US soldier’s body recovered eight days after disappearance

11 May 2026 • 6:13 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

US soldier’s body recovered eight days after disappearance

  • The remains of First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a US soldier missing for a week, have been recovered from the Atlantic Ocean in Morocco.
  • Key Jr., a 27-year-old Air Defense Artillery officer, was one of two US personnel who fell from a cliff during an off-duty recreational hike on 2 May.
  • Both soldiers were reported missing after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in the North African nation.
  • A Moroccan military search team found Key Jr.'s body on 9 May, approximately one mile from where the soldiers reportedly entered the ocean near the Cap Draa Training Area.
  • A large-scale search-and-rescue operation, involving over 600 personnel from the US, Morocco, and other military partners, is continuing for the second missing serviceman.

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