Awful and avoidable reason popular girl, 19, died during boat trip to 'Sex Rock': Grieving sister reveals tragic final moments and insists sibling was NOT too drunk to swim

By NIC WHITE, US SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER Published: 14:58, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 15:23, 1 July 2026 Willow VanHoose looks at the last two photos of her little sister Marly Kinney before she mysteriously drowned on a drunken boat trip. Posing with friends under a cloudless sky in a strapless pink-orange bikini, the blissful blurry snaps were taken just minutes before she vanished. Kinney, 19, was last seen alive on Grayson Lake, about 180 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky, on June 24, and her body was found on Sunday. Police who spent four days desperately scouring the lake to find her have revealed few details about why Kinney failed to return with her friends. Now VanHoose, 20, has pieced together how her sister drowned while watching her friends drift away without her. VanHoose said Kinney was on the boat with 11 other people, all of whom were over 21 except one other boy. The party included a schoolteacher in her 30s or 40s, she said. They puttered around the lake on a rented pontoon boat, drinking, swimming and jumping off what locals call 'Sex Rock' overlooking the water. The next decision made by Kinney was an entirely reasonable and human one - but ended up costing the teenager her life, VanHoose believes.  Marly Kinney, 19, was last seen alive on Grayson Lake, about 180 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky on June 24. Her body was found on Sunday Kinney (left) with her sister Willow VanHoose She says Kinney and five others got off the boat to relieve themselves in the water - only for the vessel to move on before her sibling was able to get back on board.  'They had all gotten back on and were driving away and they realized that Marly was not on the boat,' VanHoose said. 'One of the girls said, "Where is Marly?" and realized she was not there.  'So they tried to circle back to where they thought they last saw her and asked other boats around if they had seen a girl, and no one had seen her.' When the boat returned to where the group last saw Kinney, they said she was nowhere to be found. 'They told me that they were screaming for her, yelling for her, they looked for her,' VanHoose said. How all 11 people missed that Kinney was not back on board, and why she didn't get back on the boat in time, is still unclear. VanHoose said her sister was very fit and a good swimmer, and Kinney's friends told her she wasn't drunk enough that she couldn't swim or would have blacked out. The grieving sister said she pieced together Kinney's last moments after speaking at length with many of her friends who were on board. Posing with friends under a cloudless sky in a strapless pink-orange bikini, these blissful blurry snaps were taken just minutes before Kinney (left) vanished and was never seen alive again Kinney's camera was brand new, and she didn't know how to change the date, leaving a December 23, 2025, stamp on the images VanHoose (left) with Kinney (center) and other members of their family at her high school graduation 'The police have felt all of the people from the boat are being 100 percent truthful and have questioned and interrogated them many times,' she said. 'They all have been interrogated many times, and I’ve personally spoken to them, along with other mutual friends, I think someone would have slipped up by now. 'I do not blame any of those people on that boat in full, I will always be so mad at them, but they all seem so remorseful.' Two final photos show Kinney less than an hour before her death, taken on her camera that was left behind with her phone and other belongings she left behind when she jumped off the boat - expecting to be back minutes later. Kinney's camera was brand new, and she didn't know how to change the date, leaving a December 23, 2025, stamp on the images. A third photo was taken about 2.19pm by a family on another boat that showed Kinney - standing out in her pink-orange bikini - on top of 'Sex Rock' with two other young women. Kinney is believed to have disappeared between 2.30pm and 3pm and no one is entirely sure how long it took the group to realize she was gone, VanHoose said. By 4.30pm, the boat had returned to the marina and its passengers were seen speaking to emergency services after reporting Kinney missing. 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 as 'Sex Rock' at 2.19pm Kinney's sister said her friends explained she was mistakenly left behind after jumping off the boat to relive herself in the water with five others Police who spent fours days desperately scouring the lake to find her have revealed few details about why Kinney failed to return with her friends One of them, 23-year-old Cameron Conley, was arrested at the marina by Kentucky State Police about 5.20pm for allegedly piloting the boat while drunk. 'Conley advised marina staff he was unable to locate a female passenger on the boat he was operating,' his boating while intoxicated citation read. However, VanHoose said Conley was not the 'boat captain', as some reports referred to him as, nor the person who rented the vessel. She explained that Conley took the boat out again to look for Kinney by himself, after everyone else got off the vessel at the marina. VanHoose said the pilot of the boat when it left Kinney behind was a younger man, and not Conley. 'He feels absolutely terrible and doesn’t deserve to be attacked, he has been here helping so much, and I know him and I know he wouldn't ever do that intentionally - as devastating as it is, and as mad at him as I am,' she said. '[The boat] was investigated the second it re-entered the marina I believe, no traces of anything out of ordinary were found.' VanHoose said she was told the older woman was piloting the boat when it returned to the spot Kinney disappeared and searched for her in the water. Another witness said their boat was flagged down by a young man on the pontoon sometime after 2.30pm as the group searched for Kinney. 'There was a middle-aged lady driving the boat at the time. He asked if they'd seen a girl in the water and was frantic,' their friend relayed the story online. Cameron Conley, 23, was charged with operating a boat while under the influence, which was said to be after he took the boat back on the water to search for Kinney Kinney last moments were pieced together after her family spoke at length with many of her friends who were on board Kinney with her family in a photo posted to a fundraiser hoping to pay for her funeral VanHoose said her sister was very fit and a good swimmer, and Kinney's friends told her she wasn't drunk enough that she couldn't swim or would have blacked out Conley admitted to operating the boat after drinking, and smelled like alcohol with 'bloodshot, glassy eyes' when he told police Kinney was missing, the citation alleged. He allegedly blew a blood alcohol level of 0.137 at the marina and 0.135 at the police station after the required 20-minute observation period. Conley was released from the county jail and will be arraigned on July 22, according to Kentucky court records viewed by the Daily Mail. Kinney is friends with a different Cameron Conley, who was not on the boat but was mistaken for the arrested man online. The Daily Mail attempted to contact VanHoose for further information.  Kinney's close friends and family begged for help finding her during the days she was missing, and posted tributes online after her body was found.  'Not only did I get the privilege to love Marly but I got the chance to be loved by her,' her friend Baylie Hanshaw wrote. 'Marly knew I always had her back and she always had mine. If she wouldn’t speak up for herself, she knew I would.  'We were each other's go-to. If you knew me, you knew Marly. She was always down for anything. 'I will never understand why this happened to you, there’s so many things I wish could have been avoided and done differently.  'I know that in your last moments you were forgotten about but I hope you know that you will never be forgotten in my heart. I love you Marly.' The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife said Kinney's cause of death would be determined by the State Medical Examiner's Office Kinney (left) with some of her school friends, who posted tributes online after her body was found Grayson Lake is about 180 miles east of Louisville, Kentucky, and popular with boaters Kinney worked at Smokin' J's Rib and Brewhouse in Ashland, with the restaurant describing her as a 'model employee'. 'Marly was a model employee loved by all. Always with a friendly smile and a kind word,' it wrote on its social media pages. 'She was loved by her fellow co-workers and friends, many of whom have been volunteering over these last few days. 'We are making arrangements to provide grief counseling to our staff starting tomorrow. 'Our love and prayers go out to Marly's family and friends through this tragic loss. We are closed today & tomorrow to allow our team time to mourn the loss of a loved friend.' The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife said Kinney's cause of death would be determined by the State Medical Examiner's Office.   The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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