Kelsey Starling’s body recovered from Smith Lake

Starling, a Troy native, was a speech pathologist at a Birmingham school.
Starling, a Troy native, was a speech pathologist at a Birmingham school.(Source: WBRC)
Updated: Oct. 6, 2019 at 9:37 AM EDT
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WINSTON COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - The body of Kelsey Starling was recovered from Smith Lake Saturday, three months after she went missing in a July 4 boat crash, according to Sgt. Chad Pate with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Marine Patrol Division.

Houston County Rescue President Ashton Davis said the body was found in the general area of where the boat crash happened in the Rock Creek area.

Davis says the body was recovered by the rescue unit’s divers late Saturday night at about 160 feet below the surface. It has been turned over to the county coroner for DNA testing.

The body was located 160 feet below the surface using a remotely operated vehicle, paid for through the Starling family’s fundraising efforts.

Davis says the underwater forests have made the search difficult, but the recent drought in the state helped in the search as the water levels were about 30 feet lower than normal. Davis also said the discovery was made by a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, which was paid for through the fundraising efforts of the Starling family.

According to ALEA, search efforts had resumed Thursday.

The man piloting the boat 26-year-old Starling was in, William Fite, pleaded guilty to boating under the influence in August.

A Decatur couple in the other boat involved in the crash, Nick Bowling Suggs and Jodi Wallace Suggs, were indicted by a Winston County grand jury and charged with criminally negligent homicide. They have denied the charges.

Starling, a Troy native, was a speech pathologist at a Birmingham school.

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