US Coast Guard seizes dinghy in Lynette Hooker Bahamas disappearance case
The U.S. Coast Guard has seized the dinghy involved in the mysterious disappearance of Lynette Hooker in the Bahamas. Her daughter, Karli Aylesworth, expressed happiness that new areas are being searched for clues. Criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno commented on the delay in seizing the dinghy, noting potential evidence could have been compromised.
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A 23-year-old Kentucky man has been charged with boating under the influence after one of his female passengers disappeared while on his pontoon boat.
Cameron Conley was arrested on charges of boating under the influence on Wednesday after he alerted the Grayson Lake Marina staff that Marly Kinney, 19, was no longer on his boat and that he could not find her.
Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources were called in to help with the search, FOX 56 reported.
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An undated photo of Marly Kinney, 19, who went missing off a boat on Grayson Lake in Kentucky. (Willow VanHoose)
When the state troopers arrived, they said they could smell alcohol on Conley’s breath and asked him if he had been drinking. According to court records obtained by FOX 56, Conley admitted that he had been drinking and consented to a breath test.
Conley’s blood alcohol content was measured at 0.137, nearly two times the legal limit in Kentucky. Twenty minutes later, he blew a 0.135, according to authorities.
Conley was arrested and taken to the Carter County Detention Center and has since been released.
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Kinney has been missing since 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Lt. Chris Mulholland with the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources told WSAZ.
An undated photo of Marly Kinney, 19, who went missing off a boat on Grayson Lake in Kentucky on Wednesday. (Willow VanHoose)
Mulholland said Kinney was on the boat with multiple other people and that they are not sure when she got off.
Authorities from multiple agencies have been searching for her both in the lake and on the surrounding trails. They are using sonar, K9 teams and drones with thermal detectors in hopes of locating her as quickly as possible.
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Officials said on Friday that a group of 50 volunteers had joined the effort to look for Kinney along the banks of the lake, adding that on and off rain hindered the search, according to WSAZ.
Kinney’s family provided a statement to WSAZ thanking law enforcement and first responders for continuing to look for the young woman.
“We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home,” the statement read.
Stock image of a pontoon boat (Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Kinney’s sister, Willow VanHoose, posted pictures of her on Thursday and described what she was wearing at the time of her disappearance.
“She was wearing a pink-orange bikini that is strapless, and is likely to have no shoes. She wears gold jewelry and usually has a dainty gold cross necklace on,” she wrote on Facebook. “She has many tattoos, a sword down her side, a spider on her thigh going around it, butterflies on her arm, a tiger on her arm, and fairies on her shoulder.”
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With the search now entering its third day, there has been no more meaningful progress from teams on the ground, according to Lisa Jackson, a spokesperson for the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
“I understand from our game wardens at the scene that there are no new updates. With weather moving through the area throughout the day, the search is continuing as weather permits,” Jackson told Fox News in a statement on Saturday morning.