Police call off search for missing Corrie McKeague

Police call off search for missing Corrie McKeague

Police have called off the landfill search for Corrie McKeague (pictured), who went missing in September in Bury

The 'devastated' parents of missing RAF airman Corrie McKeague said they are 'angry' by the Suffolk Police's decision to end their painstaking landfill search.

His mother, Nicola Urquhart, claimed she was 'misled' by officers, who today announced they have called off their search.

'When they told me that they were going to be finishing the search of the landfill, it was my understanding that what they were actually going to be saying is: "we've finished the search of the landfill and we haven't found Corrie - he's not there,"' she told ITV. 

'It was an absolute surprise to me on Wednesday when I was told: "we're finishing the landfill, we're not searching anymore - but we do still think he's in there."'

Officers said 'all evidence' pointed to the 23-year-old being at the site, but that their search would end after 20 weeks.

Mr McKeague's father, Martin, said in a statement: 'At no point did we think that the search of the site would end this way, and as all the evidence tells us that Corrie is somewhere in that landfill site, we are heartbroken at the thought that we may not be able to bring Corrie home together.'

In a last ditch attempt to find the airman - who was 'known to sleep in rubbish on a night out' - officers will now be searching previously incinerated waste for the airman.

Mr McKeague's father, Martin (left), said in a statement: 'At no point did we think that the search of the site would end this way. His mother Nicola Urquhart (right) said her son could have been drugged on the night he died

Suffolk Police Detective Superintendent Kate Elliott said they are remaining 'open minded' in the investigation.

She said: 'All the evidence points to Corrie going in that bin to the landfill site.

'We have been absolutely committed to finding Corrie and none of us wanted to be in this position.'

She added that the search by Suffolk Police had been 'systematic, comprehensive and thorough'. 

DS Elliott said: 'The officers carrying out the search have been working extremely hard in difficult circumstances - with the nature of the waste being searched through, s afety considerations, the weather and the depth of the search required presenting a number of daily challenges.'

Mr McKeague went missing after a night out in Bury St Edmunds in September. 

CCTV footage from that evening shows the airman entering a bin loading bay in Bury St Edmunds.

It is thought he had been in a rubbish bin that was emptied into a lorry and taken to a landfill site in Cambridgeshire.  

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The search for the missing RAF gunner (pictured) has cost £1.2million and 6,500 tonnes of waste has been moved in the landfill

Suffolk Police Detective Superintendent Kate Elliott (pictured) said they are remaining 'open minded' in the investigation

Police have spent 20 weeks searching the landfill site in a £1.2million operation that has seen 6,500 tonnes of rubbish moved. But nothing has been found.

A bin lorry was seen on CCTV in the town around the time Mr McKeague was last seen, and it took a route which appeared to coincide with the movements of his phone. 

The truck was initially thought to have collected an 11kg (1st 10lb) load, but police said it was later found to be more than 100kg (15st 10lb). 

Missing RAF serviceman Corrie McKeague was last seen on CCTV footage on Brentgovel Street in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, after 3am on September 24

April Oliver, the girlfriend of Corrie McKeague, is pictured holding their newborn daughter Ellie-Louise, who was born in June

Earlier this week Mr McKeague's mother, Nicola Urquhart, said her son's drink could have been spiked on the night he disappeared.

The 48-year-old, who is a police officer in Scotland, said CCTV footage showed her son leaving a club and passing out in a doorway before he disappeared into an alleyway.

She told the Sunday Mirror:  'Every single second. When Corrie slept in the doorway it wasn't because he was looking for somewhere to sleep.

'He slide down the wall he was leaning on. Then fell over on his side. It wasn't what looked like a conscious decision.'

In June, Mr McKeague's girlfriend, April Oliver, announced that she had given birth to his daughter. 

Police announced today that searches of the landfill site have not resulted in any clues leading to his whereabouts. 

DS Elliott said: 'Sadly we have not found Corrie, or any trace of his clothing or mobile phone.

'Our thoughts are with Corrie's family as we had hoped that this search would have provided them with the answers about what happened to him.'

In the CCTV footage Mr Mckeague appears to be alone and DS Elliott said officers had 'traced and spoken' everyone who had been in the same area as the bin man at the relevant time. 

She added: 'The theory that Corrie was in the bin that was emptied into the bin lorry shortly after he was last seen is strengthened by credible information that we have obtained through our inquiries that Corrie had been known to go to sleep in rubbish, following a night out.

'We've explored every other reasonable hypothesis and there is nothing to support any other explanation.' 

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