Police hunting missing Corrie McKeague (pictured) have announced they will resume their search of 6,500 tonnes of rubbish
Police hunting missing RAF airman Corrie McKeague have announced they will resume their search of 6,500 tonnes of rubbish to a bit to find his body.
The 23-year-old was last seen walking through Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, after a night out with friends.
A five-month search of a landfill site was called off in July after no evidence of his body was found.
But Suffolk Police said that after reviewing all the information available it believes the area of the original search ‘is still the location where there was the highest likelihood of finding Corrie’.
The force said the resumed, extended search, likely to take between four and six weeks, would concentrate on an area next to the site of the earlier search.
Mr McKeague, from Fife, Scotland but based at RAF Honington in Suffolk, was last seen on CCTV at 3.25am on September 24, 2016.
Detective Superintendent Katie Elliott said: ‘Throughout this rigorous investigation we have remained committed to following all reasonable lines of inquiry in our endeavours to discover what has happened to Corrie.
‘Confronted by the variances in the way waste can be deposited and through further investigation we cannot discount the possibility Corrie may be elsewhere in Cell 22.
‘Therefore, we believe our decision to extend the search area is the correct one.’
Corrie’s father, Martin McKeague, said in a statement today that they have been told the search will begin in another two to three weeks.
He said: ‘In a meeting today with the Suffolk police here in Scotland, the McKeague family have been informed that the search of the landfill site at Milton near Cambridge for my son will now continue.
The force said the resumed, extended search, likely to take between four and six weeks, would concentrate on an area next to the site of the earlier search
‘This follows the decision to halt the work of the Norfolk and Suffolk police volunteers on 21st July pending an independent review.
‘We are delighted with the announcement and have been told that the timescale to begin will be approximately 2 to 3 weeks from today, depending on the preparatory work required and getting equipment on site.’
A bin lorry was caught on CCTV near Brentgovel Street in Bury St Edmunds around the time Mr McKeague was last seen.
The vehicle then took a route which appeared to coincide with the movements of his phone.
It was initially thought to have collected a 11kg load, but police said it was later found to be more than 100kg.
The 23-year-old was last seen in CCTV (shown) walking through Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, after a night out with friends
The initial search of a landfill site at Milton in Cambridgeshire was called off after no evidence of his body was found.
Mr McKeague’s girlfriend, April Oliver, announced in June that the missing serviceman had become a father with the birth of their daughter.
Last month, on the one-year anniversary of Mr McKeague’s disappearance, his mother Nicola Urquhart led a group of about 30 people around the town centre in a bid to ‘jog someone’s memory’.
Announcing the new search on Tuesday, Ms Elliott said: ‘We have spoken to Corrie’s mum and dad to explain our decision, and share in detail the reasons behind it.
‘We will, of course, continue to work together with Corrie’s family as the inquiry progresses.
‘We can only hope that over the coming weeks the resumption of the search brings the answers that we are all hoping for and especially, of course, for Nicola and Martin.’
A five-month search of a landfill site was called off in July after no evidence of his body was found