Moroccan and US forces have recovered the body of a second American service member who went missing earlier this month near Cap Draa, underscoring the scale of joint search operations mobilized after the incident.
The body of Mariyah Symone Collington was found and retrieved on May 12 following days of intensive search efforts involving Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces (FAR), U.S. military personnel and civil protection teams, according to a statement from the FAR General Staff.
Search teams located the body at around 1640 local time and recovered it shortly after 1800, approximately 500 meters from the site of the May 2 incident along a cliff area in southern Morocco.
The operation deployed extensive resources across land, sea and air, reflecting a coordinated response between Moroccan and US forces after the two soldiers were reported missing.
The recovery comes days after the first service member involved in the incident was found, with both cases linked to the same location, authorities said.
Preliminary identification confirmed the remains as those of Collington, the FAR said, adding that the body was transferred to the military hospital in Guelmim in accordance with standard procedures.
A ceremony honoring the two deceased soldiers was later held at the Guelmim military airport before their remains were repatriated to the United States aboard a U.S. military aircraft on the night of May 12.
The incident prompted a large-scale mobilization of Moroccan forces, highlighting close military coordination between Rabat and Washington during search-and-recovery operations.