A Moroccan military search team found the body of one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing on May 2 during a training exercise in Morocco, the U.S. Army said. The recovered soldier was identified as 27-year-old 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a platoon leader and air defence artillery officer from Richmond, Virginia.
The team located Key's body in the water along the shoreline, within about a mile of the cliffs where both soldiers disappeared, and transported it to a nearby morgue; the Army said it will be repatriated to the United States. Brig Gen Curtis King said the service is mourning Key’s death and pledged support for his family and teammates.
“Our hearts are with his family, friends, teammates, and all who knew and served alongside him,” King said, adding that the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command family is grieving and will continue to support one another and Key’s family as they honor his life and service.
Key and another U.S. soldier had been participating in African Lion 2026, an annual joint military exercise designed to strengthen operations between U.S. forces, NATO allies and African nations. African Lion is hosted across Morocco, Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia.
A preliminary report cited by a U.S. news outlet described how the two soldiers were hiking with a group to view the sunset when one fell into the ocean. The fellow service members in the group reportedly used their belts to form a human chain to attempt a rescue. One soldier jumped into the water to try to save the person who had fallen and, according to the report, that fallen soldier did not know how to swim. A strong wave immediately hit the rescuer, prompting a third soldier to jump in after both. That third soldier was able to make it back to camp on their own after failing to rescue the other two.
U.S. and Moroccan forces are continuing the search for the other missing soldier, employing ground, air and maritime assets. Officials have not released the identity of the second service member.
The sequence the preliminary report laid out — a hike to watch the sunset, a fall from cliffs, an improvised human chain and multiple soldiers entering the water to try to rescue their comrades — underscores how quickly a routine activity can become a life-or-death emergency. It also frames the search as an urgent, multinational effort to account for the missing service member while the family of Key awaits the return of his remains.
African Lion 2026 brings U.S. forces together with NATO allies and partner nations across North and West Africa to exercise coordination and interoperability; this year’s events are staged in Morocco as well as Ghana, Senegal and Tunisia. For now, the immediate mission is narrower: recover the remaining soldier and support the family and unit of 1st Lt. Key as they process the loss of a platoon leader who died while deployed on the exercise.
