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| Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, an anti-aircraft artillery officer (14A), and Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, both from Tavares, Florida disappeared on May 2 |
RABAT, Morocco
Two U.S. soldiers who went missing during training exercises in Morocco earlier this month have been identified following a large-scale multinational search and rescue operation, the U.S. military announced.
The soldiers, Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, an anti-aircraft artillery officer (14A), and Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, both from Tavares, Florida disappeared on May 2 near the Cap Draa training area.
They fell to their deaths from a cliff during an off-duty recreational excursion while participating in African Lion 26, a large-scale joint military exercise involving U.S. and Moroccan forces.
More than 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civilian personnel participated in the search, which involved coordinated ground, air, and sea operations. The body of Lieutenant Key was recovered first, followed by that of Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington. Collington's remains were found on May 12 in a coastal cave approximately 500 meters from where the soldiers were last seen.
The Army confirmed that the bodies of the two soldiers were transported from Morocco aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130J aircraft and are being repatriated to the United States. The incident remains under investigation.