Search Intensifies for Two U.S. Service Members Missing Near Moroccan Training Area During African Lion Exercise

A multinational search-and-rescue operation is under way after two U.S. military personnel were reported missing near a Moroccan training area during African Lion 2026, U.S. Africa Command said. The two were reported missing at about 9 p.m. local time on May 2 near the Cap Draa Training Area, a remote stretch of cliffs, desert and semidesert plains close to the city of Tan Tan on Morocco's southwestern Atlantic coast. AFRICOM said the incident remained under investigation and that the search was ongoing.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the missing personnel were U.S. Army soldiers who disappeared during an off-duty recreational hike, last seen near ocean cliffs in the vicinity of the training area, and that initial reports indicated they had fallen into the water. According to a preliminary account, the pair were part of a group that had hiked out to watch the sunset when one soldier — who was known not to be able to swim — fell into the ocean, and the second entered the water in an attempt to rescue them before being struck by a wave. When the two did not return as expected, U.S. and Moroccan personnel immediately initiated a joint search effort.
The response drew on the full range of assets gathered for the exercise. AFRICOM said U.S., Moroccan and other multinational forces launched coordinated operations spanning ground, air and maritime domains, with the effort eventually involving helicopters, ships, mountain rescue units and divers. African Lion is AFRICOM's largest annual exercise on the continent: the 2026 edition brought together thousands of personnel from more than 30 nations, was led by the Vicenza, Italy-based U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and was hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. The drill is designed to strengthen interoperability among U.S. forces, NATO allies and African partner nations, and the Morocco phase was nearing its conclusion when the two went missing.
The involvement of both U.S. and Moroccan forces in the search highlights the close operational cooperation that is a central goal of exercises like African Lion, but it also underscores the risks service members face during live training in challenging environments. The Cap Draa area has long served as a hub for the exercise, hosting live-fire ranges and combined-arms training, and previous editions of African Lion have seen fatal incidents, including a 2012 MV-22 Osprey crash in Morocco that killed two U.S. Marines. AFRICOM said its immediate focus remained on the two service members and their families and that additional information would be released as it becomes available.
This report was updated to include AFRICOM's statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation. At this time officials have not released the names or service affiliations of the missing personnel. The search-and-rescue operation continues, and inquiries from media or other parties have been directed to AFRICOM and Moroccan authorities for further comment.
Update: In the days that followed, the search — which ultimately involved more than 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civilian personnel — recovered the remains of both soldiers. The Army identified them as 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., 27, a 14A Air Defense Artillery officer whose body was recovered on May 9, and Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, of Tavares, Florida, an air and missile defense crew member found on May 12 in a coastal cave roughly 500 meters from where she was believed to have entered the water. Both were assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. Their remains were returned to the United States aboard a U.S. Air Force C-130J following a dignified transfer at the military airport in Guelmim, Morocco, and the circumstances surrounding the incident remained under investigation.