A Kentucky man has been charged with boating under the influence after a 19-year-old female passenger disappeared from his pontoon boat on Grayson Lake. Cameron Conley, 23, was arrested by Kentucky State Police on Wednesday after he alerted Grayson Lake Marina staff that Marly Kinney was no longer on his vessel.
According to court records, state troopers detected the smell of alcohol on Conley's breath and he admitted to drinking. A breath test measured his blood alcohol content at 0.137, nearly double the legal limit in Kentucky. He was taken to the Carter County Detention Center and has since been released.
Kinney has been missing since approximately 4 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Lt. Chris Mulholland with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. Authorities from multiple agencies, including Kentucky State Police and the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, have been involved in the search for Kinney both in the lake and on surrounding trails. They have employed sonar, K9 teams, and drones equipped with thermal detectors.
On Friday, about 50 volunteers joined the search along the lake banks. The search efforts have been intermittently hindered by rain. Kinney's sister, Willow VanHoose, described her clothing at the time of her disappearance as a strapless pink-orange bikini, with gold jewelry and a dainty gold cross necklace. She also noted tattoos on Kinney's body, including a sword down her side, a spider on her thigh, butterflies and a tiger on her arm, and fairies on her shoulder.
As of Saturday morning, there were no significant updates in the search, according to Lisa Jackson, a spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "The search is continuing as weather permits," Jackson stated. Kinney's family expressed gratitude to law enforcement and first responders for their ongoing efforts. The U.S. Coast Guard has also been involved, seizing a dinghy in connection with a separate, unrelated disappearance of Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas, prompting a criminal defense attorney to comment on the potential compromise of evidence due to delays in seizure.