Teenager Marly Kinney was found dead four days after she went missing during a boating trip in Kentucky.
Officials with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources announced on Sunday, June 28, that Kinney’s body was found near Grayson Lake four days after she was first reported missing. The lake is located in Kentucky’s Carter and Elliott counties.
The agency said that Kinney’s body was located around 3:45 p.m. on Sunday and that her family had been notified.
“Game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources led an exhaustive search for Kinney following a missing person report that indicated a female passenger did not return with a group of friends on a rented pontoon boat at Grayson Lake Marina,” the Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a statement about the incident.
Officials also said that the search operations were focused on the water and shoreline. Boats, divers, sonar, helicopters, drones, UTVs/ATVs, K9 and cadaver dogs were used to help first responders, law enforcement and volunteers amid the search.
Kinney, 19, was found after the Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that she was last seen at Grayson Lake on the afternoon of Wednesday, June 24.
After she went missing, Cameron Conley told marina staff that he was not able to locate someone who had been on his boat, according to LEX18. Authorities were then dispatched to Boat Ramp Road to investigate the situation.
When state troopers arrived at the scene, they said they could smell alcohol on Conley, 23, and noted that his eyes were bloodshot, according to a citation obtained by the outlet.
The troopers asked if he had been drinking while boating, and Conley allegedly said he had been drinking and consented to a breathalyzer test. It was then determined that his blood alcohol level was allegedly 0.137 percent, which is well above the maximum blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent that is allowed for a person boating in Kentucky.
In light of the findings, Conley was arrested and charged with one count of operating a boat or watercraft while intoxicated or under the influence.
It is not currently clear if he has entered a plea or retained legal counsel, and he is scheduled to next appear in court in July.
Before Kinney’s body was located, her family thanked law enforcement for their ongoing search efforts on Friday, June 26. They added at the time that they were hopeful she would be found.
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly,” the family said in a statement to WSAZ. “We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
