Remains of 2nd US soldier missing in Morocco recovered
CASABLANCA, Morocco — The U.S. Army announced on Wednesday that the remains of the second soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, bringing an end to a multinational search operation that utilized various resources including air, naval, and artificial intelligence assets.
The soldier has been identified as Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington from Taveres, Florida, who was just 19 years old, according to a statement from the U.S. military Europe and Africa.
“Royal Moroccan Armed Forces transported the Soldier’s remains by a Moroccan helicopter to the morgue of Moulay El Hassan Military Hospital in Guelmim, Morocco,” the statement noted.
Collington, who served as an air and missile defense crewmember, was part of Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, as per the U.S. Army Europe and Africa.
The soldier joined the Regular Army’s Delayed Entry Program in 2023 before commencing active-duty service in 2024. After completing Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, she became a 14P air and missile defense crewmember. Collington was stationed at Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment in Ansbach, Germany, in February 2025 and was promoted to specialist on May 1, 2026.
Among her achievements, Collington was awarded the Army Service Ribbon.
The discovery of Collington’s remains comes shortly after the recovery of another soldier, 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., a 14A Air Defense Artillery officer. The two soldiers had tragically fallen off a cliff during a recreational hike in Morocco, and their remains are being transported back to the United States.
A spokesperson for U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa informed The Associated Press that investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The soldiers were reported missing on May 2 after participating in African Lion, an annual multinational military exercise held in Morocco. The search operation involved over 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civilian personnel, according to the SETAF-AF spokesperson.
Various assets were deployed during the search, including a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, unmanned aerial systems, thermal and ISR sensors, an unmanned underwater vehicle, side-scan sonar, a Moroccan multibeam echosounder, and U.S. Coast Guard drift modeling capabilities, as stated by the spokesperson.
African Lion 26, a U.S.-led exercise spanning four countries – Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal, with participation from over 7,000 personnel representing more than 30 nations.
In a separate incident in 2012, two U.S. Marines lost their lives and two others sustained injuries in a helicopter crash in Agadir, Morocco, during similar exercises.
