level was allegedly measured at .137, about two times the legal limit in Kentucky.
His BAC level was allegedly measured again at .135 approximately 20 minutes later.
Conley was charged with operating a boat while intoxicated or under the influence and taken to the Carter County Detention Center. He has since been released.
The boat captain is set to be arraigned on July 22, according to Kentucky court records viewed by the Daily Mail.
Kinney’s public Instagram account showed that she followed a man with the same name as Conley, indicating the two may have been acquainted.
A spokesperson for the Kentucky State Police told the Daily Mail on Saturday afternoon that Conley did not face any charges other than DUI for operating the boat impaired.
The captain’s case remains separate to the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 19-year-old’s death.
+8
View gallery
Kinney follows a man with the same name as Cameron Conley on her public Instagram account
+8
View gallery
Authorities are still searching for Kinney. On Saturday, the Kentucky State Police told the Daily Mail that the weather ‘remains an issue’
+8
View gallery
Grayson Lake State Park in Kentucky
+8
View gallery
A local saw Kinney and a group she was with near a rock known locally as ‘Sex Rock’
Leah Ross was on the lake boating with her family when she had seen Kinney and the group she was with near the so-called ‘Sex Rock.’
Ross took a photo of Kinney’s group, with her friends jumping off the rock.
‘We stopped to jump off some rock cliffs, and they stopped shortly after us,’ she wrote on Facebook.
‘We have time–stamped videos where Marly and some of the group she was with were jumping off the rocks at 2.20pm. The group remained in the area for at least 10–20 minutes after that.’
Search efforts focused on the water and shoreline. Kentucky State Police said the search included the help of multiple county and state agencies, along with first responders and volunteers.
Search teams used boats, divers, sonar, helicopters, drones, ATVs/UTVs, in addition to K9 and cadaver dogs.
It was unclear where exactly her body was found.
Authorities ask anyone with tips regarding Kinney’s tragic death to contact Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement.
+8
View gallery
The investigation remains ongoing, according to police
Tributes poured in for the late 19-year-old as the community mourns her loss.
‘Prayers for the family and first responders God Bless,’ one person wrote on Facebook.
Another said: ‘It’s heartbreaking to hear this. Prayers for the family.’
‘So very heartbreaking, thank you to the first responders for giving the family closure,’ another user wrote.