US and Moroccan forces recovered the body of 27-year-old 1st Lt Kendrick Lamont Key Jr after the us soldier missing in morocco went missing during a training exercise on 2 May. Key was found in the water along the shoreline, within about a mile of the cliffs where he and another US soldier disappeared.
The US Army identified Key as a platoon leader and air defence artillery officer from Richmond, Virginia. His body was transported to a nearby morgue and will be repatriated to the US, while the search continues for the other missing soldier.
Moroccan shoreline search
A Moroccan military search team found Key’s body in the water along the shoreline. The recovery came after the soldiers went missing last week during African Lion 2026, an annual joint military exercise hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia and designed to strengthen operations between US forces, Nato allies and African nations.
The exercise setting explains why both armies remain involved now. African Lion 2026 brought the soldiers into Morocco as part of a multinational drill, and the recovery shifts the search from an unknown location to a specific shoreline area near the cliffs where the pair disappeared.
What happened on 2 May
The soldiers were hiking with a group to view the sunset when one fell into the ocean. Other service members used their belts to form a human chain in an attempt to rescue the soldier. Another soldier jumped into the ocean to try to save a colleague who did not know how to swim, and that soldier was immediately hit by a wave.
A third soldier jumped in after them both and was able to make it back to camp on their own after failing to rescue the first two. It is not clear whether Key was the soldier who first fell in or the second who attempted to rescue the first, leaving the sequence of events tied to 2 May but not the exact role he played in the rescue attempt.
Curtis King statement
Brigadier General Curtis King, commanding general of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, said, "Our hearts are with his Family, friends, teammates, and all who knew and served alongside him," and added, "The 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command Family is grieving, and we will continue to support one another and 1st Lt. Key's Family as we honor his life and service."
US and Moroccan forces are still using ground, air and maritime assets to search for the other missing soldier. That search leaves the central operational task unchanged: one soldier has been brought home, and one remains unaccounted for as the joint effort continues along Morocco’s coast.
