RAF man Corrie McKeague’s mum says she’ll raise money for good causes ‘for the rest of her life’ to repay search team
MISSING airman Corrie McKeague’s mum has vowed to devote the rest of her life to raising cash for the search and rescue charity which has spent more than 6,000 hours looking for her son.
Nicola Urquhart, 48, said she would never be able to thank the crews who helped in the hunt for the missing gunner on two separate searches.
Her son Corrie, 23, went missing after a night out on the town with friends in September last year, sparking fears he may have tried to walk the 10 miles back to his base at RAF Honington.
In the months following his disappearance, volunteers at Suffolk Lowland Search and Rescue (SULSAR) have gone to great lengths to scour the vast rural areas close to where he was last seen.
The next public search for clues will take place on February 19 at an as yet undisclosed location.
Speaking on the search teams’ efforts, Nicola said: "Myself, Makeyan, Darroch and our family will never be able to show our true gratitude.
"Even if Corrie was found tomorrow, I will still spend the rest of my life trying to find ways of raising money for this charity.
"The efforts they have already made and future efforts are truly what lets us function, I know every single member of SULSAR will never ever stop searching for Corrie.
"I pray none of you, not one other person, should ever have to need their service to search for your child or loved one, but if you do, I hope that each penny you have all given for everything I have supported to raise for SULSAR helps you too."
On Wednesday next week, police will begin sifting through a huge landfill site containing waste collected from the area Corrie was last seen in.
The landfill site is 30 miles from where the 23-year-old was last seen, in an area known as the horseshoe in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
No new waste has been dumped at the tip since police alerted owners that they may need to inspect it soon after the gunner was reported missing.
Speaking on the challenge ahead, police said the search would be a “considerable task” as the area in question is more than 920 square metres of waste down to a maximum depth of eight metres.
SULSAR chairman Andy King has spoken previously about the "Corrie effect", which has raised awareness of lowland rescue teams.
He said: "I would like to thank Colin Davey, of Top the Lot gambling, who has very generously donated £5,000 to the team, and...has pledged to help and assist the team further with funding and assistance."
While coordinating the last public search, which took place on January 22, he said: "Before Corrie went missing, many people would not have even known about lowland rescue.
"They would have all heard of mountain rescue, but lowland just did not have the profile.
“Corrie's disappearance has shined a spotlight on what we do."
Following the 23-year-old’s disappearance, it emerged his girlfriend April Oliver, 21, is pregnant with his first child.
Corrie didn’t know about the baby, which is due in late spring.
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.
Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to call the incident room at Suffolk Police on 01473 782019.
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