The search continued for a 19-year-old woman who disappeared during a visit to the Grayson Lake landmark known locally as “Sex Rock,” as authorities arrested the man operating the boat she had been on after he allegedly registered a blood alcohol level nearly twice Kentucky’s legal limit.
Marly Kinney was last seen around 4 p.m. Wednesday at Grayson Lake in Kentucky, roughly 180 miles east of Louisville.
According to a citation filed in Carter District Court and reviewed by FOX 56, Cameron Conley, 23, told staff at Grayson Lake Marina that he could not locate a female passenger from the boat he had been operating.
His report triggered a response from Kentucky State Police and Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, who were sent to the area to search for Kinney. She has not yet been found.
While Conley was speaking with state police, officers reported smelling alcohol on him, according to the citation cited by the outlet.
Authorities also allegedly observed that Conley’s eyes appeared bloodshot and glassy.
Conley allegedly acknowledged that he had consumed alcohol and agreed to take a preliminary breath test.
The test allegedly showed Conley’s blood alcohol level at .137, which is close to double the legal limit in Kentucky.
19-year-old Marly Kinney vanished Wednesday at Grayson Lake, Kentucky, roughly 200 miles east of Louisville
Cameron Conley, 23, was charged with operating a boat while under the influence. He allegedly told Grayson Lake Marina staff that he could not find a female passenger on his boat
His blood alcohol level was allegedly measured again at .135 approximately 20 minutes later, according to the outlet.
Conley was charged with operating a boat while intoxicated or under the influence.
He was arrested and taken to the Carter County Detention Center, but has since been released.
Conley is set to be arraigned on July 22, according to Kentucky court records viewed by the Daily Mail.
Kinney’s public Instagram account showed that she followed a man with the same name as Conley.
A spokesperson for the Kentucky State Police told the Daily Mail on Saturday afternoon that Conley did not face any charges other than DUI for operating the boat impaired.
The Kentucky State Police added that the search for Kinney remained ongoing but that ‘the weather remains an issue.’
Officials paused the search for Kinney on Friday night due to darkness, according to WSAZ.
The search had also been complicated by on and off rain, the outlet reported.
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A woman who said she was boating with her family near Kinney and her group of friends shared a photo of them jumping from a rock known by locals as ‘Sex Rock’
Kinney follows a man with the same name as Cameron Conley on her public Instagram account
Kinney’s family said they were ‘very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support’ from state authorities and community volunteers.
‘We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us,’ her family told WSAZ. ‘We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.’
Leah Ross, who said she and her family were out on the lake boating, said she had seen Kinney and the group she was with near a rock known locally as ‘Sex Rock.’
She took a photo of Kinney’s group, with her friends jumping off the rock.
‘We stopped to jump off some rock cliffs, and they stopped shortly after us,’ Ross wrote on Facebook. ‘We have time–stamped videos where Marly and some of the group she was with were jumping off the rocks at 2.20pm. The group remained in the area for at least 10–20 minutes after that.’
Willow VanHoose, Kinney’s older sister, said Thursday on Facebook that the missing teen was wearing a ‘pink–orange bikini that is strapless, and is likely to have no shoes.’
VanHoose added that Kinney wears gold jewelry and ‘usually has a dainty gold cross necklace on.’
Authorities are still searching for Kinney. On Saturday, the Kentucky State Police told the Daily Mail that the weather ‘remains an issue’
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is handling the missing person investigation, said yesterday that they were unable to release the name of the person who reported Kinney missing.
‘We would prefer not to share any other information at this time,’ Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Public Information Officer Lisa Jackson told FOX 56.
Jackson added: ‘Our focus is, and will remain on locating Marly. More information may be available at a later date.’
Multiple agencies are currently searching the water for Kinney, with aerial support, drones, boats and K9 assistance being provided by Kentucky State Police.
Lt. Chris Mulholland with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources previously said Kinney’s group of friends was unsure about when she left the pontoon-type vessel, according to WSAZ.
The Daily Mail reached out to Conley and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources for comment.
