U.S. officials confirmed that the remains of two American soldiers who went missing during off-duty hikes in Morocco have been recovered. The bodies of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, and Spc Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, were found along the Atlantic shoreline near Tan-Tan on May 9 after an extensive search-and-rescue operation involving more than 600 personnel from multiple countries. The search for a third soldier continues.
Key Takeaways
The remains of two U.S. soldiers who went missing during off-duty hikes in Morocco have been recovered. The search for another soldier continues.
- Remains of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr. and Spc Mariyah Symone Collington were found near Tan-Tan, Morocco
- Both soldiers were participating in the African Lion military exercise
- Over 600 personnel from multiple countries searched over 4,600 square miles for the missing soldiers
The soldiers went missing around 9pm on May 2 while hiking near the Cap Draa Training Area, which features mountains, deserts and semidesert plains. According to CBS News, preliminary reports suggest that one of the soldiers fell into the water after attempting to rescue another who could not swim. Both were swept away by waves.
Key and Collington were participating in Africa Lion 26, an annual multinational military exercise led by the U.S. across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal with over 7,000 personnel from more than 30 nations. The exercise is the largest U.S. joint military effort in Africa since 2004.
The remains of both soldiers were transported by helicopter to the morgue at Moulay El Hassan Military Hospital in Guelmim, about 265 miles southwest of Marrakesh. Next of kin have been notified and plans are underway to repatriate their remains. Brig. Gen. Curtis King expressed condolences on behalf of Key's family stating: 'Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates and all who knew and served alongside him.' Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger also issued a statement of condolence for the families involved.
How this summary was created
This summary synthesizes reporting from 10 independent publishers using AI. All sources are cited and linked below. NewsBalance is a news aggregator and media literacy tool, not a news publisher. AI-generated content may contain errors or inaccuracies — always verify important information with the original sources.