Remains of 2nd U.S. soldier who went missing in Morocco have been recovered : NPR
U.S. and Moroccan military forces participate in the 20th edition of the African Lion military exercise, in Tantan, south of Agadir, Morocco, May 31, 2024.
Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP
CASABLANCA, Morocco — The remains of the second U.S. Army soldier reported missing during military exercises in Morocco have been found, the military announced Wednesday, ending a multinational search operation that deployed air, naval and artificial intelligence assets.
The trooper was identified as Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington of Taveres, Fla., U.S. Army Europe and Africa said in a statement. She was 19 years old.
“The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces transported the soldier’s remains by Moroccan helicopter to the morgue of the Moulay El Hassan military hospital in Guelmim, Morocco,” the statement said.
Collington served as an air and missile defense crewman and was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Air and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
Collington entered the Regular Army’s Delayed Entry Program in 2023 before beginning active duty in 2024. She completed basic combat training and advanced individual training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as a 14P Air and Missile Defense crew member. She reported to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, in Ansbach, Germany in February 2025 and was promoted to specialist on 1 May 2026.
His awards and decorations include the Military Service Ribbon.
The announcement came days after the Army said the remains of another soldier, 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., an officer with the 14A Air Defense Artillery, had been found. The two soldiers fell from a cliff during an off-duty recreational hike in Morocco. Their remains are on their way to the United States.
A spokesperson for the U.S. military’s Southern European Task Force Africa told The Associated Press that the circumstances surrounding the incident were still under investigation.
The two soldiers were reported missing on May 2 after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in Morocco. Their disappearance triggered a search operation involving more than 1,000 American and Moroccan soldiers and civilians, added the SETAF-AF spokesperson.
Assets deployed during the operation included a US Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, thermal and ISR sensors, an unmanned underwater vehicle, side scan sonar, a Moroccan multibeam echo sounder and US Coast Guard drift modeling capabilities, according to the spokesperson.
African Lion 26 is a U.S.-led exercise launched in April in four countries – Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal – with more than 7,000 military personnel from more than 30 countries.
In 2012, two U.S. Marines were killed and two others injured in a helicopter crash in Agadir, southern Morocco, while participating in exercises.
