Mum of missing airman Corrie McKeague launches huge new search four months after he vanished
THE mum of missing airman Corrie McKeague will be joined by 100 volunteers as she launches a huge new search for her son, after losing faith in the police.
Corrie, 23, disappeared after a drunken night out clubbing with RAF pals in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, on September 24, 2016.
His mum 48-year-old Nicola Urquhart will be joined by her two sons and husband as she launches a new search of a five-mile square area mapped out by investigators on Sunday.
Suffolk Police, who Mrs Urquhart has heavily criticised since her son went missing, will not take part.
Instead 60 search and rescue leaders from four counties will help, has revealed.
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Andy King, Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue chairman, said: “She has a determination to find her son, and we want to do everything that we can to help her.
“It can’t be ruled out that he is deceased, so the search will include areas such as byways and country lanes where someone could have taken his body by car.”
Five cadaver dogs, a drone team and 14 specialist 4x4s will also join the search, which has been funded through crowdfunding.
Areas searched include those close to where Corrie's mobile phone was last picked up - the handset has never been found.
Corrie's family have repeatedly said they will not give up on the search or their hope he will be found alive.
In recent weeks it emerged that Corrie's girlfriend April Oliver, 21, is pregnant with his child.
Miss Oliver said Corrie did not know about the baby, which is due in late spring or early summer.
Corrie is originally from Fife in Scotland and moved down to Suffolk to live at RAF Honington where he worked as a gunner and team medic in the air force.
Police have found no trace of the 23-year-old serviceman since he was last spotted on CCTV in the early hours of September 24.
He was reported missing after he failed to turn up at his base in RAF Honington, and it was feared he could have tried to walk the ten miles back.
Since Corrie's disappearance, Suffolk Police has carried out "extensive" investigative work to find him, searching woodland, scouring hundreds of hours of CCTV and tracing dozens of people who may held clues.
But, in November they admitted they have "no leads" despite trawling through 1,100 hours of CCTV footage.
There are still efforts to trace two people spotted on CCTV the morning he vanished.
A Find Corrie Facebook page has more than 110,000 members and Hollywood star Tom Hardy has even recorded a video appealing for witnesses.
A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the new search being carried out on Sunday.
“Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue have helped us from the start of the investigation.
“We are continuing our efforts to find Corrie."
Police are keen to speak to anyone who was in Bury St Edmunds on the night of September 23/24. Anyone with information that may assist is urged to call the Suffolk Police incident room on 01473 782019.