19-Year-Old Marly Kinney Found Dead in Kentucky Lake After Five-Day Search
Marly Kinney, a 19-year-old from Ashland, Kentucky, was found dead Sunday in Grayson Lake — ending a five-day search that drew dozens of agencies and more than 50 volunteers across the state. Her body was recovered at 3:45 p.m. from the Carter County lake, four days after she was last seen on a rented pontoon boat with a group of friends on June 24.
How She Went Missing
Kinney was on the water at Grayson Lake Marina on the afternoon of June 24 when the boat's operator, 23-year-old Cameron Conley, reported to marina staff that he could not locate a female passenger. Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources were dispatched to the scene.
When troopers arrived, they alleged they could smell alcohol on Conley and observed that his eyes appeared bloodshot and glassy. Conley told troopers he had been drinking and agreed to a breathalyzer test. His blood alcohol level reportedly came back at 0.137% — well above Kentucky's legal boating limit of 0.08%. He was arrested that evening and charged with one count of operating a boat or watercraft while intoxicated or under the influence. He was booked at the Carter County Detention Center and released the same day. His court date is set for July.
According to authorities, friends on the boat were unsure exactly when Kinney left the vessel. A witness who was also on the lake that day told local media she had seen Kinney's group stopping to jump off a rock formation known locally as "Sex Rock" around 2:20 p.m. — photos and time-stamped videos placed Kinney there in the hours before she disappeared.
The Search
Game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources led an exhaustive multi-day operation covering the water and surrounding shoreline. The search involved boats, sonar, drones, UTVs, ATVs, K9 teams, cadaver dogs, Kentucky State Police helicopters, and Ashland Fire Department dive teams. More than a dozen agencies participated, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, multiple county emergency management offices, state parks rangers, and local fire departments.
Throughout the search, Kinney's family released a statement thanking those involved. "We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, first responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly," the family said. "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."
The Discovery
Kinney's body was found Sunday afternoon. The Carter County Coroner responded to the scene. The cause of death has not been determined and will be established by the State Medical Examiner's Office in Frankfort. The investigation remains open.
Boyd County High School, where Kinney graduated in 2024, asked the community in a Facebook statement to keep her family and friends in their thoughts. "We also lift up her classmates, former teachers, and everyone grieving this heartbreaking loss," the school wrote.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement at 800-25-ALERT or Kentucky State Police Post 14 at 606-928-6421.
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