U.S. Soldiers Missing in Morocco: Remains of 1st Lt. Kendrick Key Found. Search for Second Continues.
One week after falling from a cliff near Tan-Tan, 1st Lt. Kendrick Key Jr. was found by a Moroccan search team in the Atlantic. He was 27. The remains of 1st Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing a week ago along Morocco’s southern Atlantic coast, were recovered from the ocean on Sunday morning. A Moroccan military search team found him in the water along the shoreline at approximately 8:55 a.m. local time on May 9, within roughly one mile of where both soldiers reportedly entered the ocean. Key was 27 years old. The search for the second missing soldier continues.
Key, a 14A Air Defense Artillery officer, had been reported missing on May 2 after he and a fellow soldier fell off a cliff during a recreational hike near the Cap Draa Training Area outside Tan-Tan — terrain characterized by mountains, desert and semi-desert plains. They were off duty at the time. The disappearance triggered a search and rescue operation involving more than 600 personnel from the United States, Morocco and other military partners, deploying frigates, vessels, helicopters and drones.
A Moroccan military search team found the soldier in the water along the shoreline at approximately 8:55 a.m. local time May 9, within roughly one mile of where both soldiers reportedly entered the ocean.
— U.S. Army Europe and Africa · Official statement, May 10, 2026
Who was Kendrick Key
Key was assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command. He entered military service in 2023 as an officer candidate and earned his commission through Officer Candidate School in 2024 as an Air Defense Artillery officer, later completing the Basic Officer Leader Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. His decorations include the Army Achievement Medal and Army Service Ribbon. He was 27 years old.
Search continues
A U.S. defense official told the Associated Press that a U.S. contingent remained in Morocco after African Lion 26 ended on Friday to provide command and control and continue search and rescue operations. Search efforts for the second missing soldier are ongoing.
- Based on reporting by The Associated Press