U.S. Army Recovers Body Of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr Off Morocco Coast

The U.S. Army said on Sunday that the body of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr was recovered off the coast of Morocco after he went missing near a cliff during a training exercise near Cap Draa on 2 May.

The Guardian reported that Key’s remains were recovered in the water within a mile (1.6km) of where the soldier went missing, and the Army identified him as a platoon leader in an artillery unit.

ABC News

USA Today later reported that Key, 27, was one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing May 2 near the Cap Draa Training Area while on an off-duty recreational hike, and that a Moroccan military search team found his body along the shoreline at about 8:55 a.m. local time on May 9.

The U.S. Army said a second soldier remained missing as search operations continued, and the service members were participating in African Lion, the USAfricaCommand’s largest joint exercise among U.S. forces, Nato allies and African partner countries.

The Guardian said the largest part of the exercise takes place in Morocco, involving approximately 5,000 personnel from more than 40 countries, according to Africom.

The U.S. military later recovered the body of the second missing soldier, Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, of Tavares, Fla., after the search ended in heartbreak following her disappearance May 2 near the Cap Draa Training Area during African Lion 26.

Military reported that the Army said U.S. Air Force para-rescuemen with the 406th Air Expeditionary Wing, Moroccan military mountaineers, and Moroccan Civil Protection located and retrieved Collington on May 12 from a coastal cave roughly 500 meters from where she and Key reportedly entered the ocean.

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CBS News said AFRICOM and U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa confirmed the recovery in a joint statement, and it quoted the statement saying, "We mourn her loss and stand with her family and the 10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command community in this moment of grief."

CBS News also said Key’s body was recovered May 9 and Collington’s body was recovered Tuesday in the coastal cave about 500 meters from where the two went into the water.

The Army said the search and recovery effort was complicated by "Challenging ocean conditions, coastal terrain and the cave's accessibility" as it worked to bring both soldiers home.

As the multinational search concluded, the Army said the focus now "shifts to recovery and repatriation," and it described the operation as involving more than 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civil personnel.

CBS News quoted AFRICOM and SETAF-AF saying, "African Lion builds partnerships for exactly these moments," and it added that the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces contributed ground, air, and maritime assets from the first moment to the last.

USA Today reported that Key’s next of kin were notified and that his remains were being recovered after the Army announced the recovery on May 10, while the search for the second soldier continued.

Orlando Sentinel reported that Royal Moroccan Armed Forces transported Collington’s remains by a Moroccan helicopter to the morgue of Moulay El Hassan Military Hospital in Guelmim, Morocco, and said the remains are en route to the United States.

The circumstances surrounding the incident remained under investigation, with a spokesperson for U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa telling The Associated Press that "the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation."