From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
WINSTON COUNTY, Ala. — Authorities have located the body of an elementary school teacher who disappeared after a boat crash, on Smith Lake, on July 4.
Kelsey Nicole Starling, 26, was a passenger on a 2012 Mastercraft boat that was involved in a two-vessel crash in the Rock Creek area of the lake. Five people were injured in the collision between two boats.
ALEA and several other agencies worked tirelessly for nearly two months searching for Starling. The search was hindered due to the extreme depth of the water and dense underwater timbers. The search resumed on Thursday, Oct. 3, according to ALEA Marine Patrol Division Sgt. Chad Pate. The body was recovered on Saturday, Oct. 5.
ALEA Marine Patrol (left) and Christian Aid Boat (right). Photo: ALEA
Pate said the Houston County Rescue Squad located the body in approximately 140 feet of water.
Three people are facing charges in connection to the deadly crash. The operator of the Mastercraft, 23-year-old William Jackson Fite of Decatur, was charged with Boating Under the Influence, according to ALEA. Nick and Jodi Suggs are charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection to the death of Starling.
