Marly Kinney, 19, was still missing on Sunday after disappearing during a pontoon boat trip at Grayson Lake. She was last seen after reportedly getting off the boat around 4 p.m. to use the restrooms, and the case had already expanded into a broad search across water and air.
Kinney was with 10 other people on the pontoon boat. The group left without knowing exactly where she got off, which left search crews with a timeline but not a precise starting point for the water search. That gap has made the response more than a routine missing-person report.
June 24 on the lake
June 24 is the key date in the timeline. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife officials said Kinney was last seen then at Carter County Lake in Kentucky, and she is from Ashland. The practical problem for investigators is straightforward: the trip continued after she stepped off, so the first few minutes after around 4 p.m. matter most in reconstructing where she went.
Kinney’s family thanked law enforcement, first responders, and volunteers as the search continued. For anyone tracking the case, that means the immediate focus has stayed on locating her in the water rather than on a broader public search.
Cameron P. Conley and the boat
Cameron P. Conley, the pontoon boat operator, was informed of Kinney’s disappearance. He told one of the marina workers, "I could not find a woman who was on his boat," a statement that captures the break in the timeline after the group left. State troopers later said he exhibited signs of impairment, including the smell of alcohol and red eyes.
Conley admitted his guilt and agreed to undergo a breath test, which showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.137%. Kentucky allows 0.08% for boating, and Conley was charged with operating a watercraft under the influence and was released after. That charge leaves one person facing the boating case while the search for Kinney continues separately.
Helicopters, sonar, volunteers
The search became a multi-agency operation involving helicopters, drones, sonar equipment, K-9 teams, divers, boats, the state police aviation unit, and volunteers. Authorities said search and rescue teams continued looking into the water, which is the clearest sign that no finding had resolved the case by Sunday.
The open question is the one that will drive the next stage of this case: what exactly happened between the time Marly Kinney got off the boat and the moment she was reported missing? Until that is answered, the timeline stays incomplete and the search stays active.
