Marly Kinney, 19, Found Dead at Grayson Lake Five Days After Vanishing from Pontoon Boat Party

Marly Kinney, a 19-year-old from Ashland, Kentucky, was last seen around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2026. She had gone overboard from a rented pontoon boat on Grayson Lake, reportedly to use the bathroom, and never came back up. Her group of at least 10 friends did not initially realize she was gone, according to investigators.

Her body was pulled from the lake at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. The Carter County Coroner was notified and responded to the scene. The State Medical Examiner's Office in Frankfort will determine the official cause of death.

Five Days, Dozens of Agencies

The search was not small. Game wardens from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources led the operation, drawing assistance from Kentucky State Police, the Ashland Fire Department (whose divers worked the water), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kentucky State Parks rangers, the Lexington Fire Department, Elliott County Sheriff's Office, Boyd County and Carter County Emergency Management, and several local volunteer fire departments, according to the KDFWR's official statement.

More than 50 volunteers also joined the effort. Search tools included sonar, underwater and aerial drones, thermal and heat-seeking detectors, KSP helicopters, UTVs and ATVs, and K-9 and cadaver dogs. Scattered rain showers complicated the search across multiple days. Kinney had last been seen wearing a pink, orange, and white bikini.

The Driver

Cameron Conley, 23, was taken into custody on the night of June 24, the same night Kinney was reported missing. Conley had approached marina staff at Grayson Lake Marina and told them he was unable to locate someone who had been on his boat, according to local outlets LEX18 and WLKY.

Kentucky State Police troopers who responded said they smelled alcohol on Conley and observed bloodshot, glassy eyes. He told troopers he had been drinking and consented to a breathalyzer test. His blood alcohol level registered at 0.137%, according to a citation obtained by those outlets. Kentucky law sets the maximum BAC for boating at 0.08% — Conley was nearly double that threshold.

He was charged with one count of operating a boat or watercraft while intoxicated or under the influence and transported to the Carter County Detention Center. Conley is set to appear in court in July. His case is being handled separately from the investigation into the circumstances of Kinney's death, according to TMZ.

The circumstances surrounding Kinney's death remain under investigation, and the KDFWR statement notes the broader investigation remains active.

The Fairness Question

Authorities are drawing a distinction here. Conley is charged with operating a vessel while intoxicated, a real and serious charge, but investigators have not publicly connected that charge to the cause of Kinney's death. Some will reasonably ask whether a sober, attentive driver might have noticed sooner that a passenger went overboard and whether that delay affected the outcome. That is a legitimate question, but one that has not been answered by any evidence made public so far. The investigation remains open, and any conclusion about causal responsibility would be premature.

Community Response

Kinney worked at Smokin J's Rib and Brewhouse in Ashland. The restaurant announced it would close for two days following her death. "Marly was a model employee loved by all. Always with a friendly smile and a kind word," the restaurant wrote on Facebook, according to the NY Post.

Boyd County High School, from which Kinney graduated in 2024, posted tributes on social media, according to People magazine's reporting.

What Comes Next

The KDFWR confirmed the case remains under active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement at 800-25-ALERT (800-252-5378) or Kentucky State Police Post 14 at 606-928-6421.

The key unresolved question: what the State Medical Examiner's findings will show about cause and manner of death, and whether those findings prompt any additional charges beyond the existing BUI count against Conley.