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U.S. Army Specialist Mariyah Collington Returned to Central Florida After Fatal Fall in Morocco

The Army says investigators have classified her death as an accidental cliff fall during the multinational African Lion exercise.

Overview

  • Collington’s flag-draped casket arrived Wednesday at Orlando Executive Airport and was taken to Marvin C. Zanders Funeral Home in Apopka where family and community members gathered to mourn.
  • The Army reported that Collington fell from a seaside cliff while on an off-duty recreational hike in Morocco during the African Lion exercise and described the incident as accidental.
  • A second soldier, 1st Lt. Kendrick Lamont Key Jr., also died after the same fall and family members said he attempted to save Collington during the incident.
  • U.S. and Moroccan personnel conducted an extended multinational search that recovered both soldiers before their remains were repatriated to the United States.
  • Collington was a 19-year-old air and missile defense crewmember assigned to Charlie Battery, 5th Battalion, 4th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and a 2024 graduate of Evans High School with a public celebration of life set for June 13.