Body of US soldier who went missing in Morocco found

By STEPHEN M. LEPORE, US SENIOR REPORTER Published: 22:44, 10 May 2026 | Updated: 22:57, 10 May 2026 The body of a US soldier who mysteriously vanished while on a hike in Morocco was found Sunday.  The remains were those of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, a 14A Air Defense Artillery officer who was one of two US soldiers who fell off a cliff during a recreational hike in Morocco while off duty. He was 27 years old.  Military teams were still searching for a second missing soldier. The two were reported missing May 2 after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in Morocco. 'A Moroccan military search team found the Soldier 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,' US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement. The two went missing around 9 pm near the Cap Draa Training Area outside Tan-Tan, a terrain characterized by mountains, desert and semidesert plains, according to the Moroccan military. Their disappearance triggered a search-and-rescue operation involving more than 600 personnel from the United States, Morocco and other military partners. The operation deployed frigates, vessels, helicopters and drones. The remains were those of 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, a 14A Air Defense Artillery officer who was one of two US soldiers who fell off a cliff during a recreational hike in Morocco while off duty. He was 27 years old The two were reported missing May 2 after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in Morocco  Search efforts will continue for the missing second soldier, a US defense official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly on the issue. The official said a U.S. contingent remained in Morocco after the war games ended Friday to provide command and control and to continue search and rescue operations. Key was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, the army said.  His decorations include the Army Achievement Medal and Army Service Ribbon. He entered military service in 2023 as an officer candidate and earned his commission through Officer Candidate School in 2024 as an Air Defense Artillery officer. He later completed the Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, according to the statement. African Lion 26, is a US-led exercise launched in April across four countries - Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal - with more than 7,000 personnel from over 30 nations. Since 2004, it has been the largest US joint military exercise in Africa. In 2012, two US Marines were killed and two others injured during a helicopter crash in Morocco´s southern city of Agadir while taking part in the exercises. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.