Woman whose soldier fiancé went missing six years ago just like Corrie McKeague is still desperate for a breakthrough
Almost six years ago, Stephanie Hirst’s fiancé Ciaron Nuttall vanished in strikingly similar circumstances as Corrie
A WOMAN has revealed her heartbreak at having her boyfriend disappear – just like RAF gunner Corrie McKeague.
Almost six years ago, Stephanie Hirst’s boyfriend Ciaron Nuttall vanished, in similar mysterious circumstances as missing Corrie.
Stephanie, now 24, said: “Watching Corrie’s girlfriend on TV takes me back to the agonising early days after Ciaron’s disappearance in March 2011.
“I felt shock, bewilderment and disbelief that somebody so young and vibrant could vanish without a trace.”
Stephanie was just 16 when she met Ciaron, a soldier in the army.
The pair were head over heels for each other and, after only a few months together, Ciaron left the army and moved in with Steph at her mum’s house in Manchester.
After a year together, Ciaron proposed to an overjoyed Stephanie.
Although the pair were madly in love, Steph openly admits that their relationship was often fraught with rows.
One day, Stephanie found texts to another woman on Ciaron’s phone, who swore that they were innocent.
Distraught and young and in love, Stephanie decided to get her own back.
She said: “I wanted to hurt him. We broke up and I started seeing someone else.
“When I met Ciaron to pick up some stuff I’d left at his house, we kissed.
“It seemed like nothing could keep us apart.
“Afterwards he called and said, ‘We’re meant to be together. I’ll never leave you, Steph.’
“Thinking we had all the time in the world, I refused to get back with him.”
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But just weeks later, Stephanie found out that Ciaron had gone missing.
At first, Ciaron’s nearest and dearest thought he was with friends but, as time passed, it became clear that something was seriously wrong.
All of Ciaron’s bank cards and social media hadn’t been used or touched since his disappearance – just like Corrie’s.
Weeks flew by and turned into months and still no one heard from Ciaron.
Stephanie said: “Ciaron would never have voluntarily been away that long.
“I posted on Facebook telling him to throw stones at my window, something he usually did after we rowed.
“Every night I fell asleep waiting.”
But Ciaron never turned up.
Stephanie now says that staying close to Ciaron’s family helped her cope with her heartbreak, but it was only after meeting new love, Peter, that she realised it was no longer Ciaron she desperately wanted – but closure and peace of mind for herself and everyone who knew and loved him.
Last year, just shy of the fifth anniversary of Ciaron’s disappearance, his mum died – a moment which made Stephanie wonder if he was still alive.
She said: “Until then, I’d always believed he was alive – but I knew he’d never miss his mum’s funeral.”
Now, Stephanie, who is mum to Ava, two, is still desperately hoping for a breakthrough, despite moving on with her life.
She said: “I won’t stop looking for Ciaron, just as Corrie’s family will never stop.
“I’ve had to move on for my own sanity.
“One day, Corrie’s girlfriend might have to do the same.
“It might not feel like it now, but she does have a future.
“Although I now have an amazing partner and daughter, I still owe it to Ciaron to keep his name alive.”
Anyone with information should call the police on 0161 856 2446 or Crime, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.