A Moroccan military search team pulled the body of First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. from the water on May 9, ending a weeklong search for the 27-year-old Army officer who disappeared near ocean cliffs in Morocco on May 2. A second American soldier remains missing, and U.S. and Moroccan forces continue scouring the coastline by ground, air, and sea.
The U.S. Army announced the recovery on Sunday. Key, an air defense artillery officer from Richmond, Virginia, was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment. He and another soldier vanished during a recreational off-duty hike tied to the African Lion 2026 multinational exercise, an annual training operation designed to strengthen coordination between U.S. forces, NATO allies, and African partner nations.
The loss is real and specific. A young platoon leader who entered the service in 2023, earned an Army Achievement Medal and an Army Service Ribbon, and studied marketing and business at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is now headed home in a flag-draped transfer case instead of on his own two feet. His body was transported to a nearby morgue and will be repatriated to the United States.
A preliminary report cited by CBS News described the sequence: one soldier fell into the ocean during the hike, and others attempted a rescue. A third soldier jumped in after the first two. That third service member managed to make it back to camp on their own after failing to pull the others from the water, officials told CBS.
It remains unclear whether Key was the soldier who first fell or the one who went in to help. The Army has not publicly resolved that question. The identity of the third soldier, the one who survived, has not been released either.
U.S. Army Europe and Africa stated in a release that the Moroccan search team found Key "in the water along the shoreline at approximately 8:55 a.m. local time May 9, within roughly one mile of where both Soldiers reportedly entered the ocean." The location, near the Cap Draa Training Area, sits along Morocco's Atlantic coast, where cliffs drop sharply toward the surf.
When the two soldiers were first reported missing, the incident drew immediate concern about the dangers of the terrain surrounding the exercise area.
The scope of the recovery effort was substantial. More than 600 personnel from the United States, Morocco, and partner forces participated in the search-and-rescue operation, deploying ground teams, aircraft, and maritime assets along the coastline.
African Lion 2026 spans multiple countries, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, and involves thousands of troops. The exercise is meant to build interoperability and readiness. Instead, this year's iteration became the backdrop for tragedy.
The search did not end with Key's recovery. U.S. and Moroccan forces pressed on for the second missing soldier. And they found her.
The Washington Examiner reported that the remains of the second soldier were later recovered and identified as Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington, a 19-year-old from Tavares, Florida. Her recovery concluded a nearly two-week multinational search effort that ultimately involved close to 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civilian personnel.
Nineteen years old. Collington had barely begun her service. The fact that both soldiers were lost during off-duty time, a hike, not a firefight, makes the outcome no less devastating for their families or their units.
Brigadier General Curtis King, commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, addressed both losses. On Key, he said in a statement reported by BBC News:
"Our hearts are with his Family, friends, teammates, and all who knew and served alongside him. The 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command Family is grieving, and we will continue to support one another and 1st Lt. Key's Family as we honor his life and service."
On Collington, King called her loss "a profound loss for the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command."
The Army described Key as a leader defined by his relationships. He served as a platoon leader and held the military occupational specialty of 14A, Air Defense Artillery officer. He first entered military service in 2023.
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Couch, commander of the 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, offered this tribute:
"Kendrick embodied the highest standards of service as a selfless, inspirational leader whose unwavering dedication to his Soldiers and their development leaves an enduring legacy within our ranks."
The Army added that Key "was known for the care he showed for his Soldiers, his commitment to others, and the relationships he built across the formation." He was 27.
Tragedies involving American service members overseas, whether in combat zones or during training, carry a weight that civilian life rarely replicates. Recent losses of U.S. troops killed in action have reminded the country that the risks of military service extend far beyond American borders.
Several facts remain unresolved. The Army has not clarified the precise sequence, which soldier fell first and which attempted the rescue. The identity of the third soldier who jumped in and survived has not been disclosed. No detailed account of the terrain conditions, weather, or safety protocols in effect during the hike has been made public.
The recovery teams located Key's remains after a full week of searching, suggesting the currents and coastal geography complicated the effort considerably. The fact that both bodies were ultimately found within roughly a mile of the cliffs indicates the soldiers did not drift far, but the ocean held them long enough to turn a rescue into a recovery.
Fatal incidents abroad involving Americans, military and civilian alike, often raise hard questions about oversight and accountability. Recent tragedies in other countries have followed a similar pattern: grief first, then the slow demand for answers.
Whether the Army conducts a formal investigation into the circumstances of this hike, the terrain assessment, the supervision, the emergency response, has not been announced. The families of Key and Collington deserve a full accounting.
Key's body will be repatriated to the United States. Collington's recovery brought closure to a search that consumed enormous resources and attention across two nations. Both soldiers were participating in an exercise built around partnership and readiness. Both died during a moment of rest.
Across the military community, stories of service members lost under tragic circumstances carry a particular sting, the reminder that danger does not always arrive in the form you trained for.
First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. and Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington raised their right hands and swore an oath. They did not die in combat. They died serving their country all the same. The least that country owes them now is the truth about what happened on those cliffs, and the honesty to say it plainly when the answers come.