The United States Army confirmed on Wednesday that the remains of a second soldier missing in Morocco have been successfully recovered, bringing a somber conclusion to an extensive multinational search effort, reported The Associated Press.
The fallen soldier was identified as 19-year-old Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington of Tavares, Florida.
According to a formal statement from US Army Europe and Africa, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces utilized a military helicopter to transport Specialist Collington to the Moulay El Hassan Military Hospital in Guelmim. The recovery follows days of intensive operations across difficult terrain.
Specialist Collington served as an air and missile defense crewmember within Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, under the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. After entering the Regular Army’s Delayed Entry Program in 2023, she began active duty service in 2024.
Following her training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, she was stationed in Ansbach, Germany, in early 2025. Her commitment to her unit was recently recognized with a promotion to specialist on May 1, 2026. Her military decorations include the Army Service Ribbon.
The tragedy began on May 2 when Collington and another officer, First Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., were reported missing after participating in the "African Lion" multinational military exercises. The two soldiers reportedly fell from a cliff during an off duty recreational hike. Lamont’s remains were recovered earlier this week.
The search for the missing personnel involved a massive mobilization of over 1,000 US and Moroccan personnel.
While the recovery ends the active search, the US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) stated that the specific circumstances of the accident remain under investigation. The remains of both soldiers are currently being repatriated to the United States.
The "African Lion 26" exercise is a massive US-led endeavor involving 7,000 personnel from 30 nations across Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana, and Senegal. This incident serves as a painful reminder of previous losses during the annual exercise, including a 2012 helicopter crash in Agadir that claimed the lives of two US Marines.