Remains of US soldier missing in Morocco recovered; another still sought

Remains recovered after soldier went missing off coast near Tan-Tan

The U.S. Army said Sunday that the remains of a U.S. soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco about a week earlier were recovered in the Atlantic Ocean. Military teams continued searching for a second missing American service member, according to U.S. officials.

The recovered remains were identified as those of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a 27-year-old U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery officer. The army said Key was one of two U.S. soldiers who fell off a cliff during a recreational hike in Morocco while off duty.

Key and the other soldier were reported missing on May 2 after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in Morocco. The U.S. Army said the incident occurred near the Cap Draa Training Area outside Tan-Tan, a region described as mountainous with desert and semidesert plains.

The Moroccan military said the two soldiers went missing around 9 p.m., after entering the ocean near the training area. U.S. Army Europe and Africa said a Moroccan military search team found the soldier in the water at approximately 8:55 a.m. local time on May 9, within roughly one mile of where both soldiers reportedly entered the ocean.

The disappearance triggered a search-and-rescue effort involving more than 600 personnel from the United States, Morocco and other military partners. The operation included frigates, vessels, helicopters and drones, the army said.

A U.S. defense official told The Associated Press that search efforts would continue for the second missing soldier. The official said a U.S. contingent remained in Morocco after the war games ended Friday to provide command and control and keep the search and rescue operations running.

The army said Key was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. His decorations include the Army Achievement Medal and Army Service Ribbon, and the service entry described him as beginning military service in 2023 as an officer candidate and earning his commission in 2024.

The Associated Press report also noted that African Lion 26 was launched in April across four countries—Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal—with more than 7,000 personnel from over 30 nations. It said the exercise has been the largest U.S. joint military exercise in Africa since 2004, and it referenced a past incident in Morocco in 2012 in which two U.S. Marines were killed and two others injured during a helicopter crash in Agadir.