Body of second missing US soldier recovered in Morocco

PHOTO CAPTION: Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington (U.S. Army Europe and Africa)

By Enas Alashray (Reuters)

A search and rescue team has recovered the body of a second U.S. service member who went missing near a cliff during a training exercise near Cap Draa, Morocco, the U.S. Army and Morocco's Royal Armed Forces said on Wednesday.

• U.S. and Moroccan searchers found and retrieved the remains of a U.S. service woman on Tuesday from a coastal cave roughly 500 meters (550 yards) from where the two soldiers went missing, the U.S. Army said in a statement.

• The Army identified her as Specialist Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, an air and missile defense crew member in an artillery regiment.

• The body of the other soldier, 1st Lieutenant Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., was recovered on May 9.

• More than 1,000 U.S. and Moroccan military and civilian personnel took part in the search, the Army said, covering an area of more than 21,300 square kilometers (8,200 square miles).

• The bodies of Collington and Key Jr. were being returned to the U.S. aboard a military plane as of Wednesday.

• The U.S. service members were participating in African Lion, the U.S. Africa Command's (AFRICOM) largest joint exercise between U.S. forces, NATO allies and African partner nations.

• The largest part of the exercise takes place in Morocco, involving approximately 5,000 personnel from more than 40 countries, according to AFRICOM.

(Reporting by Enas Alashray; Editing by Nia Williams and Lincoln Feast // REUTERS)