Search for missing RAF serviceman Corrie McKeague at Milton landfill site to be extended

Nicola Urquhart, left, with her son Corrie McKeague. Picture: MCKEAGUE FAMILY (Image: Archant)

The search for the RAF gunner resumed at the landfill site in Milton, Cambridgeshire, on October 23, with an original timescale for the search given as four to six weeks.

Suffolk police says timescales are “not set in stone” and it is anticipated the search could now progress through to the middle of December.

In an emotional post on Facebook, Corrie’s mother, Nicola Urquhart, said the search extension was positive news.

She said: “It is estimated it may take at least eight weeks now. It is being completed, this is what is important.

Search teams at the landfill site in Milton, Cambridgeshire, which is near to the site of the original search for the missing 23-year-old. Picture: JOE GIDDENS/PA WIRE

“We are now in the fifth week of searching and they are still only finding rubbish dated up to September 19.”

Mrs Urquhart, who has been a police officer in Scotland for 16 years, said finding her son would not give her closure.

She said: “Something I have said sadly far too many times, both through work and in my personal life, when I am trying so desperately hard to find words that will let the person I am trying to help know that I care is ‘you must need closure’ or ‘it would help to have closure’.

“It is strange, I would have thought that is what I would need, but it is not closure I am looking for, it is Corrie I am looking for.

Corrie McKeague went missing after a night out in Bury St Edmunds in September last year. Pictures: CONTRIBUTED (Image: Archant)

“I simply cannot find the words to express just how much I desperately want to find Corrie, having your child suddenly vanish of the face of the earth in a single second should never be experienced by anyone.

“It would not give me closure though, finding Corrie will just bring more questions. Questions that simply may never be able to be answered.”

A Suffolk Constabulary spokesman said: “The search at Milton landfill is progressing well, with continuing review of processes to ensure nothing is missed.

“It is recognised that while the designated search area remains the same, timescales are not set in stone and subject to many variables.

“It is currently anticipated that the search may progress through to early-mid December. We continue to engage with the family to keep them fully informed.”