The family of missing Fife airman Corrie McKeague say a landfill site remains the “most logical place” to be searched — despite no trace of him yet being found.
Specialist officers from Suffolk and Norfolk police have been scouring the area near Cambridge for more than three months as part of the ongoing investigation into 23-year-old Corrie’s disappearance last September.
Corrie vanished while on a night out with friends in Bury St Edmunds on September 24 and it subsequently emerged that a bin lorry held waste heavy enough to have carried the RAF Honington gunner’s body.
But even though nothing connected to Corrie has been discovered, police have confirmed that they have expanded their search at the landfill and plan to continue the search on a week-by-week basis.
A staggering 4,430 tonnes of waste have been searched through to date, and Corrie’s mum Nicola Urquhart, brothers Makeyan and Darroch, and the rest of the family released a statement thanking everyone who has supported them as the anxious wait for news goes on.
“The police have searched the cell, which is an area shaped like a bowl,” Nicola explained.
“They are now searching the area at the sides of the cell.
“Again the simplest way of describing this is, as rubbish is placed in the cell, big machines are used to level it out.
“This causes the waste to be moved around.
“Understandably this is not an exact science so the police have now checked the tachograph of the lorry and its GPS to accurately discover where the cab has parked.
“There is no timescale being placed on this. The police will review this daily and continued to search for as long as they find items relating to the area and date range Corrie disappeared.
“Waiting is hard, for us all. I do still, however, believe that this is the most logical place to be searched.
“Our gratitude to Suffolk police for continuing this search is immeasurable. I pray we get answers.”
A spokesperson for Suffolk Police said the search work is constantly being reviewed as teams are still finding items from the right time frame that are identifiable as coming from Bury St Edmunds.
“Throughout the search officers have been working to understand exactly where waste was deposited and how it may have been spread out during the process,” the spokesperson added.
“This week police will be bulk-moving further material to allow the work to continue.
“This is being done to ensure all parts of the relevant area are covered following further detailed and specific work completed around the GPS positioning of the vehicle which brought the waste to the site.
“This has led to an expansion of the original search parameters as work continues to locate anything that may help the investigation into Corrie’s disappearance.”
