THE father of missing Scots RAF gunner Corrie McKeague has told of his “heartbreak” and “devastation” after police announced the end of a search of a landfill site where it is thought his body may be.
Martin McKeague, 48, has been living in a camper van close to the landfill in Milton, Cambridgeshire, where search teams have trawled through more than 6,500 tons of rubbish in a bid to find Corrie.
The Royal Air Force Gunner, 23, from Dunfermline, disappeared following a night out with friends in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk, in the early hours of last September 24. A giant crater has been opened up by teams of searchers including police from Norfolk and Suffolk, uncovering waste from the relevant time period.
But after 20 unsuccessful weeks, the £1.2 milllion search was finally brought to a close yesterday.
Mr McKeague, from Cupar in Fife, said: “The McKeague family in Scotland is devastated by today’s announcement by Suffolk police that the search of the landfill site in Milton for Corrie has now come to an end.
“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. But we are, as a family, somehow going to get through this.”
Suffolk Police said the targeted search at the Milton landfill site had been directed by information and intelligence gathered as part of the investigation into the RAF man’s disappearance.
The search has been one of the biggest and most complex searches of a landfill site in the country. Searchers have worked in 20-30 degree heat, while wearing layers of protective clothing, and have needed hydration tablets and supplies of water to combat the risk of heat exhaustion.
While officers have found waste from the correct time frame throughout the work, no trace of Corrie has been found. Mr McKeague and his wife have spent days meeting the searchers, and thanking them personally for their efforts.
He said: “From the very beginning we felt this was the very least a parent could do to show them our respect and appreciation, and we’ve been proud to do it.
“And we know that these volunteers have done everything possible to try and find my son, and we will owe them a debt of gratitude for the rest of our lives.”
Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott of Suffolk Police said: “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.
“We have searched the whole area where we believed Corrie could be. We had compelling information that directed us to this area however we haven’t found Corrie and this is bitterly disappointing”.
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